Homebuyers have a new reason to be confident about building quality in NSW with the official opening of Building Commission NSW this week, the state’s first ever dedicated building regulator.
From today Building Commission NSW, led by Commissioner David Chandler, will open its doors.
The newly established agency will lift the existing Office of the Building Commissioner out of Fair Trading to give staff dedicated resources and a clear focus on the building sector.
Delivering a standalone regulator was a key election promise of the Minns Labor Government, ensuring builders and the homes they construct in NSW are compliant, safe and durable.
The change means NSW will go from just 40 staff dedicated to enforcing quality and standards in the building industry to more than 400.
Funded by a $24 million downpayment in the NSW Budget, Building Commission NSW will be a one stop shop for regulation, licensing and oversight of the sector.
While the NSW Government is committed to tackling the NSW housing supply crisis after over a decade of inaction, the government will not allow quantity of homes to come at the expense of quality.
This is another milestone in the work the NSW Government has already completed to lift standards across the industry, including:
• New laws to dramatically expand the Building Commissioner’s powers over freestanding residential homes.
• Elevating the sector to cabinet level with the first ever Minister for Building
• Boosting the capacity of smaller builders to deliver quality medium density housing through initiatives like BuiltIt NSW.
Today also marks the official completion of Parq in Bexley, the first building in Australia to be covered by Decennial Liability Insurance (DLI), a decade long guarantee against serious defects.
Parq’s builder Urban Property has also announced that Decennial Liability Insurance will be rolled out across all future projects.
Owners in buildings covered by DLI can make a claim to get defects repaired for up to a decade after completion, whether their builder is still operating or not.
NSW is the first state in the nation to offer decennial liability insurance and the NSW Government recently passed laws to encourage more builders to sign up and protect buyers.
Member for Campbelltown Greg Warren said:
“The Building Commissioner will restore integrity to the industry.”
“Expanding the resources of Building Commission NSW will help deliver positive outcomes for industry and for the public.”
Quotes attributable to Premier, Chris Minns:
“In recent years we’ve heard horror stories about defects in apartment buildings but we’re turning the tide with Building Commission NSW.
“The Building Commissioner has made a start restoring integrity, now we’ve given him the powers and resources he needs to get on with the job.”
Quotes attributable to Minister for Building, Anoulack Chanthivong:
“Building Commission NSW will turbocharge our work to restore trust and integrity in the building sector.
“Buying a home is the great Australian dream, Building Commission NSW will help make sure it doesn’t turn into a nightmare.”
Quotes attributable to Building Commissioner, David Chandler OAM:
“The Commission's team comprises amazing, talented and committed people.
“It will be my privilege to lead this next phase of delivering the trusted housing that the state's community desperately needs.
“When I started this work everyone was driving towards the bottom of quality, now we are all working towards the top and Urban Property are a great example.”
