ACT government team to oversee building certifiers to reduce high-rise defects
A new team within Access Canberra will oversee building certification work on apartment complexes. It's hoped that could reduce the number of defects, which are estimated to cost Canberrans more than $50 million a year. But the move signals a shift from a previous act government promise.
Transcript
00:00Water damage, cracks and buildings needing to be propped up.
00:07Widespread reports of defects in Canberra apartment complexes have circulated for years.
00:13Now the ACT Government has announced it'll put its own eyes on the process.
00:18We will be focusing firstly on our highest risk buildings, which are class 2 buildings,
00:24the apartment buildings where we see most of the issues.
00:27It's a different model to one proposed by the former minister Gordon Ramsey before the last ACT election.
00:34He flagged public certifiers would take over the work themselves.
00:38The current minister pointing to the recent developer licensing laws as proof that change is no longer necessary.
00:45There is no incentive now for developers and certifiers to have a cosy relationship and sign off poor work
00:52because developers will still be liable.
00:54The new team of public certifiers and engineers will review design documents prior to construction
01:00and attend mandatory site inspections with private certifiers.
01:05The industry is supportive in principle but keen to see more detail.
01:10It needs to be well funded and well resourced.
01:13I think the certifiers that get on board need to have the appropriate industry experience to do the role.
01:19For a sector plagued by financial troubles, including multiple companies collapsing this year, growing pains aren't an option.
01:26It will definitely cause delays for our builders if they're waiting 2, 3, 4 weeks to get a certifier on site.
01:33We are confident that these are good roles that will be attractive to people within the industry.
01:40An industry under scrutiny with serious consequences.