Registration and Licensing of Building Trades Victoria

Overview

Building trades play an important role in the building industry. Recent amendments were made to the Building Act 1993 to provide for the registration and licensing of practitioners who carry out these trades. Certain building work will require registration or a licence to perform. To have effect, the new framework will require regulations to be made. The Victorian Government is currently developing these regulations, which will specify what building work can only be carried out by a registered trade contractor or subconstractor, or licensed employee (prescribed work), who will need to be registered and licensed, and the requirements for registration and licensing.

CLICK HERE to have your say!!

  The objectives of the regulations are to deliver:

• greater individual accountability for non-compliant building work through the application of appropriate disciplinary processes to building trades;
• confidence that people who carry out or perform prescribed work have adequate qualifications, skills and experience to do so;
• incentives for improved skills formation in the building industry (including completion of apprenticeships);
• consistency between the approach taken to trade contractors and building trade employees;
• a reduction in the incidence of non-compliant building work; and
• a staged approach to transition to registration and licensing.

Staged Approach Not all building trades will be required to be registered or licensed under the new framework at once. Certain types of building work will be identified as priority areas which will need to be registered or licensed first. Other areas of building work will be considered for prescription in later transition stages.

CLICK HERE to have your say!!

As a Tradie you have to take advantage of business opportunities when and where they arise to keep your business profitable. When the construction industry is going strong, there are plenty of jobs going around as big companies often need contractors to get through their projects on schedule.   A construction site can be a hive of activities with more than one company working on site. You might have contractors coming in for a short time or over a few days, and moving from project to project. All this will need to be managed and scheduled well to make it work.  If you’re new to working in the construction industry, you’ll want to make sure that you get started on the right foot, as there are many pitfalls that can get your business undone rather quickly. And when that happens, it will not just affect your business, but also the life of your employees or contractors.  To help you avoid some of these pitfalls of working in the construction industry, here are our tips.  Keeping on top of payments  With many construction projects Tradies often hire as sub-contractors to form a big enough team to get the job done. Whether you’ve got staff on your payroll or have a team of contractors, you’ll need to be able to have enough cash flow to pay them when they’ve done their job for you.   The key is to keep a really tight rein on your financial administration. This will allow you to cover the payment time lag you may experience from project to project. The old way of doing your admin is long gone and has been replaced with powerful new accounting software which is accessible on the go via your mobile devices. You can issue invoices and take payments on the spot, when you’ve got the right systems set up.  Get expert help with your financial systems and company set up  If you’re not sure how to get started using “cloud-based” software such as XERO, find a team of experts to set it up right to start with.  This will put you in good stead to weather any storms that can hit the construction industry due to its unpredictable nature.   Make sure you hire a bookkeeper and accountant who work with the latest online software, so that you can have peace of mind knowing you’ve got a true handle on your cash flow, what’s coming in and what’s going out. The biggest advantage of using this type of online software is that everything is happening in real time. If you enter a payment for wages or payment to the supplier, it will immediately show on your bottom line.  A really important aspect to working in the construction industry is to have the right company structure and insurance set up. You can also protect your company assets by incorporating your business, and your accountant can give you the best advice on what is the suitable for you and your operations.  Page Break  Get in first and stand out from the crowd  When people are looking for a Tradie, they often ask their mates or other people they know for a recommendation.  The same applies to companies who are looking for sub-contractors for a large building project. If the Site Manager has had a particularly positive experience with your company, he will more than likely want to work with you again and refer you on.   Building a good rapport and reputation with the companies you work with is a great way to encourage word-of-mouth referrals. Use mobile job management and quotation systems to get in first with your quotation… and it doesn’t hurt to keep a clean shirt in your Ute to make a lasting first impression. They might have other people attending as well, and being well presented just adds to a professional image.  Keep updated  Last but not least, make sure you don’t neglect your knowledge of safety laws and other building regulations. Keep your certifications up to date by going on training courses. This is important whether you’re a builder, electrician, plumber, carpenter or other worker. Your insurance may also depend on up-to-date certification – and you’ll probably get more work, too.

What would it take to get your life decluttered and organized?  That might be a tall order for many of us, but the truth is, we could do it in bursts and spurts, using a handful of easy-to-follow rules.  The other day I wrote about the idea of setting rules instead of goals … today I want to share a few ideas for rules to help you get decluttered and organized.  I know in my life, going from being overwhelmed with clutter to minimalism was a slow but rewarding journey, and now I feel happy every time I look around and see the lovely space around me.  If you’re feeling overwhelmed, I’m here to testify that it’s not impossible, and it just takes some small steps that add up over time.  Here are the rules I suggest — though I don’t suggest adopting them all, and especially not all at once. Try a few out, see how they work for you, then try a few others. 

