February 2015
INFORMATION AND SELECTION CRITERIA FOR BUILDING AND
DEVELOPMENT DISPUTE RESOLUTION COMMITTEE GENERAL
REFEREE UNDER THE SUSTAINABLE PLANNING ACT 2009 (SPA)
BACKGROUND
Under the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 (SPA), the Minister charged with the
administration of the Act may appoint people as general referees available to serve on
Building and Development Committees (Committees). The Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
of the Queensland Department of Housing and Public Works (DHPW) establishes
Committees from time to time to hear appeals against decisions made under the
Sustainable Planning Act 2009, Building Act 1975, Plumbing and Drainage Act 2002,
Residential Services (Accreditation) Act 2002, South-East Queensland Water (Distribution
and Retail Restructuring) Act 2009 (SEQ Water Act) and matters prescribed under a
regulation.
Committees hear appeals about matters such as siting requirements, inspections of
building work, swimming pool fencing, fire safety, plumbing and drainage, compliance
assessment, limited development approvals, water and sewerage connections and
infrastructure charges notices.
Declarations can be requested for matters relating to properly made applications and
acknowledgement notices, lapses in request for compliance assessments and changes to
development approvals.
Given the appeal matters the Committees hear, qualifications in the following areas are
highly desired: Engineering; Building Construction; Building Surveying and certification;
Architecture; Planning; Plumbing and Drainage; Legal (Environment, Planning and
Infrastructure law); Fire Safety and Pool Safety.
Applicants should consider if they can commit the time required to becoming a referee
because if appointed to a Committee, the SPA requires appeals to proceed in a ‘timely’
manner so the registry try to arrange a hearing as soon as possible and finalise appeal
decisions within five weeks after the hearing. Given appeals are received from across
Queensland, applications will only be considered from appropriately qualified applicants
who reside in Queensland. Regionally based applications are encouraged.
PURPOSE OF BUILDING AND DEVELOMENT COMMITTEES
Committees provide an accessible, affordable and timely service for members of the public
not satisfied with decisions made by Queensland local governments and private certifiers.
Level 16,41 George Street
Brisbane Queensland
G.PO Box 2457, Brisbane
Queensland 4001 Australia
Telephone 1800 804 833
Facsimile +617 3237 1248
Website www.hpw.qld.gov.au
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February 2015
No legal representation is permitted at Committee hearings and decisions are delivered in
plain English.
TERM OF APPOINTMENT
Successful applicants will be appointed as general referees for a term of three years
commencing on 8 December 2015. The frequency of appointment to a Committee to
decide specific appeals will depend on the type, number and location of appeals received.
REMUNERATION
Remuneration will be paid in accordance with the Department of Premier and Cabinet
(DPC) procedures for Part-time Chairs and Members of Government Bodies.
Remuneration is only paid to a general referee when appointed to a Committee
established to consider a specific appeal. Information about remuneration is attached
(Attachment 1).
ACCOUNTABILITY
General referees are accountable to the Minister for the fair, equitable and impartial
conduct of the Committee to which they are appointed.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Hear and determine appeals about matters under the Sustainable Planning Act 2009;
Building Act 1975, Plumbing and Drainage Act 2002; Residential Services
(Accreditation) Act 2002, South-East Queensland Water (Distribution and Retail
Restructuring) Act 2009 (SEQ Water Act), and matters prescribed under a regulation.
2. Conduct each Committee hearing in accordance with the rules of natural justice and
procedural fairness as required under Administrative law.
3. Ensure that each decision is technically correct and consistent with the relevant
legislation and standards.
QUALIFICATIONS OF GENERAL REFEREES
The qualifications or experience for a member of a Committee are prescribed in section 26
of the Sustainable Planning Regulation 2009 (SPR) and under section 571 of the
Sustainable Planning Act 2009. Section 26 of the SPR specifies the qualifications of
general referees and Section 26 (4),(5) and (6) also specify the university qualifications
required to be appointed to a Committee for certain types of appeals.
SELECTION PROCESS FOR APPOINTMENT AS A GENERAL REFEREE
The selection process for appointment as a general referee includes assessment of:
• Responses against the selection criteria outlined below. Each criterion must be
addressed and each has equal weight.
• The ‘additional information’ required under this section is outlined below.
Level 16,41 George Street
Brisbane Queensland
G.PO Box 2457, Brisbane
Queensland 4001 Australia
Telephone 1800 804 833
Facsimile +617 3237 1248
Website www.hpw.qld.gov.au
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February 2015
• Failure to address each of the criteria or provide all the ‘additional information’ will
result in your expression of interest being considered incomplete, and it will
therefore be excluded from the selection process.
