Red Tape Reduction Group Gains Momentum

HIA Western Australia has made a submission to the State Government’s Red Tape Reduction Group (RTRG), established by the Government with a view to reducing the complexity and impost on industry, and hence consumers, by the proliferation of regulatory red tape.

The RTRG will identify those red tape issues which are burdensome, complex or redundant, those that should be removed and also recommend practical measures to alleviate compliance costs on government, industry and the community.

HIA has a keen interest in supporting Government efforts to remove the burden of red tape in the Western Australian housing sector, particularly as experienced in the Local Government sector. The continuing growth of this red tape burden has had a severe impact on housing affordability over recent years, contributing in large part to the decline of the housing affordability equation in Western Australia.

In particular, first home owners have struggled to keep pace with the increasing cost of housing. HIA’s submission has been based on a wide ranging consultation process and feedback from builder members of HIA.

The HIA submission, which has been developed on behalf of HIA members, and therefore their clients, has identified specific areas of red tape at the very forefront of residential activity that needs urgent attention ie the Local Government Approvals process.

The large number of Local Government Authorities which exist in WA all have different systems and processes, and all need to be complied with. But this divergence of systems and rules also costs a good deal as it places a large administrative burden on builders, which all adds up to higher processing costs, and hence home building contract amounts.

The HIA submission concentrates in large part on and makes recommendations on:

·         The complexity and divergence of planning approvals throughout WA;

·         The duplication and hindrances in building approval controls;

·         The inconsistencies in fee structures across Local Government agencies; and

·         Cites recent examples of each these three aspects of red tape.