Inspectors from the Victorian Building Authority (VBA), Energy Safe Victoria, WorkSafe and Environment Protection Authority (EPA) are joining forces to ensure practitioners are abiding by laws and regulations that protect the community.
The joint inspections will take place from 2 to 6 September at randomly chosen sites with the goal of educating practitioners on the job.
The VBA will focus on ensuring buildings are compliant with fire ratings and have been built to the required bushfire attack levels (BAL) standard as well as meeting waterproofing standards. There will also be a focus on gas fitting compliance for plumbing work.
Gas, electricity and renewable energy inspectors from Energy Safe will be ensuring workers observe No Go Zones when working near overhead powerlines and underground energy assets.
These rules include the minimum distances to be kept from assets, including pipelines and powerlines, to protect workers and the people around them from being injured or electrocuted.
EPA will focus on increasing awareness of the General Environmental Duty (GED) and typical building site issues like dust, mud, litter and residues from building equipment clean-up that can affect the land and the air or wash into nearby waterways.
WorkSafe Victoria inspectors will be on the lookout for any health and safety breaches – with a focus on preventing falls from height, a significant cause of serious injuries and fatalities in the state’s construction industry.
Since the start of 2023, WorkSafe has accepted more than 650 claims from Victorian construction workers injured in a fall from height, including several in the Campaspe area.
The regulators will also visit the Bendigo Tafe’s Echuca campus to speak to apprentices and explain the importance of having a solid grounding in compliance before starting out in their careers.
Building permits in the Shire of Campaspe were up by 7 per cent last financial year compared with 2022/23.
The Build Aware campaign, which has also visited Bairnsdale and Shepparton this year, has been running since 2018 to improve the safety and compliance of building projects across regional Victoria.
Quotes attributable to State Building Surveyor Steven Baxas
“As regulators, we play an important role in strengthening the industry’s technical expertise and education which results in safer buildings and better consumer outcomes.”
Non-compliant building work can have potentially devastating impacts on consumers – that’s why the VBA is taking a consumer first approach and directing our resources to the areas that cause the greatest harm.
Quotes attributable to Energy Safe Victoria CEO Leanne Hughson
“We want people working in the energy sector to go home safely at the end of each day and that’s one of the reasons we check to ensure rules and safety standards are being followed.”
“We need to protect the community from substandard electrical work which can cause fires, gas leaks and other potentially dangerous situations.”
Quotes attributable to WorkSafe Director of Construction and Earth Resources Ben Sullivan
“We know how to prevent falls – yet sadly, falls from height remain a leading cause of death and serious injury on Victorian construction sites.”
“There’s no excuse for duty holders not doing everything they can to prevent injuries on their sites and WorkSafe inspectors will be out and about in the Echuca region making sure they are.”
Quotes attributable to EPA Regional Manager Northwest Region – Paul Ratajczyk
“EPA will be focussing on educating tradies, builders and developers on the General Environmental Duty (GED) that gives everyone a legal responsibility to take reasonable steps to eliminate risk to human health and the environment from pollution and waste.”
“In practical terms, that means things like dust, mud, concrete residue, paint and plaster scraps – anything that can leave the building site and affect people, the air, the land or the water.”