1. Get yourself organized at the start and end of a day. As you start your work day, write down your 3 Most Important Tasks (MITs). Write down a handful of other things you’d like to do today as well. Clear your desk, get things in order. At the end of each day, tidy things up, check off your list, maybe even get things ready for tomorrow. 

1. When you get up from your desk, put one thing away. Whenever you get up for a glass of water, to go to the bathroom, to take a break … pick up something off your desk and put it away. If your desk is clear, look for something nearby. 

1. When you’re done eating, wash your bowl. This is self-explanatory. Mindfully wash your dishes instead of leaving them in the sink. If there are other dishes in the sink, wash a few of them too. 

1. Wipe down the sink when you use it. Whenever you wash your hands or brush your teeth in the bathroom, wipe down the sink so it’s clean. Do the same in the kitchen sink. Clear away a few things around the sink too if you can. 

1. When you walk through a room, find one thing to put away. If you’re going from your bedroom to the living room, find one thing during that trip to put away. You don’t have to get stuck in putting everything away, just one thing. 

1. When you take off a piece of clothing, put it away. When you shower or change clothes, instead of leaving them on the floor or on a piece of furniture, put the clothes away or in a hamper. Look for a few other clothes to put away too if there are more lying around. 

1. Keep flat surfaces clear. Your tables, counters, desks, floors … keep them clear. If there’s a ton of clutter there now, see the rule below about decluttering on Saturdays. But if it’s doable, just start clearing whatever is on the floor (except furniture and the like). When you walk by the kitchen counter, look for things other than oft-used appliances to put away. 

1. At the end of the work day, file stuff. If you still use papers, file them at the end of the day. If you are all digital, clear your computer desktop and put files where they belong. 

1. Deal with an email instead of putting it off. When you open an email, give it the space to deal with it immediately. Read it, reply, take action, or archive it. Or put it on your to-do list for later if it’s a big task. Don’t just constantly open emails without handling them. 

1. Work to only having 3 emails in your inbox. Slowly clear away the hundreds or thousands of emails in your inbox. Archive or delete them, put a handful in a to-do folder, file others into informational folders, unsubscribe from newsletters. 

1. Put non-essential items you want to buy on a 30-day list. Create a 30-day list, and whenever you want to buy something that’s not absolutely essential (other than groceries, cleaning supplies, toiletries), put it on the list with the date you added it. Then don’t allow yourself to buy anything until it’s been on the list for 30 days. At the end of the 30 days, see if you still want it before buying. 

1. Put your clothes in a different closet or box, and only take out what you need. Move all your clothes to a closet in an unused room if you have one, or put them in a box or two. Only remove the clothes you really need to wear. After a month of doing this, you’ll see what clothes you can consider donating. 

1. Declutter on Saturdays. Every Saturday morning, spend an hour or two (or half a day) decluttering one area. 

1. One in, two out. When you bring something new in your life (buy something online, get a gift), get rid of two other similar things. For example, if you buy a pair of shoes, donate two other pairs. In this way, you’ll 1) think more about each thing you buy, and 2) slowly have fewer and fewer possessions. Eventually you’ll want to switch to a “one in, one out” rule when you think your possessions are at a good level. 

1. Limit how many things you have. Consider limiting yourself to 30 pieces of clothing, or 30 books, or something like that. Get rid of everything else, don’t allow yourself to go beyond the limit. The individual limit you set is up to you, whatever feels slightly uncomfortable is good. 

1. At the end of each month, clear out computer clutter. Self-explanatory. Back things up! 

1. Every three months, purge. Also self-explanatory. Spend a weekend purging all your unneeded belongings. 

Of course, these are just suggested rules … you should modify them to suit your life.    How to Implement the Rules  Now, those are a lot of rules, but I don’t think you should implement them all at once. In fact, I suggest trying one per week. Really focus all week on making that rule happen. If it goes well, keep it. If not, toss it out. The next week, try another.  Set a reminder on a certain day each week (let’s say Monday) to review how your rule went, and to pick a new rule to try out. Have a physical, paper note somewhere visible so you’ll remember to do the rule throughout the week.  One at a time, you’ll find the rules that work for you. And one step at a time, your life will slowly become less cluttered, more organized. And you’ll be set up to make great things happen in the rest of your life.    BY LEO BABAUTA