There have been more complaints this year about private building certifiers in NSW than in any of the previous five years, as the NSW government moves to crack down on dodgy operators and create independence between developers and certifiers.
According to the NSW Department of Fair Trading, there have been 163 complaints this year — more than one every two days — and penalties worth more than $104,000 have been handed out. There were 116 complaints last year and $96,500 in penalties.
NSW Minister for Better Regulation and Innovation Matt Kean yesterday said it was “ridiculous” that developers could choose the certifiers they employed. “It is unacceptable for building certifiers to be issuing occupation certificates for buildings that aren’t safe,” he said.
“It’s ridiculous that developers can choose their own certifiers. While there are many good certifiers in NSW, we have to get rid of any crooks, cowboys and shonks in the industry.”
To read the full article by Sam Buckingham-Jones on The Australian online
