Today marks a historic step forward in a decade long battle for advocates vying for stricter and more enforceable building/construction legislation across New South Wales.
David Chandler’s new powers are in full swing as of this morning, and we’re excited as the industry is set to shift, bettering consumers statewide. The NSW building regulator now has powers to withhold occupation certificates for apartment and other buildings that are not up to standard, denying developers the ability to settle their projects.
David Chandler OAM and the Office of the Building Commissioner, along with the investigative and enforcement squad of officers and staff will send a clear message to builders in NSW thinking about taking a single shortcut.
Commissioner Chandler has enough experience and common sense to make sure that his new team will not allow itself to be another arm of bureaucracy and just another layer of red tape – instead, enacting real change in the industry.
The ability of the regulator to prevent settlement (the point of profit for developers), is unprecedented and beckons a major change in Australia’s commercial development industry.
These powers will also work towards ensuring there’s a crackdown on sub-standard building materials, such as flammable cladding, asbestos products and cheap imported electrical wiring, all of which remained problematic in the building sector.
Today, Commissioner Chandler OAM serves notice to dodgy builders and certifiers that have no place in the building, construction, and strata sectors in NSW.
SCA (NSW) are incredibly pleased that we will have a leading system of design and building regulations that will deliver well-constructed buildings into the future.
As we head towards the end of 2020, we look forward to the fruition of game changing initiatives that we’ve been proud to be a part of with David Chandler and the OBC.