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Smoke Alarm Changes January 1, 2017

18 Nov 2016Housing0 comments

It has come to our attention that new smoke alarm requirements will be introduced to the Building Regulation 2006 and will come into force on January 1, 2017. Unlike the QFES legislation being introduced about smoke alarms, this legislation will affect building approval issued after January 1, 2017.

As of January 1, 2017 a building application for a new dwelling or alterations to dwelling must address the following new smoke alarm requirements:

Smoke alarms must be photoelectric (AS 3786-2014); and
Smoke alarms must not also contain an ionisation sensor; and
Smoke alarms must be hardwired to the mains power supply with a secondary power source (i.e. battery); and
Smoke alarms must be interconnected with every other smoke alarm in the dwelling so all activate together.

Guide to understanding Form 16’s: Second instalment

01 Oct 2016Form 160 comments

After reading the last two articles we have published on form 16’s – because we are sure you have read them, you should have a clear understanding about the use of Form 16’s and what your responsibilities are under the Building Act 1975.

We will now walk you through the form step-by-step and clearly explain each part and how to fill it out. This will ensure you only fill in the parts you need to, and therefore only certify what you actually need to certify – possibly saving you from a lawsuit in the future.

Guide to understanding Form 16’s: First instalment

01 Oct 2016Form 160 comments

Following on from our last article, it’s important for everyone to understand their statutory functions and duties when they are carrying out inspections and issuing Form 16’s. This is the first instalment on how to understand, and correctly fill out this form.

Subdividing Land

14 Apr 2015TOWN PLANNING0 comments

“I’m thinking of subdividing land. I have spare land at the back of my property and looking at the option of subdividing to make some money, can I do that?” is a question many land owners ask, and a question Town Planners deal with everyday. The answer to subdividing land is generally yes, but not without quite a few hurdles to jump over first.

DA and BA – Development Approval and Building Approval

12 Feb 2015TOWN PLANNING0 comments

“Well firstly you need to go get your DA and then you can focus on getting your BA”. Have you ever heard your planner or building certifier using this terminology and wondered “huh?” Well you are most likely not alone. All industries have little sayings and acronyms which can be extremely confusing if you are not ‘up with the lingo’.

Stair Nosing – 6 Critical issues

04 Feb 2015Building Code of Australia0 comments

We want you to install stair nosing once and only once. We often have to tell builders to remove stair nosing and refit them to comply with code requirements.

Here are the 6 critical issues about stair nosing;

Must be non-slip
Must contain a luminance contrast strip not less than 50 mm or more than 75 mm.
The luminance contrast strip must have a luminance contrast of not less than 30%.
No part of the stair nosing strip is to project pass the face of the riser.
The luminance contrast strip cannot project down the riser more than 10 mm.
The luminance contrast strip cannot be more than 15 mm from the front of the riser.