Maddocks Report to Federal Government - Relevance for Building

On Friday, 20 January 2012, the federal government released a report prepared by Maddocks for the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency.

The report – "The Role of Regulation in Facilitating or Constraining Adaptation to Climate Change for Australian Infrastructure" – examines the regulatory frameworks affecting some of Australia's most important infrastructure and associated services to determine the extent to which these frameworks facilitate effective adaptation.

The report identifies the different types of regulatory tools available to decision-makers and regulators in managing advantages and disadvantages of these tools and identifies the appropriate circumstances for their use.

The report also sets out principles that should be adopted in designing and implementing regulation for climate change adaptation and makes recommendations for the appropriate roles for different levels of government.

The report includes an examination of Australia's building regime to determine whether it is capable of addressing the spectrum and scale of climate change risks that are likely to materialise in the future for our buildings. 

The report notes features associated with the building regime that could facilitate adaptation to climate change, including the performance-based approach, which characterises the Building Code of Australia, provides considerable flexibility to respond to the effects of climate change.

However, the report also notes aspects of the building regime that could hinder adaptation to climate change, including the regulatory framework predominantly applies to new buildings, yet there are many existing buildings that face significant climate change risks.

The report has been described by the federal government as "a useful resource for planners and regulators, as well as local and state government decision makers".  The government has also indicated that the report will supplement work being undertaken by the Productivity Commission in its current inquiry into regulatory and policy barriers to climate change adaptation.

Click here to access the report.

If you have any questions regarding the report, please contact:

Bronwyn Weir | Partner
Direct 61 3 9288 0604
bronwyn.weir@maddocks.com.au

Dariel De Sousa | Consultant
Direct 61 3 9288 0552
dariel.desousa@maddocks.com.au

John Thwaites | Consultant
Direct 61 3 8615 0380
john.thwaites@maddocks.com.au