A ‘potentially corrupt’ process at the QBCC could see hundreds of businesses go to the wall

Hundreds of businesses across Queensland could go bust because of rushed changes introduced by the state’s building industry watchdog.

Embattled Public Works Minister Mick de Brenni faces another self-inflicted wound in his oversight of Queensland’s building industry watchdog.

More than 400 businesses across the state involved in the fire protection industry are expected to close, lay off staff or take other drastic steps to cope because of new legislation set to take effect next week.

In a process denounced by the Opposition as “not just wrong but potentially corrupt’’ these licensees who inspect and test fire hydrants and hose reels have been required to complete a three-year apprenticeship in just six months. The vast majority simply won’t be able to comply.

That followed a “consultation period’’ of just seven months for what has been described as one of the most substantial shake-ups the industry has ever been through.

Public Works Minister Mick de Brenni

One desperate business owner, who has operated blemish-free for more than 20 years, warned that she and many of her industry colleagues now “face closure, bankruptcy and unemployment and all the attendant flow on outcomes of that’’.

“We believe that community safety will suffer,’’ she said.

The changes were announced by the Queensland Building and Construction Commission earlier this year and supposed to take effect on May 1.

But, with widespread confusion and panic in the industry, the start date was pushed back and they now come into force next Monday.

“The licensing reforms for the fire protection industry were very rushed,’’ one former QBCC executive revealed.

“QBCC was still learning about many of their key aspects on the afternoon immediately before they commenced and was hurriedly updating its website to inform industry. It was chaotic.”

This former senior figure, who is familiar with the changes, said there was no burning need to push through an overhaul since defective work complaints are rare.

He also claimed it was “extraordinary’’ that de Brenni failed to release a “regulatory impact statement’’ as part of the consultation process.

“The outcome is that the reforms benefit the big end of town at the expense of ‘mum and dad’ and smaller service providers, including those servicing regional communities,’’ he said.

Critics allege the changes will especially help large unionised business, as well as the union-controlled Service Trades College in Brisbane.

It’s the only RTO (registered training organisation) in the state offering the “Certificate III in Fire Protection’’ course and vacancies are limited, creating long wait times.

Making matters even more difficult for licensees, there are no alternative bridging courses or recognition of prior learning to enable licensees to keep working in the industry.

Supplied Editorial Fire hydrant 1/2

Opposition housing minister Tim Mander used parliamentary privilege in September “to expose what I believe is not just wrong but potentially corrupt’’ about the fire licensing reforms.

He specifically singled out QBCC board member Andrew Hickman, who is president of the union-aligned National Fire Industry Association that provided key input as part of the process leading to the overhaul.

Hickman is also the chief executive and part-owner of Brisbane fire protection firm FVS Services Group.

In his speech to parliament, Mander alleged that Hickman “initiated, promoted and directed changes to the fire licensing regulation framework that directly benefits his industry association and his private business’”.

Mander ramped up the pressure in parliament this week, calling for a commission of inquiry into the QBCC, which has seen an alarming exodus of senior executives largely because of allegedly improper interference from the board into operational matters.

Hickman did not return a call seeking comment and a de Brenni spokesman declined to respond to a list of questions emailed to his office.

But de Brenni defended the fire licensing changes during a parliamentary estimates hearing in August, noting they had been “designed in consultation with the industry over the course of five years’’.

“A different qualification and skill set with increased technical experience is now needed to work on pumped systems and to carry out the annual inspection and testing of fire hydrant systems,’’ he said.

Yet critics say the consultation process was secretive and key bodies, such as the Fire Protection Association of Australia, were frozen out.

In an effort to find a circuit breaker, Master Builders Queensland wrote to de Brenni this month to suggest that a special license condition could be used as “an additional transitional pathway’’.

Deputy CEO Paul Bidwell said his organisation understood there would be a long transition period to phase in the new changes.

“It needs to be fixed and there’s no reason it shouldn’t be fixed,’’ Bidwell said, noting that no response to the letter has so far been received.

One industry operator agreed and said a similar suggestion had already been put forward.

“We don’t want to stand in the way of making this industry better and the community safer, but we do want a fairer implementation of these changes,’’ he said.

“Our idea was to introduce a ‘grandfather clause’ to apply to all current licensees that would have kept the industry on an even keel, retained our skill sets and kept the community safe moving forward. But this fell on deaf ears.’’