• To ensure expressions of interest are complete, please attach the ‘Expression of
Interest Checklist’ to the front of your completed expression of interest
(Attachment 2).
SELECTION CRITERIA
The selection criteria for appointment as a general referee is as follows1. A demonstrated knowledge of at least one (1) of the following:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
(vii)
(viii)
building design and construction;
siting of residential buildings;
neighbourhood amenity issues;
infrastructure charges;
relevant health or fire safety issues;
the Sustainable Planning Act 2009, the Building Act 1975 or the Plumbing and
Drainage Act 2002.
the National Construction Code (Building Code of Australia Volumes 1 & 2),
Queensland Development Code, or Australian Standards relating to building
work;
the National Construction Code (Plumbing Code of Australia Volume 3);
Queensland Plumbing and Wastewater Code; or Australian Standards relating
to plumbing and drainage work.
2. A demonstrated ability to negotiate and mediate outcomes between parties to an
appeal.
3. A demonstrated ability to apply the principles of natural justice.
4. A demonstrated ability to analyse complex technical issues.
5. A demonstrated ability to communicate effectively, including, for example, to write
informed, succinct, and well organised reports, submissions, decisions or other
documents.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Please ensure that all contact details are included (email; phone; mobile; mailing address)
and that these details are current or the Registrar will be unable to contact you or
acknowledge receipt of your EOI application.
Expressions of Interest must also include•
A curriculum vitae/resume – must not exceed 2 pages as required by the
Queensland Cabinet Handbook.
•
Photocopies of all university/professional qualifications listed in your curriculum
vitae/resume. Each must be certified by a Justice of the Peace as a true and
accurate copy of the original.
If applying for re-appointment as a referee and you provided certified copies of
qualifications in your 2012 expression of interest, you are not required to provide
Level 16,41 George Street
Brisbane Queensland
G.PO Box 2457, Brisbane
Queensland 4001 Australia
Telephone 1800 804 833
Facsimile +617 3237 1248
Website www.hpw.qld.gov.au
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February 2015
these again unless you have completed further relevant qualifications as stated in
your curriculum vitae/resume.
•
If you hold current appointments on other government bodies you are required to
complete the document titled “Details of current appointments on other government
bodies” which also includes details of remuneration received (Attachment 3).
•
If you are a public servant or local government employee and you wish to receive
remuneration you are required to have your Director-General / Chief Executive
Officer sign a certification that you are entitled to receive remuneration
(Attachment 4).
•
If you are a non public sector employee, you are required to complete the document
titled “Personal particulars form – Candidates” (Attachment 5).
EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
Expressions of Interest can be submitted in electronic or hard copy format to the contact
details below and must be received by COB Friday 8 May 2015.
Electronic:
Address your ‘Expression of Interest – General Referee’ to the Registrar at
[email protected]
Hard Copy:
The Registrar, Building and Development Dispute Resolution Committee.
GPO Box 2457, Brisbane QLD. 4001
Sharnie Makinson
Manager, Building and Development Dispute Resolution Committees
INFORMATION PRIVACY
The personal information collected during the selection process for the appointment of
Building and Development Committee General Referees will be used for the purposes of
assessing an individual's suitability to be a general referee. Your personal information,
including your CV or resume will be managed in accordance with the Information Privacy
Act 2009. Your personal information will only be used for the selection process
concerning the appointment of general referees and no other purpose. However, it will be
necessary as part of the process required by the Cabinet Handbook, to provide this
information to other specified and limited government agencies, but only for this purpose.
Once collected your personal information will be kept in a secure location and will not be
accessible to the general public.
Level 16,41 George Street
Brisbane Queensland
G.PO Box 2457, Brisbane
Queensland 4001 Australia
Telephone 1800 804 833
Facsimile +617 3237 1248
Website www.hpw.qld.gov.au
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ATTACHMENT 1:
REMUNERATION FOR MEMBERS OF BUILDING AND
DEVELOPMENT DISPUTE RESOLUTION COMMITTEES
(COMMITTEES)
Introduction
Building and Development Committee chairpersons and general referees will be paid in
accordance with Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC) procedures for Part-time Chairs
and Members of Government Bodies.
In 2014, a new remuneration process and rates of pay for all part-time chairs and members
of government bodies were approved however the new rates only become effective
following Cabinet and Executive Council approval as part of the appointment process. If
approved, the new rates of pay will be effective from commencement of the new term of
appointment on 8 December 2015.
