Tasmania will place a “pause on red tape” by becoming the first state in Australia to defer changes to the National Construction Code (NCC).
The NCC sets minimum standards for the construction of new homes and buildings across the country, with updates typically scheduled every three years.
Housing Minister Felix Ellis said the state will defer the next two NCC updates, scheduled for 2025 and 2028 and filled with “Rolls Royce minimum standards”, by six years due to a “massive amount of regulatory fatigue”.
“We know from our community that delivering more homes faster is an absolute priority and to be able to do it at a price that Tasmanians can afford is vital,” he said.
“For our construction sector, we know that national changes that have continued to roll through the system over recent years have placed significant burden on our tradies and our construction businesses.”
One requirement in the NCC 2025 update is the mandatory rollout of electric vehicle charging points in every new premise in Australia.
“We think that if you have an electric vehicle, good luck to you, you can install charging provisions in your house by choice. But it shouldn’t be a cost that is foisted onto every Tasmanian,” Ellis said.
Master Builders Tasmania CEO David Clerk welcomed the decision, saying it will help reduce the current average 13-month timeframe to build a new home, up from nine and a half months in 2018.
“Our view is very much that we are over-regulated right now and the industry can’t cope with more regulation,” he said.
“We have regulation right now that allows us to build very good quality homes. We don’t need to be building perfect homes. We need to be building more homes.”
