“I thought,‘Wouldn’t it be fun to give them a reason to put the champagne back in the cabinet?’,” Chandler said at the Property Council event in Parramatta,.
NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler worked in the building and construction industry for four decades.Dominic Lorrimer
Some of those developers might have popped the champagne corks this week after all when Chandler – a 40-year veteran of the construction sector –,months before his renewed contract was due to end.
The abrupt departure of the man who the former premier Gladys Berejiklian hired to tackle the state’s building crisis three years ago – following the dramatic and – has triggered significant speculation in the development sector,and raised questions about the future of the state government’s ambitious agenda to reform the industry and weed out shoddy operators.
Labor has demanded Fair Trading Minister Eleni Petinos explain the reasons for Chandler’s “dramatic” resignation. On Friday,Petinos,published by News Corp newspapers,that she had a history of bullying and harassing staff. Labor’s Better Regulation spokeswoman Courtney Houssos said it was concerning to see the allegations against the minister days after Chandler’s resignation.
In a statement last week,Chandler said he had resigned by choice,and it was “time for a reset”. The tough-talking commissioner – who won friends and enemies with his no-nonsense approach to cracking down on substandard building work – has otherwise declined to comment publicly.
Three years since residents were evicted from the cracking Mascot Towers,some say they’ve been forgotten.
Ross Taylor,a consultant who specialises in waterproofing design and remedying building defects,described Chandler as a “rock-breaker” who introduced “extraordinary,ground-breaking initiatives” in a short time – often in the face of stiff opposition from the top end of town.
“I can’t imagine a harder job where you’ve got established powers,money,political influence. It’s all there,it’s very sophisticated,and often it’s not hiding in the shadows – the power players are right in your face,” he said.
The path to Chandler’s appointment as NSW’s inaugural building commissioner in 2019 was,each intensifying pressure on the Berejiklian government to confront systemic problems with the building industry. On Christmas Eve 2018,thousands of residents were the Opal Tower at Sydney Olympic Park after cracking noises sparked fears the block would collapse. Months later in June,about 130 residents of the Mascot Towers block on Bourke Street were evacuated due to cracking damage. In July,theHerald revealed tenants and owners of 30 loft-style apartments in Zetland had been told to leave eight months prior due to water and fire safety defects. These woes were compounded by concerns over,which came into sharp focus following the Grenfell Tower fire in London.
NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler and then Better Regulation Minister Kevin Anderson a day before the commissioner’s powers began in September 2020.Nick Moir
Faced with desperate homeowners and a growing crisis of confidence in apartment standards,Berejiklian announced in August 2019 she had appointed Chandler to clean up the industry and drive critical reforms.
Greens senator David Shoebridge,who led a NSW parliamentary inquiry into building standards as a state MP,said the property sector – fuelled by Sydney’s decades-long development bonanza – was a “brutal industry for Chandler to come into and try to civilise”.
“This was a boom driven by billions and billions of dollars of development,where the law delivered no consequences for the shonkiest,most amoral behaviour.”
Chandler said on his first day in the job that the industry had “a culture of trying to avoid accountability”,and warned developers and builders:“Expect to see me in your site shed sometime soon.”
He followed swiftly with a push for extensive changes to the state’s building laws,with the strong backing of then Better Regulation Minister Kevin Anderson. In August 2020,Chandler was given to enter construction sites and issue orders for the rectification of serious defects before occupation certificates could be obtained. He was also given authority to call for documents,and order recovery of costs associated with fixing defects,under the Residential Apartment Building (Compliance and Enforcement) Act.
Signalling he would not hesitate to use his strongest powers to stamp out poor work,Chandler to fix serious defects – from problematic waterproofing and external cladding,to wall and bathroom tiles – in apartment buildings and townhouses. The orders stopped the developers gaining occupation certificates until the problems were remedied. Among them was a block riddled with “serious defects” in Sydney’s west,which Chandler singled out as.
Further legislation – the Designers and Building Practitioners Act – imposed new obligations on designers,engineers and builders working on new residential apartment buildings,focused on improving performance.