Information about the new remuneration process and rates of pay can be found on the
following link. Referees are paid sessional meeting fees under the ‘Adjudication and
Determination’ category.
https://www.qld.gov.au/about/how-government-works/other-government-bodies/authoritiescommissions/assets/remuneration-procedures.pdf
Current remuneration
Remuneration is only paid to a referee when appointed to a Committee to consider an
appeal. In determining remuneration, it is the individual who is appointed to the Committee
and entitled to the remuneration and as such, remuneration cannot be paid to a company.
The meeting and special assignment fees payable to referees under Category D1 as
members or Chair of a Committee are as follows:
Meeting Fee
*Special Assignment
Fee
Category
Daily Fee ( > 4 hours in a day)
Daily Fee (> 4 hours in a day)
Member
$334
$278
Chair
$406
$338
*For Building and Development Committees, functions such as the time taken to review or
research documentation after a meeting, site inspections (where no hearing occurs), and
preparation of the decision would all be claimed under the special assignment fee
category.
The daily fee is based on an eight (8) hour day. Meetings or special assignments of four
(4) hours or less attract a payment of 50% of the daily fee as outlined below.
Meeting fee
Special assignment fee
Category
4 hours or less
4 hours or less
Member
$167.00
$139.00
Chair
$203.00
$169.00
‘Significant’ travel
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Additional remuneration for ‘significant travel’ for more than 4 hours travel to and from a
hearing / meeting is able to be paid at 50% of the 4 hour or less sessional meeting fee.
Motor vehicle, Airfare and Hire Car allowances
The registry staff are responsible for making any arrangements for air flights and car hire
including all bookings and payments.
A general referee required to use their private motor vehicle for Committee purposes will
be paid the appropriate motor vehicle allowance rate as per the schedule below.
Automobiles
1600 cc and under
1601–2600cc
2601 cc and over
Amount (cents per km)
63.0 cents
74.0 cents
75.0 cents
Automobiles (rotary engine)
800cc and under
801–1300 cc
1301 cc and over
Motorcycles
250 cc and under
Over 250 cc
Amount (cents per km)
63.0 cents
74.0 cents
75.0 cents
Amount (cents per km)
25.2 cents
30.0 cents
Incidental expenses
Costs for items such as telephone calls, taxi fares, parking fees, and tolls will be
reimbursed by the registry on presentation of the relevant receipts. Conference rooms
and teleconferencing facilities are available to Committees through the registrar.
Public Sector Employees
Public sector employees, employed full-time or part time, who are appointed as part-time
chairs or members of government bodies are not to be paid daily fees or annual
allowances except where this is approved by government.
The conditions under which this approval is sought are:
•
where the employee’s CEO certifies that the appointment is not connected in
any way with the employee’s employment and the meetings etc are held outside
ordinary working hours; or
•
where deductions are made from the employee’s wages when he or she attends
meetings or other activities of the board during normal working hours or during
other legitimate time off (e.g. banked time leave, annual leave.)
The following is an extract from the procedures about remuneration of public sector and
local government employees.
‘Public sector employees’ mean employees of federal, state or local governments, employees
of semi-government organisations, either federal or state, including statutory authorities and
employees of state and local government owned corporations and colleges. For the purpose
of these procedures members of any parliament within Australia, elected local government
representatives, judges, magistrates and other judicial and quasi-judicial officers are also
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regarded as public sector employees. Paid officials or employees of universities are not
included in this category.”
Chief Executive Officer Certification
A public sector employee wishing to receive remuneration in accordance with the above
guidelines is required to obtain certification from their CEO by completing Attachment 4.
Please note this certification will provided to Cabinet and Executive Council as part of the
appointment process.
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ATTACHMENT 2
EXPRESSION OF INTEREST CHECKLIST
(Please complete and attach to the front of your completed Expression of Interest)
NAME
Email address
Phone
Mob:
Ph:
Address (for mail)
Signature
P/C
Date
(Please tick each box below or write N/A to ensure your Expression of Interest is complete)
Selection Criteria – all 5 criterion addressed
Curriculum Vitae/Resume – 2 pages maximum
Are you a current referee?
If you are a current referee, what year were you first appointed?
Yes
No
Certified copies of all university/professional qualifications listed in your
curriculum vitae/resume.
