It is common knowledge that there are weaknesses within particular building sectors in the construction industry. Homeowners have coped with considerable losses in terms of the equity of their apartments due to structural faults in the buildings. It was not too long before cases like Opal Tower in Olympic Park Sydney were in the news, where residents were evacuated from their homes as the buildings were declared unsafe. In the case of the Opal Tower, it was on Christmas Eve that people had to move out of their homes urgently; visuals and photos of distraught residents were all over the media.
NSW Building Commissioner & NSW Fair Trading step in
To avoid similar debacles, the Office of the NSW Building Commissioner has introduced a Design and Building Practitioners Regulation from 1 July 2021, which mandates building design practitioners to submit 'Design Compliance Documentation' to the NSW Planning Portal. This submission needs to be done before any construction work is commenced. The change in practice is currently related to Class 2* buildings, which mainly comprise residential buildings with Sole Occupancy Units (SOU). The Design & Building Practitioners Act is planned to be expanded to incorporate Class 3 (hotels and accommodation facilities) and Class 9C (aged care) buildings.
