Griffith’s mayor has defended staff amid allegations of misconduct with building certifications. Councillor John Dal Broi said they had “nothing to hide” and the Building Professionals Board had been notified.
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Senior staff began investigating after The Area News asked about a list of developments received from an anonymous source.
The source claimed staff had signed certificates without the proper credentials.
In NSW, a development application and construction certificate go to a Principal Certifying Authority (PCA) with a complying development certificate. The PCA is then responsible for inspections and issuing the occupation certificate.
According to Cr Dal Broi, a staff member took photographs and sent them to the certifier before signing a certificate in an effort to appease a developer. The next day the certifier arrived.
“There was a degree of urgency from the developer’s point of view,” Cr Dal Broi said. “We were damned if we do and damned if we don’t, we would have copped it from the developer so the manager took copious photographs and contacted a certifier and sent them to him, then he certified it.”
Neil Southorn, director of sustainable development at Griffith City Council, wrote in a letter to The Area News that he had investigated the claims.
“There are seven cases found from the list … where a council manager has signed a certificate and not an accredited building surveyor,” Mr Southorn wrote.
“In six of these cases an accredited building surveyor or building inspector has requested the certificate to be issued.
On these occasions, a management decision has been made to issue the certificate, most likely because an accredited officer was not available to sign the certificate in person and the certificate has been issued to satisfy customer requirements or some other deadline.”
In an email sent to councillors and the senior management team on March 7, Mr Southorn wrote: “No evidence has been brought forward to council nor has any been found of any council officer issuing certificates for personal gain.”
Cr Dal Broi said staff were fully aware they had to follow the letter of the law, but in some circumstances it was not always black and white.
“Providing nobody’s put at risk and the building is not put at risk … the people involved have been in the industry for years and years, they haven’t just come in five minutes ago,” he said.
