2017 HIA NATIONAL POLICY CONGRESS HIA continued its involvement in a number of national forums to support training and apprenticeships in the housing industry, including the Australian Industry and Skills Council, SkillsOz (the former Construction and Property Services Industry Skills Council) and the Australian Brick and Block Laying Training Foundation. Health and safety During 2017 health and safety laws were introduced or amended in several jurisdictions. In the process, HIA sought the best possible outcome for members through involvement in safety regulator stakeholder forums and in formal submissions. Key projects in which HIA provided advocacy during Skills and training 2017 included Safe Work Australia’s work on the review of Model Work 2017 saw a very modest increase in the Health and Safety (WHS) Codes of overall number of construction Practice. HIA provided submissions in apprentices ‘in training’. However, the relation to the key construction model number of new entrants commencing codes of practice and advocated for training has continued to reduce year on the codes to be practical, concise and year for the last three years. HIA’s efforts easy to understand. to draw commonwealth and state During Victoria’s review of the state’s government attention to the nation’s Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) emerging skills crisis are beginning to Regulations, codes of practice and see results, with apprentice mentoring compliance codes, HIA achieved a programs being announced nationally number of positive outcomes, including and in NSW. retaining the two–metre threshold for In May, HIA’s National Policy addressing fall risks, and retaining most Congress endorsed a call for a national of the current Victorian OHS partnership agreement between the Regulations, rather than adopting the Commonwealth and state governments more onerous WHS Model provisions. to establish more support for vocational In Queensland, proposals for industrial education and training. HIA has called manslaughter offences, increased for a genuine national apprenticeship maximum penalties and mandatory system based on a renewed approach compliance with codes of practice were by state and territory governments to opposed, and in Western Australia, HIA support an industry–led National continues to lobby against the adoption Apprenticeship Board. of model WHS laws. 8|HIA ANNUAL REPORT 2017