Some 300 people in the 38-storey Opal Tower were evacuated on Christmas Eve after the cracking reports (AFP Photo/SAEED KHAN) |
Sydney (AFP) - Australia's most populous state said Sunday it would embark on the "biggest overhaul of building laws" in its history, months after residents were evacuated from a recently completed Sydney high-rise apartment that made "cracking noises".
There have
been question marks hanging over New South Wales' building and construction
industry after some 300 people in the 38-storey Opal Tower in the Sydney
Olympic Park were evacuated on Christmas Eve after the cracking reports.
Some
residents have yet to return to their homes, while an initial investigation
found there were a number of "design and construction issues" that
could have led to the damage.
The
building moved "one to two millimetres" during the incident and
authorities had said they found a crack on the 10th floor.
The new
regulations will require that designers, engineers and architects are
registered, qualified, and held responsible for their work, in contrast to the
earlier building code which only held builders accountable for any lapses.
A building
commissioner will be appointed to audit their work, and changes to property
plans in the construction stage will not be allowed unless further approval is
given.
The new
rules were drawn from recommendations from an independent report commissioned
last year before the cracking crisis, but are seen as an effort to restore
confidence in the sector after the public outcry.
"They
(the report's authors) found that there are national problems in the
construction industry," NSW Minister for Better Regulation Matt Kean said
in a statement.
"We're
making tough new laws to ensure buildings meet Australian standards, and to
guarantee that people who build and design buildings have the proper
qualifications to do so."
Master
Builders Association NSW's executive director Brian Seidler told The Sydney
Morning Herald the changes were "very important" and a "very
good set of reforms".
The
392-unit Opal Tower opened last year and is near the site of the 2000 Sydney
Olympics.
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