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BUILDING AMENDMENT REGULATION 2006 (NO 1) (NO 15 OF 2006)
2006
LEGISLATIVE
ASSEMBLY FOR THE
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL
TERRITORY
BUILDING AMENDMENT REGULATION 2006 (No
1)
Subordinate Law No
SL2006-15
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Circulated by authority of Simon
Corbell MLA
Minister for Planning
The Building Amendment Regulation 2006 (No 1) creates transitional
provisions relating to the introduction of energy efficiency requirements in the
2006 edition of the Building Code of Australia (BCA) for some classes of new
buildings.
From 1 May 2006 the Building Code of Australia will require
new mandatory minimum energy efficiency requirements. Due to the timing of the
decision by the Australian Building Codes Board to adopt the new requirements,
it is likely that the design process for some projects would have commenced with
insufficient time to adopt necessary changes before the commencement of the new
requirements. The regulation is intended to allow industry sufficient time to
prepare for the introduction of the new requirements.
The new provisions
will then only apply to projects for which development applications are lodged
after 30 June 2006. The transitional arrangements will ensure previously
approved dwellings and those lodged before 1 July 2006 can obtain building
approval after 1 July 2006 for a given period depending on the class of
building.
These transitional provisions have been made under section
136(4) of the Building Act. Section 136(4) of the Act provides that regulations
may make provision in relation to the application of the building
code.
The Building Amendment Regulation 2006 (No 1) also amends
the heading of section 29A of the Building Regulation 2004 to clarify
that the section applies to bushfire-prone areas. The content of section 29A
has not been altered.
Clause 1 provides for the name of the regulation to be the
Building Amendment Regulation 2006 (No 1).
Clause 2
provides that the regulation commences on the day after the notification
day.
Clause 3 provides that the regulation amends the Building
Regulation 2004.
Clause 4 substitutes the existing heading of
section 29A with a new heading containing a reference to bushfire-prone area to
achieve greater clarity.
Clause 5 inserts a new clause 29B. Clause 29B
provides that the energy efficiency requirements in the 2006 edition of the BCA
do not apply to a development if:
(a) an application for approval of the development is made under the Land (Planning and Environment) Act 1991, section 226 (Application to undertake development) before 1 July 2006; and
(b) building approval for the development is issued before the applicable date.
A building approval refers to a building approval under Division 3.3 of the
Building Act 2004.
The clause provides that in the case of class 1
and 10 buildings the applicable date is 1 January 2007 and that for class 2
– 9 structures the applicable date is 1 May 2007. The energy efficiency
provisions in the 2005 Building Code of Australia apply in these cases. The BCA
defines the meanings of building classes. Class 1 structures generally relate to
houses, class 10 structures relate generally to uninhabitable structures.
Classes 2 – 9 deal generally with medium density residential, commercial,
industrial, community and other types of buildings that are not single
dwellings.
The Regulation does not remove energy efficiency
requirements in place in the Territory Plan. Therefore, the energy efficiency
requirements in the Territory Plan are still applicable to developments which
are exempt from energy efficiency requirements in the 2006 edition of the BCA.
In some cases these provisions are more stringent than those in the 2005 BCA.