RMBF welcomes moves to streamline WHRS

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Government moves to resolve issues with the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service (WHRS) by streamlining the dispute resolution process are being supported by the Registered Master Builders Federation (RMBF). Chief executive Pieter Burghout says a number of industry concerns have been addressed in the Government’s changes. 

“We are particularly supportive of the Government’s efforts to protect builders and consumers,” Mr Burghout says. “An example of this is that the payouts of claims will be registered on the LIM report. “This will provide protection for owners but will also reduce risk for builders who might get called in again to fix issues that should have been fixed by the owner who received the cash payout.” 

As part of the changes, the Department of Building and Housing is improving the assessment process and limiting the time frame on mediation before claims automatically move to adjudication. “This is a commonsense approach to dealing with how the programme needs to be run,” Mr Burghout says. 

“While the WHRS increases the potential liability for industry, builders realise that this is required to address past ‘leaky building’ issues that surfaced in the early 2000s,” he says. “Finally, the WHRS changes are only one of a suite of measures being worked on to lift quality outcomes in the construction sector. 

The RMBF continues to look forward to working with the Government to progress the full range of reforms.”

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