24 Oct 2013
Words Tim Admin

Don't These People Listen?

It has been some than 3 years now since the Queensland Government created confusion and uncertainty in the management rights and tourism industries in issuing a policy statement regarding the classification of buildings, in particular that part of the statement that suggested that Class 2 buildings could not be used for holiday and short term accommodation. Although not proceeding with the proposed legislative changes, the Government has consistently refused to retract its published view that apartment buildings throughout Queensland which are Class 2 buildings under the Building Code of Australia can not lawfully be used for short term or holiday accommodation. We are talking here about almost every apartment building on the Gold Coast, Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and North and Far North Queensland! As I have reported previously, that view is in conflict with the position that it and Councils throughout Queensland have adopted for 30 or more years; it is in conflict with a decision of South Australian Planning Court; and is in conflict with various decisions of the Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management in Queensland. Some time ago, after much lobbying from other interest groups, the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) sought submissions from the management rights industry and others about the issue. The request for submissions included a background paper which contained many comments from interest groups wanting serviced apartment buildings to have to comply with the much stricter Class 3 classification. Almost all of the comments in that paper referred to the financial advantage serviced apartment operators have over traditional hotel operators whose buildings have to be Class 3 and as such, with stricter fire safety systems and other requirements, are more expensive to build and maintain. None of the comments claimed that there are safety reasons why serviced apartment buildings should have to meet Class 3 standards. Strange, given that the differences between Class 2 and Class 3 requirements are safety related and it would only be for safety reasons that serviced apartment buildings should be made comply with Class 3 standards. Perhaps not so strange given there is no evidence of death or injury due to serviced apartment buildings not being built to Class 3 standards. The reality seems to be that Class 2 safety requirements are, and have proven to be, more than adequate in catering for short term and holiday guests in serviced apartment buildings. The overwhelming popularity of serviced apartments as an alternative to the traditionally small and expensive hotel room demonstrates that a large proportion of tourists and travellers prefer serviced apartment accommodation. It is not surprising that at the recent Australia New Zealand Pacific Hotel Industry Conference two of the top three awards went to management rights operators of serviced apartments. Typically hotels provide many ancillary services such as concierge services, room service, 24 hour reception, valet parking and so on. All of those services come at a huge cost which quite apart from any extra costs associated with Class 3 compliance, necessitate that hotels charge a much higher room rate than that for a serviced apartment. There will always be a proportion of consumers who want and are prepared to pay for those services but it is wrong to change the long held and judicially supported views about Class 2 buildings in order to force all consumers into hotel accommodation and the higher expense that goes with that. Despite the extensive submissions ARAMA and others made, the review which is all but completed is proposing a national approach to the Building Code of Australia by including a Guide to the Code the effect of which is that serviced apartments used for short term or holiday purposes must be Class 3. It seems that that the ABCB has not seen through the flawed arguments raised against the existing regime in Queensland. If the ABCB’s current proposed Guide is implemented it will be up to the Queensland Government, in order to protect the management rights and tourism industries which have already been hit hard by economic conditions, to ignore any national approach and if necessary legislate to maintain the status quo.