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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-10-29 Daily Xml
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Statutes Amendment (Building and Construction Industry Review - Penalties) Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 15 October 2025.)

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (21:27): I rise to indicate I am the lead speaker for the opposition and indicate the opposition's support for this bill, which, apart from some new offences, which I will mention in a moment, significantly is about amping up the amount of the penalty, or at least the maximum penalties, associated with many existing offences.

Perhaps at the outset, I might just indicate that, perhaps unsurprisingly, there is initial response from the key bodies—HIA, MBASA and so on—that express some concern about what is a substantial increase in penalties and, on the other hand, a perspective from the Law Society in that regard is that it might be observed that, after there has been a very significant period during which there has been no change to the level of maximum penalties associated with these offences, there is a risk that, at a certain point to a cynical operator, they may be regarded as or treated as a cost of doing business, and that is not a tenable set of circumstances to maintain.

So there is a tension, and when there are very significant penalties that are associated with these offences, then they not only get a tension but of course there is a risk that if they are applied unfairly, capriciously and so on, then those peak bodies, leading industry bodies, will be right to speak up in defence of their members going on about their proper licensed business day to day.

The other overall point that I just make the observation on is that this is all about the application of penalties that are against those who are operating without a licence, misrepresenting their licence, engaging unlicensed builders and so on. Being offences, the penalties are paid to the government. There is no provision for compensating owner-customers who might have suffered the result of bad practices by those who find themselves contravening the offence provisions. That is necessarily dealt with in ways parallel and separate to this.

It is important to highlight that where there is an offence occurring, not always but there is a high likelihood that the offence is going to come to light as the result of somebody complaining about work and somebody is affected. These are not victimless circumstances; if they were there would be cause for review of the regime.

The dynamic in which the Attorney-General's Department via the Consumer and Business Services agency is going about its work in making sure that there is compliance and applying these what are now very significant penalties attached to offences is likely to see some now much more material amounts coming to the government in response to these offences. We certainly hope that this has the effect of discouraging such behaviour and the offences will not be committed, but we ought to have a fairly clear eye whenever looking at this area on how the relative equality or inequality of bargaining power and capacity of parties to contracts that have been carried out by licensed builders can be reinforced.

We see here that it is sort of touched on in terms of the capacity for conciliations to be concerned with slightly more value, but I just want it to be not lost in the course of this debate that there are very many circumstances that are brought to the attention of members in the house where offending against these provisions results in very, very significant loss to owners. Where that has occurred, there ought to be as efficient and productive means as possible to get to grips with that and to make those who are wronged good. I just flag that.

I said at the outset that this is largely about increasing penalties and to make them meaningful. I have addressed the tension that is associated with that. Just to identify the new offences, they are the subject of clause 13. Proposed new sections 47A through 47D will amp up the offences associated with licensed builders: first, subcontracting with unlicensed builders; second, using another person's licence number; and, third, holding out as being licensed or registered under the act.

Those will carry the same sorts of significant penalties as I flagged in terms of the amping up of the existing offences. There is both process and jurisdiction amendments to make the Magistrates Court more fully able to deal with offences the subject of the changes as to time for prosecuting them, and there are parallel amendments in the Building Work Contractors Act and the Plumbers, Gas Fitters and Electricians Act respectively.

As I said at the outset, the opposition supports the bill, recognises the tension and therefore the necessary, practical and meaningful level that needs to be struck and the important responsibility in the administration and enforcement of the offences the subject of the acts. I highlight in particular the need for there to be an ever clear eye on the means by which those who have been harmed by the wrongful behaviour of builders can be made good as practically, efficiently and fully as can be. With those words, I commend the bill to the house.

The Hon. A. MICHAELS (Enfield—Minister for Small and Family Business, Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs, Minister for Arts) (21:36): I want to thank the shadow minister for his remarks. I think we are on the same page with this. We acknowledge the tensions. I note that many of those penalties have not been updated for over 20 years, hence the significant increase to make sure this is not seen as a cost of doing business where licensed building trades are doing the wrong thing or, in fact, where unlicensed trades are undertaking work they should not be.

This is obviously part of a fulsome review of the building and construction industry. We went out to consultation earlier this year and late last year. I want to thank all the stakeholders who have been involved in that consultation, particularly Will Frogley from the MBA and Stephen Knight from the HIA. I thank them for their constructive remarks. This is certainly making sure we are improving protections for consumers and making sure that the members of the building industry who are doing the right thing are certainly not at any competitive disadvantage when they are doing the right thing. I also commend the bill to the house.

The SPEAKER: I could not hear any of that because the microphone was not on. I will just check where we are up to.

Bill read a second time.

Third Reading

The Hon. A. MICHAELS (Enfield—Minister for Small and Family Business, Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs, Minister for Arts) (21:39): I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Bill read a third time and passed.