New QBCC Act Reforms

On 1 October 2020, further reforms to the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 and other associated Acts came into effect. Importantly, one of the key aspects of the reforms will directly affect those Accountants assisting licensees with Minimum Financial Requirements (MFR) reporting. 

The most recent changes are effectively a continuation of wider reform touted as the Queensland Building Plan (QBP) that was released in 2017.  Interestingly, it has been reported that since 1 January 2019 when the initial phase commenced that re-introduced mandatory annual reporting, there has been a capital injection of $1.2B into the Queensland Building and Construction Industry. 

As part of ongoing efforts to strengthen building laws, below is an outline of some of the pertinent areas that came into effect on 1 October 2020. 

• Accountants 

• QBCC will now be able to exclude Accountants who provide non-compliant information or false or misleading information about a licensee’s MFR.   

• The exclusion period is three (3) years (aligning with the exclusion period that currently applies to excluded individuals) 

• Excluded Accountants will be listed on the QBCC’s website under a new register 

• It will also be an offence to provide false or misleading information to a person, such as an accountant, about a licensee’s compliance with the MFR 

• Excluded Individuals 

• Excluded individuals will no longer be able to apply for a site supervisor license 

• Individuals who become excluded individuals after 1 October 2020 will also be prevented from continuing to hold an existing license 

• Reporting information about interstate and New Zealand licences 

• Licensees are required to inform the QBCC about licenses held outside of Queensland. 

• Within 14 days, licensees are required to notify QBCC of any events associated with licenses held in other jurisdictions, including the granting of new licences, license cancellation or suspensions. 

These changes are aimed at improving transparency and allowing the QBCC to share information with other licensing authorities in Australia and New Zealand. 

•  Removal of license exemption 

• Prior to 1 October 2020, unlicensed contractors were able to enter contracts to carry out certain building works, provided appropriately licensed contractors were used to do the work. Under the recent changes, this exemption has been removed, effective 1 October 2020.  

• Offences will also apply for any relevant breaches 

These changes will certainty have an impact on Civil Contractors. It is also understood the role of property developers is subject to a separate review, with findings expected to be reported by 1 July 2021. 

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