The building commissioner also described the difference in his engagement with the minister’s office, since a ministerial reshuffle last year resulted in Petinos taking over the portfolio from now-Hospitality Minister Kevin Anderson.

“Alas, the same level of engagement has not been experienced since. My personal experience has been one where engagement with the minister’s office has been problematic,” he wrote.

“Given where all the above matters now rest, I believe my continued role as NSW building commissioner is no longer viable.”

Chandler said other officers in the department had reported similar experiences, “and important pieces of previously canvassed legislation have now run into serious disruption”.

The NSW opposition used upper house orders to compel the government to release the letter after it was revealed that Petinos met representatives from a property development company that employed Barilaro.

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Both Petinos and Barilaro have issued statements saying that Barilaro was not in attendance at a June 2 meeting between Petinos and Coronation Property. A second meeting with Coronation on June 21 was disclosed in her diary out of “an abundance of caution”, Petinos has said.

Barilaro on Tuesday said he didn’t work for the company on June 21, and the pair met to celebrate his new job as a trade commissioner to the US.

Chandler resigned abruptly last month despite having recently signed a contract extension. As an industry veteran of 50 years, he was tasked in 2019 with cleaning up NSW’s construction industry as the state’s first building commissioner.

His sudden resignation prompted speculation over the circumstances of his departure amid scrutiny over the conduct of recently dumped Petinos, to whom he reported.

Premier Dominic Perrottet on Wednesday revealed during question time that Chandler’s resignation letter was sent to the secretary of the Department of Customer Service, who referred it to the Independent Commission Against Corruption on August 1.

He said he only learnt that the letter had been referred to the corruption watchdog late on Tuesday night.

Perrottet has maintained that the sacking of Petinos was unrelated to Chandler’s resignation.

When he resigned, Chandler said in a statement that he felt the time was right for “a reset”, but remained firmly committed to working with the department until the end of his tenure in November.

“I do not want my resignation to distract people from what has been achieved so far, and the work that is still to be done,” he said on July 27.

Opposition spokeswoman for better regulation and innovation Courtney Houssos said the premier needed to explain how he could have been briefed by Hogan about Petinos’ conduct and not know about Chandler’s concerns raised in the resignation letter.

“It is incredibly important that we understand why minister Petinos was sacked in the first place by the premier,” Houssos said.

“We also need the premier to explain how he could be briefed by the Secretary of the Department of Customer Service the night before he sacked minister Petinos about the very issues that were the basis for the sacking and the same person who sent the letter off to ICAC the next day didn’t raise those concerns with him.”

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