Council should employ certifiers

Recent news saying that additional building inspections must be carried out throughout the course of construction still leaves a major weakness in the system.

Private certifiers are still to be employed by the developer.

Where necessary, a contractor is expected to reject the work of his employer.

Such a situation is unacceptable.

All building inspections should be under the control of Council, and the system could operate this way. (1) Developers must lodge a bond with Council upon receiving approval of their DA.

(2) Council will appoint a Certifier to supervise the construction from beginning to the end.

(3) This can be a private Certifier or a Council employee.

(4) The costs incurred shall be paid from the bond lodged, and at the end of the project, a statement supplied to the developer with a refund of any remaining amount.

This way, the certifier is employed by Council and is responsible to them, not the developer.

Unless we have a system like this, we will continue to have "developer driven" standards in building construction.

Robert Lambert, Umina