Licensing builders and building trades

Tabled Report 16: 2019–20

Tabled date

2020-06-23

Report year

2019-20

Economic development Infrastructure

Entities audited

• Queensland Building and Construction Commission

Recommendations

1. QAO's text Addressed to: the Queensland Building and Construction Commission

   allocates enough resources to finalise and implement the steps needed to become an insights-driven regulator to enable it to prioritise regulatory effort where and when it is needed, including:

   • identifying areas of greatest risk and potential harm
   • focusing on high-value, high-complexity tasks (Chapter 5)

2. QAO's text Addressed to: the Queensland Building and Construction Commission

   reduces the risk of unauthorised system changes or fraud, by:

   • implementing a systematic process to remove and review the BUILD licence system access for staff who return to their substantive position once temporary roles are over (Chapter 4)
   • regularly reviewing audit log reports to ensure no unauthorised changes are made to BUILD data (Chapter 4)

3. QAO's text Addressed to: the Queensland Building and Construction Commission

   implements recommendation 4 of the 2019 Special Joint Taskforce report that requires licence applicants to provide certified proof of identity photo identification (Chapter 4)

4. QAO's text Addressed to: the Queensland Building and Construction Commission

   allocates and commits enough resources, with the required capability and skill, to implement its internal project to address the issue of disparate information technology systems (Chapter 4)

5. QAO's text Addressed to: the Queensland Building and Construction Commission

   ensures the QBCC Quality Assurance Framework and program of quality assurance reviews are implemented across all business units covered by the framework (Chapter 4)

6. QAO's text Addressed to: the Queensland Building and Construction Commission

   reviews and updates licence assessment training and support for staff, by:

   • reviewing procedural manuals and supporting tools to ensure they are up to date
   • formalising the training program, including setting learning objectives, to ensure all staff receive consistent and relevant training (Chapter 4)

7. QAO's text Addressed to: the Queensland Building and Construction Commission

   finalises and implements the 2019–20 Customer and Communications Operational Plan and the supporting education and communication calendar.

   This should include allocating enough resources to deliver the program of activities (Chapter 6)

8. QAO's text Addressed to: the Queensland Building and Construction Commission

   considers ways to assess and report on the quality and effectiveness of support, education, and advice provided to licensees and consumers to inform continual improvement (Chapter 6)

9. QAO's text Addressed to: the Queensland Building and Construction Commission

   establishes clear milestones and firm time frames for implementing current and future planning activities, including:

   • determining regulatory strategies, outcomes, and goals
   • undertaking and finalising corporate, special purpose, and operational planning, including budgeting, and resource planning and utilisation (Chapter 7)

10. QAO's text Addressed to: the Queensland Building and Construction Commission

    develops and implements further elements of its performance management framework to improve accountability and adequately measure and report on its efficiency and effectiveness, including:

    • using the activity-based costings developed to implement an internal costing framework, so that consistent, reliable, and timely cost information is available on its resources and service activities
    • identifying clear service outcomes and measures to track the status and effectiveness of those goals, and management-level efficiency indicators to monitor and report on its operations and services
    • having clear accountabilities for all senior officers (Chapter 7)

11. QAO's text Addressed to: the Queensland Building and Construction Commission

    develops the evaluation skills, capability, and processes needed for the formal assessment of the appropriateness, relevancy, process, effectiveness and/or efficiency of a program, service, initiative, or strategy (Chapter 7).

Authoritative report — Queensland Audit Office

Report PDF on QAO