Add Category
New South Wales Building Commissioner David Chandler has announced he will leave his job in August.
The head of the state's construction industry watchdog has been in the role since 2019, during which time he has inspected hundreds of building sites and issued rectification orders on faulty jobs.
Mr Chandler told ABC Radio Sydney he felt it was time for someone new to step in following the establishment of Building Commission NSW in December last year.
"I had to reflect on the fact that, you know, five years in this job has been pretty demanding," he told ABC Radio Sydney.
"We've got a building commission now stood up and it's looking very good indeed.
"I felt that it was appropriate to simply let the secretary know early that I … wasn't going to take an extension of my tenure."
Mr Chandler resigned in 2022, citing concerns he had with then-minister Eleni Petinos's relationship with Coronation Property, but was persuaded to stay on by the Perrottet government.
'Wild West' days
Multiple high-profile building issues had shaken confidence in the building industry when Mr Chandler was appointed to the role.
Loading...Residents were evacuated from Opal Tower in Sydney Olympic Park and the Mascot Towers apartments after cracks were found in the buildings.
Mr Chandler said at times builders had responded to his site visits with aggression, which included "a couple" of threats to his personal safety
He said years ago some parts of the industry in the state were like the "Wild West".
These days, Mr Chandler said, about 400 builders had an Independent Construction Industry Rating Tool star classification.
The system was designed to increase transparency in the sector.
"I can assure you that the broad industry does not want to go back to a race to the bottom," Mr Chandler said.
He said there were positive signs from the insurance industry, which had awarded about 200 10-year warranty insurance policies.
"We've got insurers back into this market to offer a 10-year warranty insurance," Mr Chandler said.
"No-one's going to put that genie back in the bottle, because the developers who can get that policy want to make sure that's their badge of honour."
Not 'disappearing'
Mr Chandler indicated he would be willing to continue advising the government.
He also pledged that he would not join the board of any developer or builder.
"All I'm saying is that I don't want a full-time job being Building Commissioner New South Wales," Mr Chandler said.
"Nobody should imagine that I'm disappearing off the stage."
Mr Chandler said the new commissioner would have to forge their own path.
"I've had this question for over a year as to who would fill my shoes, and people get a bit obsessed with that," he said.
"They will bring their own shoes and what we need to do is to look at how will they fill them."
Get local news, stories, community events, recipes and more each week.