Please see below statement from Troy Olds (AIBS President) and Brett Mace (Chief Executive Officer) of the Australian Institute of Building Surveyors
“The Professional Indemnity (PI) insurance crisis we have been warning governments about for almost three years has finally hit.
Over the past two weeks, AIBS has received notifications from building surveying firms all over Australia that are facing closure or have already closed because they cannot secure workable PI insurance policies.
As a result, building and construction projects in some jurisdictions are under threat now. The entire industry nationally – including consumer protection for building owners throughout Australia – is perilously close to collapse.
Despite this, our political leaders continue to make the issue into a partisan political football. Federal Minister Karen Andrews has publicly blamed Ministers in the various jurisdictions for the crisis saying it is their responsibility to administer building regulations in their own States and Territories. At the same time, the Ministers are saying they had hoped for a national solution and they have limited powers to act. As a result, State and Territory governments are developing their own solutions to what should be a uniform national approach.
AIBS expects the political blamestorming to come to a head at next month’s meeting of the Building Ministers’ Forum (BMF).
But we are not waiting for that and have continued to advocate to all levels of government for an urgent solution. From the outset we have wanted a national solution across all jurisdictions, not the piecemeal approach we now have.”
For the full statement from Australian Institute of Building Surveyors open the following link;
Member_Statement-Industry_at_tipping_point.pdf
