PDF | 2 MB - Australian Building Codes Board

Standards Australia subsequently appointed the National Committee for
Earthquake Engineering, resulting in publication of the first code for the design
of earthquake-resistant building, AS2121-1979. There has been one revision
since, resulting in the current Standard, AS1170.4-1993. This revision was
largely in response to research that GA initiated in the mid-1980s, providing
engineers with a better basis for assessing the nature and magnitude of
earthquake hazards.
Finally, the Australian Earthquake Engineering Society (AEES) has been
active since at least the early 1990s. AEES is a Technical Society of
Engineers Australia and aims to promote the practice of earthquake
engineering and engineering seismology in Australia. Its members have
contributed significantly in a volunteer capacity to the development of the
relevant standards. Based on an examination of recent AEES newsletters, the
revision of AS1170.4 has been a focus of attention and there is continuing
work to improve the understanding of earthquake hazards in Australia,
including in collaboration with GA.
Insurance industry
The insurance industry provides products for the insurance of buildings
against earthquake damage, and for insurance against the other types of
earthquake damage, such as death, injury and loss of building contents.
Insurance is obviously an important mechanism for spreading losses across
the community but does not directly protect against the damage in the first
instance. Based on the public comments 6 of insurance providers and the
Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), we understand that:
• There is a degree of non-insurance and under-insurance, which
means that parts of the community are exposed to the risk of large
uncompensated losses; and
• The pricing of earthquake insurance, relative to earthquake-related
payouts, suggests that insurance companies consider that the risks
are somewhat higher than suggested by the historical record of
earthquakes in Australia.
We also understand that insurance companies regard their risk assessments
as key commercial assets and do not share that information.
Building owners and occupiers
In principle, building owners and occupiers determine their exposure to
earthquake hazards by (a) ensuring that buildings are capable of resisting
earthquakes of a certain magnitude, (b) insuring their buildings against losses
occasioned by larger earthquakes, and (c) accepting the residual risks.
Residual risks exist because owners and occupiers may under-insure,
because so little is known about some risks that they cannot be insured
against, and because insurance companies can fail.
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We refer to the content of periodic disaster conferences and a recent ICA conference on
non-insurance (Non insurance - understanding the causes and effects, Sydney, 3 May 2007).
ABCB Regulation Impact Statement (RIS 2007-03)
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