Builders ask certifiers to cut corners amid pressure of Sydney’s construction boom

EXCLUSIVE: Private certifiers are conducting building inspections using just photographs to avoid construction delays, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.

EXCLUSIVE: Private certifiers are conducting building inspections using just photographs to avoid construction delays, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.

And industry insiders say certifiers are being hassled by builders to bypass even “critical stage inspections” and grant compliance notices without assessing vital construction work in person.

The revelation comes as Sydney steams headlong into a multi-billion dollar construction boom, with hundreds of cranes dotting the skyline and infrastructure projects spreading across the city.

Industry insiders say certifiers are being pressured by builders to skip inspections and use photographs for their work.

Last year more than 57,000 houses and units were approved for construction in NSW and exclusive data shows more than $65 billion worth of new projects were applied for over the same period.

The certification process

The certification process for major construction projects has come under intense scrutiny since the Opal Tower cracking scandal exposed potential flaws in the system.

The 36-storey residential tower has been evacuated twice since Christmas Eve after cracks were found in concrete panels. The cause is still being investigated.

“Due to time restraints, builders will put pressure on you to accept photos instead of doing a critical stage inspection — but we say we want to be there,” one private certifier, who asked not to be named, with over 20 years experience, told The Telegraph.

“It’s pivotal for us to inspect because at the end of the day it’s our accreditation and our name on the line.”

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CDC Private Certifiers owner George Saadi said that some builders asked if they could send them photographs for critical stage inspections.

“They want to save time because it pretty much costs the builder a day for every inspection,” he said.

Association of Accredited Certifiers president Craig Hardy.

“Everyone wants to do everything as quick as possible. But I don’t accept photos from people.”

There have been no instances in NSW in the past three years where private certifiers have accepted photos from builders as a substitute for critical stage inspections.

The government’s Building Professionals Board, which regulates building certifications, states: “Verbal or photographic evidence of building work does not set aside the requirement for a certifier to carry out a critical stage inspection.”

It is also required by the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.

Association of Accredited Certifiers president Craig Hardy said certifiers may sometimes use photos but only for minor issues such as confirming a pest control sticker on an electrical meter box.

Building up fears

Former Lendlease chairman David Crawford said the rapid pace of construction in Australia is attracting new, inexperienced builders to the industry­ which could result in mistakes such as the one in the Opal Tower arising elsewhere.

Mr Crawford, who stepped down as chair of the Sydney property giant in November, said the apartment boom was heaping pressure on developers which might result in builders rushing projects and cutting corners.

Former Lendlease chairman David Crawford.

On Christmas Eve cracks began appearing in the Opal Tower, causing the 36-storey­ building to be evacuated.

Mr Crawford fears that issues such as this could arise in other buildings across the nation.

“There has been a huge building boom as you are aware and there has been a lot of people coming into the industry,” he said at a KPMG event in Victoria yesterday.

“(They) have been put under a lot of pressure to complete­ buildings and to do things, so I am just assuming there will be … some things that don’t go as they should.

“What appears to be happening­ (at the Opal Tower) is that there are cracks appearing in different parts of the building so it looks as though it’s probably an issue right across (the tower),” Mr Crawford said.