30 March 2023

Elise Archer, Attorney General
Minister for Justice

Delivering even stronger protections for building consumers

The Rockliff Liberal Government is getting things done and delivering even better consumer protections for the Tasmanian community.

In line with this commitment, the Residential Building (Miscellaneous Consumer Protection Amendments) Bill 2022 has today passed the House of Assembly.

Minister for Workplace Safety and Consumer Protection, Elise Archer said the Bill will provide important additional protections for consumers and the building and construction sector, and is the most significant change to our framework since our nation-leading reforms, which commenced in 2017.

“These reforms will strengthen consumer protections, increase accountability, and will add confidence for anyone building or buying a home in Tasmania,” the Minister said.

“It focuses on addressing defective work, increasing accountability of statutory office holders, and providing for more timely and cheaper resolution of residential building disputes when they arise.”

The Bill will:

• provide the recently established Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (TASCAT) with original jurisdiction for resolving residential building disputes;
• create a mechanism for defect rectification after the completion of building work via new Defective Work Orders;
• introduce two new mandatory notification (inspection) stages, in line with the Building Confidence Report recommendations, to reduce the rate of defective work; and
• consolidate the responsibilities of local councils under the Building Act 2016 to increase their accountability in carrying out important functions.

“I now look forward to the Bill’s passage through the Legislative Council," the Attorney-General concluded

More Media Releases from Elise Archer

More Media Releases from the Attorney General