NSW Fair Trading Building Inspectors have started a five-day compliance operation in north-west NSW, checking tradespeople are appropriately licensed and work is being done to the appropriate standards.
Inspectors plan to visit up to 45 residential building sites at Tamworth, Armidale and, Gunnedah during the operation focusing on workers on knockdown and rebuild projects.
They will be looking for unlicensed contracting work and ensuring builder’s signage is visible, to identify the building work and the name and details of the licensee.
Inspectors will also check if contractors have the appropriate Home Building Compensation Fund insurance.
Those caught without the required trade licenses for carrying out this work can expect to be fined.
Increased proactive compliance of specialist building practitioners is one of NSW Fair Trading’s regulatory priorities for 2023, with a focus on certifiers, electricians, engineers, and plumbers.
Inspectors recently visited 42 sites in the north-east of NSW, including Byron Bay, Ballina and Cudgen during a similar blitz. Inspectors found sites were largely compliant but issued seven warnings and four fines. The most common issue was sites not displaying the correct signage.
Quotes to be attributed to Assistant Building Commissioner Matthew Whitton:
“There has been significant knockdown and rebuild activity in the residential building sector in NSW recently.
“We’ve visited sites in Sydney, Albury, the Hunter Valley, Port Macquarie, Wagga Wagga and Wollongong this year.
“We are taking a proactive approach to ensure building projects are appropriately licensed and complying with the right standards.
“Home Building Compensation insurance is critical to protecting buyers and consumers if work cannot be completed on the project.
“These inspections are part of the Construct NSW transformation strategy to restore confidence in our residential building market.”
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