Chandler also backed the development of a ratings tool for developers. The Independent Construction Industry Rating Tool (iCIRT) register,launched in May,scrutinises and then rates developers,with those given three or more stars out of five. In early July,Chandler said four families told him they had and instead opted for one built by a rated company.
Strata Community Association NSW president Stephen Brell said Chandler had restored confidence in the apartment sector from an all-time low.
David Chandler won the respect of many in the residential building and construction sector with his no-nonsense approach.Kate Geraghty
“The commissioner’s been very effective,especially with getting Fair Trading involved with inspecting building defects and holding builders to account for works that they’ve done,” Brell said.
Taylor said the effect of the rating system and the changes to design requirements meant NSW home buyers were armed with extra information about developers,builders,and individual buildings to help them avoid buying an apartment with defects.
“I think in a very quick turnaround time,their risk of buying a dud is significantly reduced,” he said.
Chandler’s role won him plenty of detractors in developer circles. However,Urban Taskforce chief executive Tom Forrest said while the developer lobby group hadn’t always agreed with Chandler’s decisions,the “formidable figure” had won the respect of the property development sector. Forrest said this had been key to his success.
Forrest said Petinos and the NSW cabinet “would be wise to listen to every word[Chandler] has to say” in his final months in the role.
Houssos has repeatedly urged Petinos – who took on the Fair Trading portfolio in December – to publicly explain the reasons for Chandler’s early departure. Last week,Houssos said Chandler had “worked for more than 40 years in one of the toughest industries,yet barely lasted seven months working for this minister”.
Labor has invited Chandler to appear at budget estimates in September.
“The community needs to know who will be leading the government’s response to the problems plaguing the building industry,” Houssos said on Friday.
Faced with speculation over the reasons for Chandler’s departure,the NSW Department of Customer Service said in a statement on Wednesday that Chandler’s decision to quit had been voluntary.
Chandler said in the statement:“I believe the time is right for a reset,and I am firmly committed to working with the secretary,the team and industry until the end of my tenure.”
The department said Chandler had been cleared of misleading parliament following an internal investigation.
Last month, Chandler was subject to the internal probe after video emerged of him telling builders on a construction site that he had given banks an “informal list of certifiers” which had led to some “finding they are unemployable”. The leaked footage followed Chandler’s remarks to NSW parliament last October that his role as regulator did not include recommending particular building certifiers,sparking claims he misled the parliament.
Petinos requested department secretary Emma Hogan investigate the allegations on June 22. The claims were found to be unsubstantiated.
Fair Trading Minister Eleni Petinos asked department secretary Emma Hogan to investigate allegations against Chandler,which were found to be unsubstantiated.Wolter Peeters
Petinos did not answer questions about the reasons for Chandler’s resignation. In a statement,she thanked him for his work.
“Mr Chandler has assisted the NSW government to achieve significant reforms in the residential construction sector since 2019. He helped develop and implement Project Remediate,ensuring NSW residential apartment buildings have safe,non-combustible cladding,” Petinos said.
The department says it intends to find a replacement commissioner before Chandler finishes on November 30. The terms of the appointment are still being settled.
Owners Corporation Network chief executive Karen Stiles said:“We can’t afford a token or no appointment at this critical time of cultural and systemic change.”
Brell hoped his departure would not jeopardise the work of improving the building industry,and said Chandler had built a strong team around him who shared his vision and commitment to restoring trust in the sector.
“I’m confident the foundations he’s laid will be carried on with whoever his successor will eventually be,” Brell said.
Shoebridge said Chandler’s departure made a strong case for establishing a building commission in NSW.
“It can’t be dependent on the energy and personality of a single appointment. There should be hundreds of people doing his job,” Shoebridge said.
Taylor said Chandler’s departure might have been well-timed given the extent of the reforms he had already implemented in the role,and suggested he was “not a spent force”.
“Now’s the time to hand over to someone who will fine-tune and administer these things,and then he’s available either statewide or nationally for similar,ground-breaking regulatory reform.”
To use a building analogy,Taylor said:“A rock-breaker is not the tool you use when you need to use a finely honed chisel.”
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