Local council the City of Botany Bay was responsible for certifying Sydney's defective residential building Mascot Towers for occupation, as the NSW government's blame on private certifiers for the state's building troubles backfires and a new inquiry into the building industry gets a nod. 

Planning documents show Botany Bay council, not private certifiers, issued a final occupation certificate to the developer J & B Elias in July 2008 when the building was finished, as the "principal certifying authority" appointed under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act.