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| 6 Jun 2013 Home-based Businesses
About 1 in every 4 home businesses employs at least 1 person. Most new homes are not designed for the home business, although increasingly provision is being made for a home – office in many new home designs. Your new house design will be an important part of keeping your sanity and a smoothly running […]
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| 6 Jun 2013 Hot Weather
Contractors should consider the benefits of developing a policy or procedure which is appropriate for their particular circumstances in anticipation of work being undertaken during hot weather. Such policies or procedures may be incorporated into negotiations for an EBA or workplace arrangement. Consultation with any Health and Safety Committee, where applicable, should also be considered. […]
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| 6 Jun 2013 Lighting – LED and incandescent bulbs
As announced by the Australian Government in 2007, the incandescent light bulbs will be banned and start being taken off the shelves by the end of 2009. Better quality halogen lights will continue to be available but the least efficient group of this lighting will be phased out as well. The move of replacing incandescent […]
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| 6 Jun 2013 Land Title Release and Contracts
Sometimes people sign a building contract and pay a deposit on a home when land title is not yet available. Delays in the processing of land title can be lengthy and with building costs increasing rapidly, so there can be contract complications and inconvenience to both parties. Under normal conditions and under most building contracts […]
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| 6 Jun 2013 Managing Your Business
Managing Your Building Business in Changing Economic Conditions The primary causes for established businesses failing or suffering financial distress are: Lack of adequate funding Lack of an early warning reporting system on unacceptable performance Failure to recruit quality personnel Lack of contingency planning for critical situations Failure to use professional advice The following is a […]
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| 6 Jun 2013 Minimum Conditions & The National Employment Standards
NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS Click here to download Fact Sheet This Fact Sheet contains information about annual leave and redundancy provisions of the Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020, which vary the minimum standards in the National Employment Standards. The redundancy pay provisions and the method of calculating annual leave in the modern award are […]
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| 6 Jun 2013 Off the Plan
An off the plan property transaction involves signing a contract with a developer to buy either vacant land, or land to be developed with a building on it, before land sub-division or titles are issued. Usually an initial deposit is paid at the time of contract signing, with the balance payable at settlement, after title […]
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| 6 Jun 2013 Preliminary Agreements
A Preliminary Agreement (PA), or Preparation of Plans Agreement, is a common document used by builders dealing with clients in the early stages of building a new home. These agreements do not involve building work and are preparatory to entering a building contract. Some common features are: the consumer is committed to paying a “deposit”, […]
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| 6 Jun 2013 Practical Completion
Practical completion is a term that is misunderstood by many home buyers. Generally it means the point where all building work is complete or all but completed, in accordance with the contract, and the house is reasonably fit for occupation. A building contract usually defines practical completion being when all works are completed, except for […]
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| 6 Jun 2013 Building Documentation
When applying for a building permit, the documents required need to be to a “ready for construction” standard. The minimum requirements for a building project when it comes to documenting can be summarised as: Drawings or Plans – These describe visually, what will be built, where the building is situated, the size of rooms and […]