All Entries in the "Industry News" Category
New OHS Legislation
Safe Work Australia Introduces the Model Work Health and Safety Legislation… The building and construction industry is heavily regulated by Work Health and Safety (OH&S). On January 1st, 2012 Safe Work Australia began the implementation of a new harmonised national model for Work Health and Safety (OHS). If you are a licensed builder or work [...]
Construction Industry Skills Development Receives Federal Support
Just prior to Christmas, Senator Chris Evans, Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills announced that almost 24,000 workers and trainees will upgrade their skills under an $87 million Australian Government-industry training investment. This is another well needed boost for the building and construction industry. The program will be a targeted partnership in which the Government [...]
New Consumer Law Impacts Licensed Builders
So just what has the new Consumer Law have to do with the Building and Construction Industry? Well pretty much everything! A licensed builder is required to enter into a contract with a customer for a specified scope of works. Customers are consumers so the Australian Consumer Law has a specific impact on that transaction. [...]
It’s All About the Builders Licence
As one of the leading providers of qualifications to trade and building professionals in the building industry the single biggest enquiry we get is: “How do I get a builders licence?” Depending upon what state they wish to obtain their licence, often the answers will differ. But soon there might be less difference in the [...]
Building Industry News
Wading through Building and Construction Industry news updates on the web can be very time-consuming and in some cases, a little frustrating. Some articles are good, some misleading and some simply don’t make sense at all. To take the headache out of sifting through them, here are some that you will find well worth the read: [...]
Key Websites for the Building Industry
Here are some important websites that we use regularly for keeping up to date with what is happening in the Building and Construction Industry. If you are active in the Building and Construction Industry then do yourself a favour and bookmark these sites. Also be sure to register for updates and news articles. The Building [...]
Tougher English Tests for Inbound Trades
A recent article in the Victorian Newspaper the Herald Sun highlighted some growing problems in the construction industry. Actually, there are a number of problems, but here’s two that were highlighted from the article. Problem No. 1: Shortage of qualified trades across many sectors of the building and construction industry. Problem No. 2: High levels of [...]
OHS Harmonisation within Building and Construction
How will OHS Harmonisation affect the Building and Construction Industry? Occupational Health and Safety impacts the building industry at every point. We are all aware of how difficult it is to comply and in particular how to manage compliance across different state boundaries. Currently all states, territories and the Commonwealth are responsible for making and [...]
Building Contractors and Licensed Builders Compliance
In our last article we covered Personal Services Income (PSI) legislation and how it affects all individuals providing skilled labour and services. There are two exemptions from the provisions of the PSI legislation. PSI – Are You Caught? A trade or building contractor is compliant if they pass the Results Test or the 80/20 rule. [...]
Building Contractors and Licensed Builders Beware
The building and construction industry is largely made up of independent contractors. In this article we are going to try and highlight some of the liability issues that you face if you are a Licensed Builder who hires contractors, or if you are an independent contractor. The liability we are talking about here is financial [...]