ACT should have independent building commissioner, inquiry recommends

The Assembly inquiry into the problems plaguing Canberra's construction industry handed down its long-awaited report on Thursday morning, making 48 recommendations.

Among them was a call for the ACT government to establish an independent building commissioner, who would be tasked with ensuring developers, builders and other professions complied with construction standards.

The push for a "higher profile" and more "powerful" construction sector watchdog was put forward after numerous witnesses raised concerns about the lack of government regulation and enforcement in the sector.

The NSW government last year appointed its inaugural independent building commissioner in the wake of the high-profile Opal Tower and Mascot Tower construction scandals.

ACT Minister for Building Quality Improvement Gordon Ramsay had yet to fully read the report when asked about its finding on Thursday. But while Mr Ramsay said he was open to new ideas, he maintained the territory already had a "very strong" regulator - Access Canberra's Construction Occupation Registrar.

In its 93-page report, the committee also recommended the licensing of more trades, including architects, engineers, designers and waterproofers. It also urged the ACT government to review the contentious builders insurance scheme, and consider establishing a NSW-style bond scheme to help pay for defects.

The inquiry was launched in 2018 in response to far reaching community concerns about the quality of construction work during Canberra's housing boom.

The two-year inquiry heard dozens of what committee chair Jeremy Hanson described as "quite harrowing experiences", including numerous accounts of defect-ridden properties and homeowners being left out of pocket by failed builders.

The final report noted the ACT government had made significant strides in reforming the sector since the inquiry was launched.

The committee said that prior to that it appeared that reform had "stalled" and the urgent need to address the "systemic failures" which caused building failures would "go unaddressed".

The government has now implemented all but two of 43 of its long-delayed building regulation reforms, Mr Ramsay announced on Thursday.

The report said it was difficult to gauge the scale or the cost of building defects in the nation's capital, although it did reference a "conservative figure" which suggested about $260 million would be needed to repair defects in Canberra's apartments.

The committee said building quality problems were the product of a web of "interlinked factors", including cost and time pressures placed on builders and other tradespeople, issues with materials, training and the involvement of experts.

The presence of a strong regulator could "push back" against these factors, the committee's report said.

A number of witnesses to the inquiry said the ACT regular was ineffective, with the Owners Corporation Netwok saying oversight of construction activity had been "weak".

In response, the committee recommended the creation of an independent building commissioner in the ACT, whose role would have a similar level of public visibility as the territory's work safety watchdog.

The commissioner would police compliance by conducting audits, enforcing site inspections and managing some disputes.

In speech to the ACT Legislative Assembly on Thursday, Mr Ramsay said the government last year doubled the size of Access Canberra's building inspectorate as part of its efforts to lift the standards of construction work in Canberra.

Master Builders Association of the ACT chief executive Michael Hopkins called for the establishment of not just a building commissioner, but an entire building commission.

"A well-funded and focused building commission would give the appropriate dedication to improving building quality which has long been called for by community and industry stakeholders," Mr Hopkins said.

"This model has been successfully implemented in Queensland, Victoria, and most recently in New South Wales."