![The Highgate complex in Civic is the latest apartment building to be criticised over quality issues. Picture by Sitthixay Ditthavong The Highgate complex in Civic is the latest apartment building to be criticised over quality issues. Picture by Sitthixay Ditthavong](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/LLBstgPA4H8EG9DTTGcXBL/489e5fc3-9609-4798-96ed-5da15c1e400f.jpg/r0_271_5300_3263_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
It is ironic that Canberra's trouble-plagued Highgate apartments were under construction at roughly the same time major faults were coming to light in two tower complexes in Sydney.
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The luxury Canberra apartment complex, which was completed in 2018 and has seen apartments sell for well in excess of $1 million, is the latest ACT apartment building to be plagued by claims of faulty construction work and poor design which have placed residents at risk.
An engineering report commissioned by the former building managers Vantage Strata and carried out by Bligh Tanner identified 44 defects or issues in the 17-storey building on the corner of City Walk and Akuna Street. This is one of the busiest thoroughfares in the city.
Imagine therefore the possible implications of design and construction faults that could cause the tempered glass used to fence off the balconies to spontaneously shatter and rain thousands of pieces of so-called safety glass on passers by. And that's not to mention the danger to residents who rely on those glass balustrades to stop them from toppling off the said balconies.
Bligh Tanner engineers also identified damaged concrete columns and corrosion in steel structures within the building. Their concerns about the safety of the balconies were so great that after receiving the report Vantage Strata wrote to residents last September warning them to "exercise extreme caution when accessing balconies" and to "please remain clear of the balustrade and avoid any unnecessary loading [until further review]".
While residents were told the investigations were not complete nobody will speak publicly about what happened next or whether the faults have been rectified.
That includes Bligh Tanner, the builders Morris Property Group, Vantage Strata, the new building manager Point Facilities Solutions or Worksafe ACT.
That is pretty poor given there have long been concerns over the quality of apartment construction in this city. In 2019 the ACT government - ACT taxpayers actually - had to stump up an undisclosed sum of money for emergency repairs to the Kingston Place apartment building. The builder, Morris Construction, had refused to do so.
Speaking in 2016, veteran building inspector and industry consultant Ross McCabe told The Canberra Times some of the buildings he had investigated were so badly flawed it would be cheaper to knock them down and start again rather than to attempt to repair them.
He cited the case of one development, then valued at $50 million, with water leaks, a cracking facade and poor structural integrity.
It would seem to be only a matter of time before the ACT sees building disasters on the same scale as the Mascot Towers and Opal Towers debacles which emerged in 2018-19. Residents were forced to move out for many months while rectification works were carried out after the discovery of major flaws led to fears the towers could fall.
The NSW government reacted by appointing its first NSW Building Commissioner in 2020. The commission is responsible for the regulation of all residential apartment building in the state. Its powers were expanded in 2023 to give it the authority to enter construction sites, inspect work and to take away information and materials. It can also issue stop work orders, prohibition orders and rectification orders.
There is no such one-stop-shop for complaints in the ACT. Here a form has to be lodged with Access Canberra for scrutiny by the Construction Occupations Registrar.
The ACT does not need to reinvent the wheel. It would make sense to review what progress has been made across the border.