WE are all aware that there are some Certifiers who have worked in cahoots with dodgy developers, however, they should not all be tarred with the same brush!
CAAN shares this response from Steven to this article issued on CAAN about the Certifier under investigation regarding the high-rise development in Auburn.
Steven wrote:
The issues at this site are not the Certifiers doing, they are the dodgy builder and his dodgy sub contractors doings. Being under investigation does not mean being guilty.
When is the Government going to focus on the developer/builder instead of over regulating the regulator?
Certifiers can get fines of up to 200K and be tarnished through the media whilst these inept developer/builders continually get away with the same ‘shit’, and aren’t subject to fines or reprimands.
CAAN: We wrote in the text to our intro: ‘Was Mr Storer employed by the developer, and if so, did the developer exert pressure upon the Certifier to issue the occupation certificate?
Following which Merhis was able to get customers who had bought apartments off the plan to settle!
In which case it would seem the developer ought be under investigation!’
Steven: It’s not so much a matter of whether the developers exert pressure on Certifiers or not because most times Certifiers don’t even deal with the developer directly and more so deal with the principle contractor/builder.
The big issue is unskilled labour and poor workmanship by tradies and builders working to stupid time frames and not quality controlling their trades.
It’s not the Certifiers role to ensure quality control and we get wrapped into these messes because certain tradies and builders don’t give an F!
You can do an online course and be a builder or PM in 12 months!
You don’t need a licence or any qualification to install fire doors, fire seals, build fire walls, fire rate floors, columns etc, etc
But yet there is an expectation that Certifiers should be responsible for these imb.ciles and their lack of knowledge. We are constantly fighting with tradies regarding these issues (which is not our role).
For your info, to be an A1 Certifier you need a minimum of 6 years study and 8-10 years in the industry.
Our minimum PI insurance policies are circa 200+ pa.
On the flip side, to install a fire door to your apartment, the tradie needs a chisel, a drill, a tool bag, no licence, qualifications or insurance!
Why and how do we have a system where this is permissible?
Why is it that this Certifier is likely to now get fined for poor workmanship by tradies and the builder? Yet the tradies probably won’t even know about it, and be currently installing the same shit on the next apartment.
You want to fix the problem, start fining and reprimanding builders and tradies for unskilled and poor workmanship, and watch the quality of work surprisingly increase!
NSW is going to be left with no Certifiers willing to work in residential apartments very soon. Already 70% of Certifiers refuse to touch it, and in that 70% sits the top end of town.
This Certifier is being tarnished because the SMH just like every other news outlet thrives on shock media. Why don’t they focus on the builder and his tradies?
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