New commish seeks collaboration, not conflict

NSW has a new Building Commissioner, and he’s promising a different approach to his predecessor, David Chandler, the scourge of dodgy developers and bodgy builders.

Minister for Building Anoulack Chanthivong has welcomed the appointment of James Sherrard, former head of Commercial, Performance and Strategy at Transport NSW, citing his more than 30 years’ experience spanning global construction projects and specialist expertise in strategy, commercial and infrastructure areas.

But alarm bells are already ringing in the strata community after Mr Sherrard’s comments in the media that he would be seeking a more collaborative approach, including the government, the building industry and the public, than the bullish attitude that made his predecessor highly respected, if not feared in some quarters.

According to a NSW Government press release, in his previous role at Transport NSW Mr Sherrard led a team responsible for contract frameworks, the acquisition of property for major infrastructure  projects, procurement including several multi-billion dollar projects and an analytics team. 

“David Chandler commenced in the role at a time when the industry needed to be put on notice,” Mr Sherrard told the Sydney Morning Herald. “Through his approach a lot has been achieved and now we are in a new phase of growth, recognising what good building looks like through education and publication.

“Notwithstanding this approach, we will also continue to strongly enforce the legislation, where necessary, without fear or favour.”

David Chandler initiated the iCIRT gold star rating system for apartment developers and wrangled the first 10-year building construction insurances that the State had seen for almost a quarter of a century.

Mr Sherrard’s challenge is to maintain wavering public confidence in apartment construction, so that people still buy off the plan which is necessary to fulfil the state’s need for hundreds of thousands of new apartments.

Owners’representatives have welcomed the appointment, albeit with a level of caution.

“The Owners Corporation Network is thrilled to see the government’s ongoing commitment to cleaning up the construction industry and delivering quality housing. OCN looks forward to working with the new Building Commissioner to ensure increased consumer protections,” Executive Officer Karen Styles told Flat Chat..

“But we must ask Why are strata owners being denied a Strata Commissioner, considering the multiple ABC exposes of financial rorts by strata managing agents?’ she added.When will the Strata Commissioner be reinstated?“

The fear that corners will be cut and bad actors will be allowed back into the industry are understandable and real. However, according to the government press release, Mr Sherrard is no stranger to balancing political desires, social needs and practicalities in the construction trade.

He has been a project manager on civic, residential and sporting infrastructure projects across  metropolitan and regional NSW and globally including the Sydney and London Olympics and has  formal qualifications in building, business and law. He has worked at senior levels in professional  services consulting, focused on infrastructure and urban renewal.

His experience in international construction projects between 2004 and 2015 spanned the UK, Algeria, Afghanistan and Hong Kong. 

Minister for Building Anoulack Chanthivong said:   “I would like to congratulate Mr Sherrard on his appointment, which follows former Building  Commissioner David Chandler retiring in August after being an outspoken force creating positive  change for the building industry in NSW.

“As part of this change, we last year launched Building Commission NSW transforming a ten-person Office of the Building Commissioner into a more than 400 strong standalone regulator.

“With his depth and breadth of experience across the public and private sectors and globally, Mr  Sherrard is well placed to take the Building Commission to the next level in its development. 

“It is exciting to embark on a new era with James at the helm, working with stakeholders, industry,  consumers and government to continue the Minns Labor Government’s work to rebuild trust in the  construction industry and ensure a supply of well built homes across the state. 

“I would also like to thank Matt Press for acting in the role while the recruitment process was  completed. Matt will continue as Acting Building Commissioner until James joins Building Commission NSW on 2 December.”

It will be interesting to see how the new Commissioner’s spirit of collaboration manifests itself. As one wag has noted, collaboration is something they shoot you for in times of war.