Sydney construction company JD Projects NSW fined after ‘cheap option’ led to collapse of Crows Nest office building

A Sydney building company has copped a hefty fine after a decision to take a “cheap option” during construction works resulted in the dramatic collapse of an occupied office building.

A building company has copped a hefty fine after a decision to take a “cheap option” during construction works led to the partial collapse of an adjacent office building on Sydney’s north shore.

The NSW District Court has issued a $180,000 penalty to building firm JD Projects NSW, following a SafeWork investigation into a four-storey office block that collapsed in dramatic scenes in Crows Nest on the eve of Australia Day in 2021.

At the time of the incident, workers in the building noticed cracks in a rear interior wall and managed to scramble to safety just minutes before the rear section of the building came crashing to the ground

The building usually had about 100 employees on site but, in a stroke of luck, many had taken the day off to extend their Australia Day weekend when the wall collapsed.

Nobody was injured in the incident but the collapse resulted in the building declared unsafe and later demolished, forcing businesses that operated out of the site to permanently relocate.

The rear section of the Crows Nest office building collapsed in January 2021.

In its judgment, the court found the incident was the result of excavation works at a neighbouring development site, which, at the time, was in the process of being turned into a four-storey apartment and commercial building.

In a scathing judgement, the court found site builder JD Projects NSW had “chosen to ignore the advice” of engineers relating to the safety of excavation works and “proceeded in a way that was the quickest and cheapest option”.

The court heard evidence from a project engineer, who had told a site manager that excavating part of the site would give rise to a risk of damage to the adjacent building and suggested an alternative approach. However, the information was not passed on to structural engineers.

Workers scrambled to safety before the collapse occurred.

The court also heard excavation works had commenced without a suitable retention solution in place,

“The risk of damage to the adjacent building as a result of the excavation at the site was an obvious risk to the offender and well known in the industry,” the court said.

“The damage to the adjacent building was significant and the incident caused the residents of the adjacent building to be seriously inconvenienced.

The incident prompted a large emergency response.

“The steps that could have been taken to avoid the risk were simple and not inconvenient.”

The court heard that following the incident, JD Projects NSW has taken steps to improve its operating standards, including conducting on-site safety meetings and ensuring any site-specific hazards and/or risks arising from projects are discussed.

The current director of JD Projects NSW – who was appointed to the role two years after the incident – expressed “regret that the incident occurred” and said the company “unreservedly accepts and acknowledges that it exposed workers to risks to their health and safety”.

A photo of the building collapse.

The court found the risk of excavation works could have been addressed through measures such as installing a support system under the footings of the adjacent building which collapsed.

In sentencing, the court noted JD Projects NSW had no prior convictions and that the company has expressed remorse for the incident.

The court imposed a total fine of $180,000, reduced from $240,000 to reflect the company’s plea of guilty to an offence under the NSW Work Health and Safety Act 2011.

The fine follows North Sydney Council approving plans in 2022 for the partially destroyed office block site to be turned into a new office building with co-working spaces.