Will the Bricks Stack Up?

This week sees the introduction of the Residential Apartment Building (Compliance and Enforcement Powers) Act 2020. This is the first of the major legislative changes forming part of the NSW Government Building Reforms, which aims to restore public confidence in the NSW building industry and to stop dodgy builders and developers (https://www.nsw.gov.au/nsw-government/projects-and-initiatives/building-commissioner/a-better-future-a-better-industry)

This Act will require Developers to provide Fair Trading with six months’ notice of their intention to apply for an Occupation Certificate for a Class 2 residential apartment building. This (in theory) will allow Fair Trading’s new boots on the ground team under the watchful eye of the Building Commissioner to undertake an audit of the development.

This new Act provides the Building Commissioner and his team with considerable authority allowing:

§ The examination of any part of the development, both physical and documentary

§ The removal from site of any item or record

§ To open up or demolish completed building work, and

§ Most importantly, can prohibit the issue of an Occupation Certificate

So, what will this mean in terms of driving change in the NSW residential apartment construction sector?

There is no denying that there are currently significant issues is this part of the industry. At the end of the day there are too many examples of completed projects where major defects occur that become the consumers responsibility. Without a doubt this must change.

I for one welcome the introduction of the Governments new reforms. I see this as a real opportunity to increase the level of building quality across the board.

It will however be interesting to see over the next six to twelve months if the Government is approaching these reforms from the right angle. Is it enough to add another level of auditing at the back end of a project once the work is complete? Will this really protect and restore confidence to the consumer at end of the day?

Or, are we still going to see sub-standard work occurring from (poor) Fair Trading licenced trades with the new audit process simply adding another layer of bureaucratical red tape which ultimately drives up the cost of housing for the consumer whilst still delivering sub-par developments.

Will the Governments new bricks really stack up……….