We have an absolute rock star podcast guest this week, in NSW Building Commission Policy Director Angus Abadee.

Angus gave us a good 20 minutes of his valuable time to explain what the recent expansion of the building commission means, as well as the significance of the new laws passed recently.

The topics touched on included how they identify and approach developers they think might be cutting corners and building defects into their blocks – with a 90 per cent hit rate in that regard.

How they are helping low-rise developers who want to move up in the world, literally, by building medium-rise developments but lack the skills and experience to make the transition efficiently and effectively.

He spoke about how they and their counterparts in other states confer on key issues, and he confirmed that there are fewer reports of apartment building defects in Victoria simply because they are a couple of years behind NSW in identifying the problems – not because the problems don’t exist.

And he addresses the next challenge for the Building Commission – dealing with defects in older buildings that are outside their warranty periods.

We should note that this podcast came with its own construction problems. It was recorded using a hand-held device next to a computer speaker because Zoom had decided to remove or hide its “record” button.  It was edited on a laptop on our flight to Fiji then compiled into this post and uploaded to the internet from inside our holiday “bure” on Malolo Island.

All of which is to explain the less-than-perfect audio as well as to hope you think it was worth the effort when you hear it.

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Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai; Transcription tidied up and sensified by Raphie.
Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.