[Received by email 30/04/04]

Not sure if this is the correct forum or not to voice my opinion about some issues concerning the building industry, however I think it fits under the general categories below taken from your website.
 
It relates to the quality of installation work of Passive Firestop Products in the construction industry. eg. firepillows (for electrical cable tray penetrations), firecollars (for plastic pipe penetrations), fire sealants (for metal pipes, construction joints), firecoatings (for cables, ductwork) etc, etc.
 
Even though the BCA, deals with passive fire protection of buildings, it is known that the quality of installation work (if done at all) in some buildings is poor. This has been documented in recent media articles. The BCA is designed to represents the publics minimum level of safety & expectation. In many cases, it has not been met, yet people are working & living in these buildings.
 
I believe that there needs to be more accountability. People who install Passive Firestop Products should be required to be trained/licensed/accredited to install such products. It should be recognised as a "sub-trade" in its own rights. In fact, there exists specialist contractors who specialise in the installation of Passive Firestop Products only.
 
The Building Services Authority in Qld has in fact recognised the importance of Passive Fire Protection & has created a new licence class for Passive Fire Protection. This licensing requires training from the manufacturer on the applications/limitations/installation of the product. What we require is a National Level of Competency in which Registered Training Organisations can create training programs & train individuals/companies who wish to install Passive Fire Protection products, in order to raise the quality of installation work & inturn the safety of the public.
 
What we require is some sort of industry association that requires manufacturers of firestop products to register their products & fire test results and who possibly can also examine the quality of installation work from the contractors.
 
In today's changing/uncertain environment, I don't want a major fire event to occur in order to force government to do something about this situation.
 
Taken from PC website:
1.      Investigate progress in building regulatory reform in the building and construction sector since 1994 and the need and scope for further regulatory reform post-2005, including: 
a.       whether the Inter Government Agreement on building regulation reform of 1994, as revised, is achieving its objectives; 
b.       whether the Inter Government Agreement is producing gains for the industry and maximising net benefits for the Australian economy; 
c.       whether the Inter Government Agreement is providing efficiency and cost effectiveness in meeting community expectations for health, safety and amenity in the design, construction and use of buildings through nationally consistent building codes, standards and regulatory systems; 
d.       the need for on-going national co-ordination of the Building Code and related reforms; and 
e.       the effectiveness of the Australian Government's current role in building regulatory reform. 
 
Regards
 
John Sasso
Product Manager
Construction Chemicals & Firestop Systems
 
Hilti (Aust.) Pty Ltd