REIWA Granted Provisional Approval for Contractual Arrangements
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced that that the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia's (REIWA) arrangements with its members and WA consumers have been granted conditional approval. The agreements, including REIWA's articles of association, code of conduct and standard for contracts, were reauthorised by the ACCC following a recent updates, clarifications and technical amendments by REIWA. Approval has been granted for a period of five years.
ACCC's media release
(Source: ACCC)
HSBC Amends Potentially Misleading Advertising
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)has announced that HSBC Bank Australia (HSBC) has amended the advertisements used as part of its "Let's Bankercise" campaign, following concerns raised by ASIC that they were potentially misleading. According to ASIC, HSBC advertised that it was offering a discount of "[u]p to 0.95% p.a. off an HSBC Home Smart Loan" for loans starting from $250,000 when in fact the loan discount was calculated on a sliding scale with only loans in excess of $1.5 million qualifying for the full 0.95% discount. ASIC commissioner Peter Kell stated that "[a]dvertisements should give balanced information to ensure the overall effect creates realistic expectations about a financial product or service" and urged lenders to consult the Regulatory Guide 234: Advertising financial products and advice services: Good practice guidance when advertising their loan products.
ASIC's media release
(Source: ASIC)
Building Activity Down in December 2012 Quarter
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released Building Activity, Australia, Dec 2011 (the Release), which shows that the value of total building work done fell by 4.9% in seasonally adjusted terms (SAT), in the December 2011 quarter compared with the September 2011 quarter. The value of new residential, alterations and additions to existing residential and non-residential building work done were all down by 1.7%, 2.1% and 9.1% respectively, in SAT over the same period.
The Release also shows that the value of total building work commenced fell by 16.6% in SAT in the December 2011 quarter, compared with the previous quarter, with non-residential building commencements recording the most significant contraction, 32.8% in SAT, over the same period. New residential and alterations and additions to existing residential building commencements also fell by 5% and 6.5% respectively in SAT in the December 2011 quarter, compared with the previous quarter.
(Source: ABS)
EPBC Act Referral
The following referral has been made to the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (DSEWPaC) under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 No. 91 (Cth):
(Source: DSEWPaC; Lawlex Legislative Alert & Premium Research)
New Assent - Building and Construction Industry Improvement Amendment (Transition to Fair Work) Act
The Building and Construction Industry Improvement Amendment (Transition to Fair Work) Act 2012 No. 42 (Cth) received assent on 15 April 2012 and amends the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005 No. 113 (Cth). Please note that this Act was amended at Bill stage on its passage through Parliament. This summary now reflects the Act as assented and incorporates those changes.
According to the explanatory memorandum, the objective of the Act is to set out compliance arrangements for the building and construction industry.
Specifically, the Act:
- abolishes the Office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner and creates a new agency, the Office of the Fair Work Building Industry Inspectorate (the Building Inspectorate) to regulate the building and construction industry;
- removes existing building industry specific laws that provide higher penalties for building industry participants for breaches of industrial law and broader circumstances under which industrial action attracts penalties;
- allows the Director of the Building Inspectorate (the Director) to obtain an examination notice authorising the use of powers to compulsorily obtain information, including through requiring a person to attend an examination and answer questions, or documents from a person whom the Director believes has information or documents relevant to an investigation;
- introduces various safeguards in relation to the use of the power to compulsorily obtain information or documents, including to allow persons summoned to interview to be represented by a lawyer of their choice and recognise their rights to refuse to disclose information on the grounds of legal professional privilege and public interest immunity;
- creates the office of the Independent Assessor, who, on application from stakeholders, may make a determination that the examination notice powers will not apply to a particular project;
- provides that where the Director or an Inspector of the Building Inspectorate (an Inspector) intervenes in, or are joint applicants in civil court proceedings that arose under a designated building law, which involved a building industry participant in relation to a particular matter, and the matter is subsequently settled and discontinued by the parties, the Director or Inspector is prohibited from continuing to further participate in the proceedings in relation to the settled matter;
- prohibits the Director or an Inspector from instituting proceedings in relation to a settled matter, where neither the Director nor an Inspector was a party to the proceeding or had intervened in the proceeding; and
- makes various minor and related amendments.
The Act does not affect the provisions that establish the Office of the Federal Safety Commissioner and its related Occupational Health and Safety Accreditation Scheme.
Commencement details are contained in s. 2 of the Act. For further information, please refer to the commencement information (subscribers only) on the Lawlex Legislative Alert & Premium Research service.
(Source: Lawlex Legislative Alert & Premium Research)
Friday 20th April 2012
EPBC Act Referrals
The following referrals have been made to the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (DSEWPaC) under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 No. 91 (Cth)
(Source: DSEWPaC; Lawlex Legislative Alert & Premium Research)
Upgrade of SAI Global Property Service for Darebin City Council
SAI Global Property is pleased to announce an upgraded service for our provision of City of Darebin certificates. Working closely with our partners at Darebin City Council, we have successfully implemented an electronic solution for the request and provision of council certificates. This will result in faster response times and a reduction in turnaround times. Additionally, all certificates will now be provided to our customers in a high quality PDF format.
We would like to thank Darebin City Council for their ongoing support as we continue to enhance the provision of local council certificates across Australia. For more information please call SAI Global Property on 1300 730 000.
(Source: SAI Global Property)
Housing Finance Down in February 2012
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released Housing Finance, Australia, Feb 2012, which shows that the total value of dwelling finance commitments excluding alterations and additions fell by 1.3% in seasonally adjusted terms (SAT) in February 2012, compared with January 2012. The number of commitments for owner occupied housing finance was also down by 2.5%, in SAT over the same period. The number of commitments for investment housing - fixed loans and construction of dwellings - however, rose by 4.4% and 3.1% respectively in SAT in February 2012, compared with January 2012. The number of commitments for the purchase of new dwellings recorded the largest contraction, falling by 10.4% in SAT over the same period.
The ABS has also released Lending Finance, Australia, Feb 2012, which shows that the total value of owner occupied housing commitments excluding alterations fell by 4% in SAT in February 2012 compared with January 2012. This release also provides data on aggregated data for personal, commercial and lease finance lending.
(Source: ABS)
Successful Tenderer for Sham Contracting Research Announced
The Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) has announced TNS Social Research as the successful tenderer for the $217,800 sham contracting research grant. The ABC Commissioner Leigh Johns stated that the research will "provide us with actionable insights into how many contracting relationships are genuine, and how many are misclassifications" as well as identifying the "motivation and intentions of both parties when defining an employment relationship". The research report is scheduled for submission in August 2012.
ABCC's media release
(Source: ABCC)
