Mark Vender

October 2, 2019

NSW takes first step towards registration

NewsRegulations

The NSW government has released draft regulations to introduce registration for building and development certifiers. The move comes one month after Victoria passed legislation for compulsory registration of engineers, and follows the recommendations of the Building Confidence implementation plan. Engineers Australia has criticised what it perceives as the excessively narrow focus of the regulation. “The […]

September 25, 2019

Change on the way for NCC 2019

Regulations

The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) is undertaking an out-of-cycle amendment for the 2019 edition of the National Construction Code (NCC). It will be known as NCC 2019 Amendment 1 and is now open for public consultation. The amendment will include: Enhanced fire safety measures for early childhood centres in high-rise buildings. A defined term […]

September 25, 2019

Daikin launches R32 chillers

BusinessNews

Daikin has introduced a new generation of air-cooled scroll chillers with R32 refrigerant to the Australian market. The new EWAT-B units offer a path away from R410A in the chiller market. In Australia, where the HFC phase-down is well under way, R32 has already become the de facto replacement for R410A in the split-system market […]

September 25, 2019

The standard of safety

Regulations

As the industry works towards delivering a safer and higher quality built environment, Standards Australia has highlighted AS/NZS ISO 45001: 2018 as an ideal tool for improving occupational health and safety. The standard ISO Occupational health and safety management systems – Requirements with guidance for use was adopted by Standards Australia as AS/NZS ISO 45001:2018 […]

September 24, 2019

Time to talk about embodied emissions

News

A new report from the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) has called for a bold new vision to transform the buildings and construction sector from a major cause of the climate emergency into a major solution. Bringing Embodied Carbon Upfront shows that buildings are responsible for 39 per cent of global carbon emissions. Reducing the […]

September 23, 2019

Survey on Performance Solutions

Regulations

The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) Office has released an online survey regarding the inclusion of mandatory requirements in the National Construction code (NCC) for the development of Performance Solutions. Performance Solutions are one method that can be used to show compliance with the requirements of the NCC. They can be developed for areas such […]

September 20, 2019

NSW IICA Tech Expo

Events and conferences

The NSW Institute of Instrumentation, Control and Automation (IICA) is preparing its final Tech Expo of the year, on October 30 at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse. The IICA is a not-for-profit institute that aims to further the science and practice of measurement, instrumentation and control. The organisation rotates the venues for its events, and this time […]

September 19, 2019

ARBS 2020 set to break records

Events and conferences

ARBS 2020, slated for May 19–21 in Melbourne next year, is already on track to equal the exhibitor attendance for Sydney in 2018. Due to the response from exhibitors, the allocated exhibition floor area has been extended by 1,500m2 to 18,000m2, a new record for Melbourne. Organisers say the unprecedented demand for space has come […]

September 18, 2019

Slashing on-farm energy use

News

The NSW government is urging primary producers to put their best ideas forward to cut costs and reduce on-farm energy use, and is offering up to $2.25 million in grants. “In the midst of the worst drought on record, it’s more important than ever that farmers are efficient, and get the best bang for their […]

September 12, 2019

Using facades to generate solar energy

Events and conferences

The International Solar Energy Society (ISES) is hosting a free webinar on how to use facades to generate solar energy. The webinar is part of the International Energy Agency Solar Heating and Cooling (IEA SHC) program Solar Academy 2019 series. It will look at the work of Task 56: Building-integrated solar envelope systems (BISES) for […]