Tomorrow morning, the Property Council will appear before the Standing Committee on Planning, Transport, and City Services to make it clear this legislation needs an urgent rethink.
Property Council ACT and Capital Region Executive Director Shane Martin said if legislation is not changed, we risk diverting important investment away from Canberra.
“We want to make it very clear that what is currently being proposed in this legislation will create an unwelcoming environment for much-needed housing investment,” Mr Martin said.
“We support efforts to lift building standards and we are not opposed to developer licensing as a concept; we are opposed to the first-ever personal liability element.
“It goes further than just applying personal liability for rectification orders to directors; it also has a 10-year retrospectivity element. This is an extreme measure for development directors, particularly when not everyone in the development cycle is brought into accountability.
“The government is asserting personal liability will not have significant flow-on impacts. If the government honestly believes this is the case, we ask them to conduct an independent economic analysis to justify this risk to investment.
“It is ludicrous to road-test legislation – the first of its kind in the country, and likely the last – without having the evidence to support it,” he said.
Property Council Chief Executive Mike Zorbas said the proposed legislation will have serious unintended consequences for the region.
“In pursuing this experimental personal liability for company directors, the ACT is positioning itself as the only jurisdiction in Australia with such ill-targeted and investment-chilling regulation,” Mr Zorbas said.
“The deep reservations held by the Property Council of Australia’s Board of Directors as expressed to the government have not been allayed.
“The government runs the risk of single-handedly gifting community assets, jobs and investment to neighbouring jurisdictions where more balanced regulatory settings are in place.”
