Building today’s new homes has become a complex business.

New building materials, new building techniques, constant changes to building codes and standards, all mean today’s home builder needs to know more and manage more moving parts than ever before. Staying informed is hard, staying ahead of the game is even harder.

Over the last five years a focus on building quality has emerged that has generated changes in building codes and standards. It is expected this pressure will continue over the next five years and that HIA will need to respond to ad hoc reforms as each state and territory seeks to solve similar problems in different ways.

Along with this, changing community expectation is also driving changes in the outcomes a new home will be expected to deliver. These changes may not necessarily be aligned with the needs of the new home buyer.

HIA will focus on creating and maintaining a building approvals regime that is nationally consistent and fit for purpose; a building system that recognises the pressure on industry practitioners to gain and maintain the skills necessary to build quality and compliant homes; and building standards that meet the expectations of home buyers.

GOALS

Support a building system that supports innovation by:

• Maintaining a performance based building code supported by ‘deemed to comply’ requirements
• Maintaining a single national code that contains all onsite construction requirements
• Maintaining access to private building certification for all residential buildings

Create a fair balance of responsibility by:

• Gaining recognition of the role individual players in the building supply chain have on building quality and compliance
• Improving recognition of the role trade contractors play in the delivery of a quality outcome

Support a well-informed industry by:

• Supporting a culture of ongoing learning on building regulations, codes and standards
• Ensuring an orderly implementation of changes to the national construction code
• Recognising the importance of documentation and effective collaboration in the design and delivery of residential building projects

Support the industry to deliver homes that meet the needs of home buyers by:

• Maintaining a building code that suits our climate and avoids a one size fits all approach to energy savings
• Informing the industry about opportunities to improve building resilience and the benefits these may deliver to consumers
• Aligning accessible housing design with housing affordability and user choice
• Speaking for the industry and clearly articulating their position on universal design to all governments
• Ensuring HIA members are well informed on universal design and well placed to implement inclusions for their customers