Members’ Find Their Voice

L-R:  Morgan Druce & Jonathan Reichwald (both members are from Industry Development, Construction, Manufacturing & Talent Branch Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions) Kersten Gentle, Andrew White (AFPA), Kevin Peachey (FWPA).

Members’ Voices Are Being Heard

Late last year, FTMA became aware of two important issues that had the potential to significantly impact our industry. The first was the release by Standards Australia of the draft SA HB 268 Prefabricated Building: Glossary of Terms, which is intended to sit alongside the forthcoming AS 5482 Prefabricated and Modular Building Design and Construction.

We contacted members, and other industry bodies, and encouraged you to write to Standards Australia, make a formal submission, or contact your local Member of Parliament. In my view, if this draft glossary had been left unchallenged, it could have had serious implications for the ability of timber framing and truss manufacturers to participate in the expanding Modern Methods of Construction market.

As drafted, the glossary failed to recognise the lightweight timber frame and truss industry. It referenced multiple varieties of steel and concrete yet made no reference to the full range of timber products and systems central to MMC, including structural timber, CLT, GLT, LVL, engineered timber systems, nail plates, or the engineered design software that underpins kit of parts construction.

Standards Australia must remain material agnostic. FTMA, along with 65 other stakeholders, made submissions, with most calling for the inclusion of timber products in the glossary and the removal of an image depicting steel coil feeding into unsustainable steel frames.

As a result of our constructive engagement, FTMA’s National Research and Technical Manager, Rhianna Robinson, has been appointed to the Prefabrication Standards Working Group. This ensures our sector now has a direct voice at the table as this important standard is developed.

The second issue was specific to Victoria. While reviewing the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions website, I visited the Victorian Prefabricated Construction Directory. Before accessing the directory itself, the page headings included both the Victorian Prefabricated Construction Directory and the Victorian Steel Supply Chain Directory.

The way it was presented gives the impression that the government sees steel as the default or preferred material for prefabricated construction. That perception is concerning. Prefabrication is a methodology that applies across multiple material systems, and it is essential that government communications reflect a material neutral position.

Once again, we reached out to members and the broader supply chain. Many of you wrote to the department or contacted your local representatives, and several shared the responses you received.
FTMA also received a formal response from the department explaining that the directory showcases manufacturers delivering finished dwellings and commercial infrastructure structures, as well as producers of complex, specialised assemblies specific to prefabrication that involve a level of sophistication not typical in traditional construction. Companies had to meet these criteria to be included.

In early February, Andrew White from the Victorian Forest Products Association, Kevin Peachey from FWPA, and I met with the Director of Industry, Construction and Manufacturing to discuss our concerns.

The meeting was extremely positive and resulted in 11 FTMA member companies being added to the prefab directory. We also received a commitment to explore the inclusion of a timber supply chain directory. Importantly, quarterly meetings have been agreed to, strengthening communication between industry and government.

Thank you to the members who took the time to engage. Your willingness to act has led to practical outcomes and ensured our industry has greater engagement and recognition as a key material for construction.

Kersten Gentle
FTMA CEO