The ACT's safe work watchdog will consider calling for building inspectors to be available on weekends to stop builders avoiding development rules.
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Work Safety Commissioner Mark McCabe made the commitment to investigate the need after complaints about an inner south construction company which has had both a prohibition notice and stop notice issued this year for unapproved work on its business land.
Mr McCabe said there was a 24-hour Work Safe hotline which enabled a Work Safe inspector to be called, and their powers would usually be enough to stop work until at least the next business day.
"I would deem an unapproved job as unsafe," he said.
"This is the first time it has come to my attention that it's been indicated there could be a need for weekend building inspectors."
The prohibition notice for the block in Forrest, the business headquarters of construction management company Kascon, was issued on February 25 in relation to an unapproved steel frame structure on the roof of the building, an Access Canberra spokesman said. The structure had been removed by June 30.
A stop notice under the Building Act was then issued on July 3 after an unapproved upper floor on the rear side of the building was found.
Nearby residents have claimed work has been done on the heritage-listed Fitzroy Street site on weekends for more than a year, but an Access Canberra spokesman said there had been numerous inspections since July 3 – including one last Saturday – which had found no sign of building work which would breach the stop notice.
Mr McCabe said the work which led to the stop notice was contrary to a development approval given to the leaseholders, which include Kascon director Tomislav Kasunic.
Kascon's project manager, Dane Kasunic, is also an architect. The stop notice required the landowners to lodge another DA, which they did last month. Their solicitor said his clients had acted within the law at all times.
"The scope of the initial work changed during construction however as it was code compliant under the single residential housing code my client believed that they could lodge an amended DA prior to finalisation of the project as is common practice in the ACT," he said.
Mr McCabe said Access Canberra would continue to monitor the site periodically.
There were 16 stop work notices issued by the Environment and Planning Directorate across the ACT in 2013-14.