The White Paper: A New Planning System for NSW -

The white paper (Paper) was released on Tuesday 16 April 2013 and included details on how the NSW new planning system would be implemented, while also responding to the questions raised in submissions to the Green Paper released in July 2012. The changes to the planning laws are extensive and have both direct and indirect impacts on the building and construction industry. The changes will be implemented through the introduction of a new Planning Act (the Act), which is currently in the exposure draft stage (Planning Bill 2013). A range of potential changes that directly impact the building and construction industry have been outlined below.

The Paper and the proposed legislation are open for public comment. The closing date for submissions is 28 June 2013. This will be the last opportunity to comment on the proposed legislation.

Changes to Building Regulation and Certification -

The key proposed changes outlined in the Paper for building regulation and certification are:

- additional accreditation of occupations involved in the design and construction of a building

- compulsory certification of particular aspects of building and construction

- increased quantity of documentation through all stages of the building cycle

- additional support for certifiers on complex building matters

- stronger disciplinary guidelines on certifiers.