Administering Legal Obligations: A Building and Construction Report

This report provides a detailed overview of legal obligations in the building and construction industry. It covers various aspects, including different types of taxation (regressive, proportional, and progressive), the role and requirements of superannuation, and the importance of insurance policies (life, auto, and gap). The report also addresses occupational health and safety (OH&S) regulations, work cover, and the use of renewable and low-energy materials. It references relevant legislation and responsible government authorities, offering a comprehensive guide to the legal framework governing building and construction practices. The report is a valuable resource for students studying building and construction, offering insights into the legal and regulatory aspects of the industry.

BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION
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Taxation
Types of taxes
Regressive Tax: this is the type of tax in which people with low income tend to pay huge
amounts of their total income as tax while those earning highly are taxed less since the tax rate if
flat. It is where the property owned by an individual is taxed at a fixed rate. It, however, does not
include the level of income or the earnings of the person but taxes on the real estate property, and
other products consumed by an individual.
Proportional Tax: this is the type of tax in which the same tax rate is set for each and every
individual not considering the level of income or wealth of the person. The term flat tax can also
be used to refer to proportional tax. The tax is purposefully for uniformity for both the average
tax and the marginal tax. Proportional tax includes per capita tax. This type of tax inspires people
to work as it is no penalty entitled to more income(Tan et al 2018).
Progressive tax: this is the type of tax in which an individual pay according to the level of his
earnings, in that, people earning less amount are taxed less while those with high income are
taxed high amounts. As the wealth of an individual increase, liability and tax rate also increases.
It is purposely for taking from the rich and giving to the poor. The percentage rate of tax
increases with the income of an individual.
Responsible Authority
Australian Tax Office(ATO) agency.
Year: Income Tax Assessment Act 1997

Superannuation
This is a system of pension organized by a company to ensure that the employees benefited. It
can also be used to mean a pension plan. It consists of an account in which deposited resources
or funds automatically grow with no implications on the tax up to the point of withdrawal.
Additional funds or resources from the contributions of the employer are retained in
superannuation fund which later benefits the employees in terms of pension paid out on
qualification. The circumstances under which an employee can be pensioned of are the
attainment of a set age or in case of illness. It is the responsibility of the employer to make
contributions to superannuation considerate to all his employees together with their salaries and
wages(Turner et al 2017).
The requirements for superannuation include;
- Payment of superannuation by the employer for all his employees
- Payment to be made by the employer by quarterly cut off dates
- In case of employees has super funds, the employer should contribute to the same.
- Payment should be made to the employees between the age of 18 – 75 years.
- Payment is made on part-time or full-time work or based on casual.
Responsible Authority: Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.
Year: Sep 24, 2018 - Super funds which are regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation
Authority (APRA) possibly report very crucial administrative obligations.
Insurance

This is a policy contact signed between an insurer (insurance carrier, insurance company or
underwriter) and insured, the person taking the insurance policy also called policyholder. The
insured is assured compensation or reimbursement by the insurance company in case of
occurrence of the insured risk. The property of an individual insured should hold the principle of
insurable interest though possession ownership or prior relation to the product.
The three major types of insurance include:
Life insurance: this is the type of insurance where the insured pay the agreed amount of money
for a given period of time. It is mainly for benefiting the descendants of the assured or any
beneficiary of choice(Matthews et al 2019). The payment in life insurance can be made on
annuity or on a lump sum cash and it requires the assured to practice utmost good faith while
taking the policy.
Auto insurance: this type of insurance offers compensation for the financial loss incurred by the
assured in case of damage caused to their vehicles. It covers theft or damage to the car and
medication of the assured. The assured should practice the principle of indemnity (Provan and
Pryor 2019)
Gap insurance: this is the type of insurance which covers the possible extra amounts that may
not have been covered by the insurance company. It is usually for people with high-interest rates
of loans as well as consumers. The assured is expected to make contributions to the insurance
company.
Responsible Government Authority: Australian Capital Territory Insurance
Authority (ACTIA)
Year: ACT Insurance Authority Act of 2005.

Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S)
This is a designated significant plan for preventing accidents and diseases associated by
occupation.
The requirements for Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) includes the OH&S policy. This
is the stated code of conduct practiced by the employer, employees, visitors of the company and
the contractors during the operation in the company. It is a responsibility of the boss or
contractor concerned to ensure a safe system of work within the company. It is a requirement
that the policy has to be;
- Conveyed to every employee
- Bare the sign of Chief Executive officer
- Up to date
- Strictly followed in every activity carried out
A company operating under Occupational Health and Safety is required to:
- Issue an act copy of OH&S.
- Publicize health and safety at work poster.
- Provide the name and the locality of the company
The policy of OH&S should comply with legal as well as other requirements.
Responsible government Authority: Work health and safety Regulatory Agency
Year:

Occupational Health and Safety Act 1991
Work Cover
This is a designated significant plan for preventing accidents and diseases associated by
occupation.
The requirements for Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) includes the OH&S policy. This
is the stated code of conduct practiced by the employer, employees, visitors of the company and
the contractors during the operation in the company(De Cieri et al 2016). It is a responsibility of
the boss or contractor concerned to ensure a safe system of work within the company. It is a
requirement that the policy has to be;
- Conveyed to every employee
- Bare the sign of Chief Executive officer
- Up to date
- Strictly followed in every activity carried out
A company operating under Occupational Health and Safety is required to:
- Issue an act copy of OH&S.
- Publicize health and safety at work poster.
- Provide the name and the locality of the company
The policy of OH&S should comply with legal as well as other requirements.

Responsible government Authority: Work health and safety Regulatory Agency
Year: Occupational Health and Safety Act 1991
Renewable materials
These are generally natural sustainable materials that after depletion through consumption or
usage can be regenerated by means of reproduction naturally or ecological processes over a
given period usually 10 years or less of time. They are the major components within the natural
environment of the atmosphere. Renewable energy sources can also be defined as the entire
scope of a living organism from which human being benefits. This is a definition based on
agriculture. Supply of most but not all renewable materials are continuous like solar energy and
wind energy. Some materials are regarded as renewable however their replenishment requires an
applied effort or may take time.
Renewable materials include;
Glass: final products from glass recycling can be used in the manufacturing of new products
such as containers.
Corn plastic: the recycling process involves the conversion of lactic acid from PLA of the corn
into polymers of long chains which are then used in the manufacturing of plastic containers, lids,
and cups.

Figure 1: Corn Plastic material(Bong et al 2015).
Wood: wood is a renewable material that is majorly used in the construction and other fields of
application.
LOW ENERGY MATERIALS
Low energy materials are materials compost of low embodied energy. The consumption of such
materials is usually in huge measures. These low energy materials can provide large amounts of
embodied energy required for construction(Bong et al 2015)
Examples
- Timber
- Concrete
- Bricks
Responsible government Authority: Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
Year: Australian Renewable Energy Agency Act 2011

References
Bong, S., Rameezdeen, R., Zuo, J., Li, R.Y.M. and Ye, G., 2015. The designer's role in
workplace health and safety in the construction industry: post-harmonized regulations in South
Australia. International Journal of Construction Management, 15(4), pp.276-287.
De Cieri, H., Shea, T., Cooper, B., Sheehan, C., and Donohue, R., 2016. A multi-stage validation
study to assess an OHS leading indicators tool.

Matthews, L.R., Johnstone, R., Quinlan, M., Rawlings-Way, O. and Bohle, P., 2019. Work
fatalities, bereaved families and the enforcement of OHS legislation. Journal of Industrial
Relations.
Morong, J.J., Martin, J.K., Ware, R.S., Colditz, P.B. and Robichaux, A.G., 2017. Comparison of
In-Hospital Maternal Mortality Between Hospital Systems in Queensland, Australia, and
Louisiana, United States. Ochsner Journal, 17(3), pp.243-249.
Provan, D.J. and Pryor, P., 2019. The emergence of the occupational health and safety profession
in Australia. Safety Science, 117, pp.428-436.
Tan, G.P., McArdle, N., Dhaliwal, S.S., Douglas, J., Rea, C.S. and Singh, B., 2018. Patterns of
use, survival and prognostic factors in patients receiving home mechanical ventilation in Western
Australia: a single Centre historical cohort study. Chronic respiratory disease, 15(4), pp.356-
364.
Turner, J.P., Tervonen, H.E., Shakib, S., Singhal, N., Prowse, R. and Bell, J.S., 2017. Factors
associated with the use of falls risk-increasing drugs among patients of a geriatric oncology
outpatient clinic in Australia: a cross‐sectional study. Journal of evaluation in clinical
practice, 23(2), pp.361-368.