Mr GREG WARREN (Campbelltown) (12:02): My question is addressed to the Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading, and Minister for Building. Will the Minister update the House on what the Minns Labor Government is doing to bring confidence back to the building sector in New South Wales?
Mr ANOULACK CHANTHIVONG (Macquarie Fields—Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading, Minister for Industry and Trade, Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology, Minister for Building, and Minister for Corrections) (12:03): I thank the member for Campbelltown for his question. His electorate neighbours my electorate to the south. He knows the importance of building in his electorate and mine as well. We have experienced, and will be experiencing, significant growth in building construction as more houses come into our communities. He has been a strong advocate for people in his community to ensure that buildings in his electorate—and all electorates across New South Wales—are built to a high‑quality standard. The Minns Labor Government is absolutely focused on addressing the dual challenges of the housing crisis we have inherited—that is, building more and quality homes. That puts trust and confidence back into the sector to ensure continued investment and gives people confidence in making the biggest investment of their lifetime not only financially but—as we all know—emotionally as well. As people buy their houses or their units, it is so important to ensure that we get trust and confidence back into the sector.
Our recent budget is a real testament to bringing back the trust and confidence. A $24 million investment will help implement our election commitment to establish the NSW Building Commission, ensuring that it is primed to make an immediate impact when it is established by the end of the year. A portion of the $24 million will be allocated to boosting data tracking and digital initiatives. We collect a lot of data. That is actually really important because the data that is collected needs to be better used as well. It means better monitoring of bad actors in the building sector, allowing the Building Commissioner to better target his proactive investigations into worksites and before works are completed. It is a proactive way of doing better risk profiling, a more efficient way of using our resources to better target those who are doing the wrong thing, and a much more effective way of doing regulation in the twenty‑first century.
Our reforms will deliver a single building regulator, providing a one‑stop shop for building complaints and sending a clear signal that there is a tough cop on the beat. An essential part of the initiative is the Building Commission's dedicated workforce. You cannot do things if you do not have a proper workforce. The new Building Commission will have a dedicated team of over 400 professionals, led by Building Commissioner David Chandler. The Building Commission will not only target dodgy builders but, more importantly, also improve the quality of the building sector to turn the ship around, to restore confidence and integrity, and to make people confident when buying.
Mr Greg Warren: I seek further information about the hard work that the Minister has been doing.
The SPEAKER: I grant an extension of two minutes.
Mr ANOULACK CHANTHIVONG: I thank the member for Campbelltown. The Building Commissioner will help good builders become better builders, improving their skills and capabilities. The pressing housing challenges in New South Wales are evident for all to see. We need more houses to alleviate the mounting pressure in the housing and rental space so that we can continue to attract and retain the younger generation, making our economy and communities stronger. But we are not just looking at the numbers. We cannot have more homes built at the expense of quality and standards. Creating a first‑time, standalone Building Commission not only ensures stronger oversight of the industry but also allows Fair Trading to zero in on its fundamental mission of consumer protection. That includes extending the Building Commissioner's powers to class 1 dwellings so that home owners will also benefit from the reforms.
Beyond that, we are also introducing decennial liability insurance. A DLI, as it is known, is a 10‑year latent defect liability insurance that covers defects in common areas of multistorey apartments even if builders are no longer in business. That means the insurance stays with the building, not the builder, giving owners and the industry greater protection and greater confidence to ensure that we turn this ship around, because housing, as we know, is such an important challenge and we need reform that makes a significant difference that also works with the market. In addition, we will introduce a plain English building Act to make it easier for industry to meet its obligations—a one‑stop shop for licensing, regulation and oversight to make it a much more effective and comprehensive reform. In essence, our budget for housing and the building space is more than just a financial plan; it is a blueprint for a more robust and effective protection system for consumers, putting trust and confidence back into a sector that means so much to so many people to make our economy and communities better.
