ACCC says it's not responsible for building product regulation

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) commented on safety-based procurement practices in the building product sector in an address to Master Builders Australia last week and took the opportunity to clarify its role in building product regulation.

The ACCC Deputy Chair Dr Michael Schaper said that the ACCC and its state and territory fair trading counterparts are currently engaging with building regulators as public interest in the origin of products and safety of building materials increases.

“The ACCC is responsible for the safety and regulation of consumer goods. A ‘consumer good’ is intended or likely to be used for personal, domestic or household use or consumption,” Dr Schaper said.

“The ACCC is not the agency responsible for building product regulation. Specialist regulators are responsible for building products, as well as food products, drugs and therapeutic goods, motor vehicles and industrial and agricultural chemicals.”

Dr Schaper commented that the Australian Building Codes Board administers the National Construction Code, which includes the Building Code of Australia, while state and territory building authorities adopt and enforce the Building Code through various building acts and regulations.

“The ACCC doesn’t normally intervene in safety issues where there are specialist regulators responsible for those goods, or where the goods are not primarily consumer goods,” he said.

“This is to prevent duplication of the activities of other regulators and minimise compliance costs for businesses. Concerns about non-compliant products in these areas of specialist regulation should be raised with the specialist regulator for action.”

The ACCC encourages builders and their representatives to work closely with their building regulators to complement the ACCC’s consumer product safety initiative to encourage safe product stewardship.

“Our building regulator colleagues’ interest in securing safe outcomes for householders mirrors that held by the ACCC for consumer products,” Dr Schaper said.

“All retailers and wholesalers need to manage the quality assurance and control of goods they procure. This can be achieved through testing and inspection of finished goods, by monitoring the supply chain, and by adopting safe and reliable procurement practices such as dealing with established suppliers they know and trust or developing such relationships with new suppliers.

“The ACCC recognises the respective roles of the consumer law and the building regulators and acknowledges that learning in one sector can assist practise in another.”