A day with NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler, who is lifting standards in the construction industry. This article was written by Sue Williams, Domain Reporter on March 30, 2021
When the NSW government decided to appoint a building commissioner after a run of scandalous building fails, including cracking in Opal Tower, the leaning of Mascot Towers and combustible cladding slathered over so many apartment building facades, no one really believed much would change. The scepticism increased with the appointment of an adjunct fellow of Western Sydney University to the role. An academic? What would he do? Even though he was granted incredible powers six months ago to shut down sites where he wasn’t happy with standards, and have work stopped, everyone expected a mild-mannered Clark Kent. Instead, they got Superman. To date, Mr Chandler has issued orders on nearly 1000 apartments in 10 developments to either fix them up or stop work, and deny them occupation certificates. Problems range from inadequate waterproofing, structural problems with facades, too-small lift wells and shoddy workmanship, all the way to the serious defects in what he says is the worst building in Sydney, a 16-storey tower in Auburn. “I think it’s great that he’s weeded out a lot of the bottom end of the market,” says George Tadrosse, CEO of developer Aland, which is building 1400 apartments across 10 stages at this Schofields site today, and which passed their audit three weeks before.
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“The development market is pretty small with around 30 players – 10 tier-one developers, 10 middle-range and 10 we might call ‘flyby-nighters’. He’s putting a lot of pressure on that bottom end, which is good as it’s the only way to lift standards and bring confidence back into the market.”
“And, ones where there’s no relationship between the developer and the manufacturer of the products they’re using on their buildings, so I’ve seen so many problems with how they’re using the products as they don’t understand them. It’s a disgrace. Now, can I see your bathrooms?”
There are now calls for similar commissioners with the same powers to be appointed in other states, too. In her former role as the president of the NSW chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects, Kathlyn Loseby said: “Sydney and Melbourne have had the major disasters but it would be good to have a consistency of construction standards across all states.”
There’s a flurry of activity and he’s escorted upstairs into one of the buildings proper. He halts at one of the doorways to an apartment, takes out a coin and taps all the way around. The atmosphere is tense. It looks as if no one is drawing breath until he finally smiles, apparently liking what he hears.
Chris Duggan, president at strata managers’ body Strata Community Association (NSW), agrees. “The government could have brought in a bureaucrat but he’s someone who’s making meaningful, no-nonsense reforms that will benefit all consumers,” he says. “I believe he’s leading transformational change in the sector and introducing initiatives that we’d like to see rolled out in all states.” Mr Chandler isn’t shy about calling out any wrong-doing he sees, as he sets out on his goal of 100 audits a year. “But I’m happy with you guys,” he says reassuringly to the men standing anxiously around him. “I go to so many jobs where I can’t believe they have the people they do running their projects. It’s a real worry.
“It’s important there’s enough mortar in these,” he explains. “It’s a simple tap test.” He then advances to the bathroom, coin out again to check how securely the tiles are fixed to the walls. A hollow sound would indicate that they’re not well enough stuck. The constant tapping seems to be his theme tune. “I’ve had around 1000 bathrooms pull their tiles off as they weren’t done well enough in the first place,” he says, turning to the crowd of onlookers. “But these are fine.” Bathrooms and facades are Mr Chandler’s main concerns as he says they often have the most critical problems.