OR
I previously provided certified copies of my qualifications in 2012
Attachment 3 – Details of Appointments on other government bodies
I am a member of other government bodies and I have completed Attachment 3
OR
Not applicable
Attachment 4 –Public sector / Local government employee certification
(for public sector and local government employees who want to be paid)
I am a local government / public sector employee and I wish to receive payment as
a referee and I have completed Attachment 4
OR
Not applicable
Attachment 5 – ‘Personal particulars form – Candidates’
(non - public service and local government employees only)
I have completed and signed Attachment 5
OR
Not Applicable
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ATTACHMENT 3:
DETAILS OF CURRENT APPOINTMENTS ON OTHER GOVERNMENT BODIES (only if applicable)
Current Remuneration
Name of Board / Tribunal / Advisory Panel
(list each separately – examples provided in red below)
Current referees are not required to include their referee
appointment, only additional appointments.
EXAMPLE ONLY
Board of Architects of Queensland
Category
D1
Meeting fees
Chair
OR
Member More than 4 4 hours
hours
or less
Member
$334
$167
Special assignment
fees
More than 4 hours or
4 hours
less
$278
$139
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ATTACHMENT 4: PUBLIC SECTOR & LOCAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE
CERTIFICATION – ONLY applicable if requesting to be remunerated
I, [name], Director-General / Chief Executive Officer, [name of Department/ Local
Government], hereby certify that the appointment of [name of appointee], a public
sector/ local government employee, on the Building and Development Dispute
Resolution Committee, is not connected in any way with her/his employment and is
eligible to receive fees when he/she attends meetings and undertakes Committee
appeals –
(a) outside the hours he/she normally would be expected to work; or
(b) when he/she is on unpaid leave.
Signed:
Dated:
Please note: this signed certification is required to be provided to Cabinet and Executive
Council if recommending remuneration for a public sector / local government employee.
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ATTACHMENT 5 (To be completed by non-public servants)
Appointment to government body
Personal particulars form - Candidates
The information is sought to assist in assessing your suitability for appointment. Your responses
will be treated as confidential and will only be used for purposes connected with the current
consideration for appointment.
Family Name:
Given Names:
Residential Address:
Post Code:
Telephone: (Private)
Date of Birth:
(Business)
/
/
(Mobile)
Place of Birth:
Please answer all of the following questions. If there is insufficient space below, please attach
details.
•
If selected, would you have any conflicts of interest, that is, do you have any private interests
that may affect or appear to affect your public duty, e.g. employment, directorships,
partnerships, member of a private or not for profit organisation, assets or liabilities?  No

Yes (If Yes, please specify)
•
Are you affected by or have been affected by bankruptcy action?  No  Yes (If Yes, please
specify). For the purposes of this question, a person is affected by bankruptcy action if the
person – (a) is bankrupt; or (b) has compounded with creditors; or (c) as a debtor, has
otherwise taken, or applied to take, advantage of any law about bankruptcy.)
•
Do you have any disclosable criminal convictions, i.e. convictions as an adult that form part of
your criminal history and which have not been rehabilitated under the Criminal Law
(Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act 1986?  No  Yes (If Yes, please specify)
•
Have you been convicted for any drug related offences?  No  Yes (If Yes, please specify)
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•
Have you ever been the subject of an investigation in connection with ANY criminal, civil,
military or other offence or incident by a police officer, department or authority?  No  Yes (If
Yes, please specify)
•
Are you or have you ever been the subject of a complaint to a professional body in Australia
which has been substantiated or is currently under investigation, including the Crime and
Misconduct Commission or the former Criminal Justice Commission?  No  Yes (If Yes,
please specify)
•
Have you made any workers compensation claims in the past?  No  Yes (If Yes, please
specify)
•
Are you or a company you are associated with on the Register of Lobbyists?  No  Yes (If
Yes, please specify)
•
Have you been subject to any disciplinary action or finding in your past employment?  No 
Yes (If Yes, please specify)
•
Do you know of any reason, matter or thing that may reasonably be considered by the
selection committee to be of relevance or interest to why you should not be appointed?  No
 Yes (If Yes, please specify)
•
Do you confirm that all information provided in your application, Curriculum Vitae and
educational qualifications are factual, accurate and correct?  No  Yes (If No, please
specify)
Declaration
I consent to provide the above information in respect of myself and understand that there is no
legal obligation for me to do so. I declare that the personal information provided by me in this form
is complete and correct to the best of my knowledge. I understand that I may be asked to consent
to a criminal history check being undertaken in respect of myself and that the results of that check
may be taken into account by the Queensland Government in assessing my suitability for
appointment.
Signature: _____________________________________ Date: __________________________
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