Restoring faith in building industry is vital for growing city

Something rotten remains at the core of some elements of the NSW construction industry, even as the state hastens to build 378,000 new homes to relieve the housing crisis.

Nearly a year after Building Commission NSW identified more than 750 tradesmen issued with licences based on fake qualifications bought from an organised crime group impersonating genuine training providers, only 63 fraudulent licence-holders deemed “high risk” have been cancelled. A further 193 have been informed they will be cancelled.

Building regulation and consumer protection have improved in NSW since the crisis caused by structural defects in Sydney’s 36-storey Opal Tower erupted in December 2018.Credit: Peter Rae

Hundreds of under-qualified tradesmen continue to work in an industry plagued by vocational training fraud, where criminals sell bogus qualifications for up to $8000.

These startling revelations are contained in the latest Herald Shoddy Sydney series, which examines how far NSW has come since the days when two blocks, Opal Tower and Mascot Towers, were shown to be so badly built that residents had to be evacuated in 2018 and 2019, prompting an overhaul in the way buildings are constructed and regulated.

Building Commissioner James Sherrard told the Herald’s Harriet Alexander and Max Maddison that his staff had prepared criminal briefs to bring more than 50 charges against a “number of people”, with more charges expected as the investigation continued. But he could not estimate the quantum of construction work affected by tradies with bogus qualifications, and acknowledged the prevalence of fake qualifications could extend beyond the remit of the Building Commission’s investigation.

Another Shoddy Sydney investigation by Anthony Segaert revealed that while the commission significantly increased its investigations and prosecutions, the industry has little data to show whether buildings have fewer problems. There are, however, two things the data makes clear: 40 per cent of work rectification orders for stand-alone homes were not being complied with within the mandated period, and defects are being found in close to 25 per cent of apartment complexes.

The non-compliance and proliferation of unqualified workers in the construction sector has exposed vulnerabilities in the way tradesmen are licensed in NSW, and comes amid concern among homeowners about the prevalence of defects in buildings, which cost the state $700 million a year.

It is not as though the Minns government is unaware of the ongoing problems in the industry. Former building commissioner David Chandler said the number of dodgy qualifications would easily be in the thousands, and figures in the building industry had been warning him about the issue for a decade. Before his retirement in August, Chandler warned there was a “deep denial about the quality of home construction”.

As the past few years have demonstrated, holding those responsible for shoddy work and restoring public confidence in the industry is critical in addressing key challenges facing Sydney. Without confidence in higher-density housing, the city’s ability to meet greater demand for a place to live will be severely compromised.

Prospective homeowners should not have to put up with defect-ridden developments, and while moves to rein in the rorting are welcome, the government and its agencies should go harder stamping it out rather than just catching up.

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