The ACT government has not added a single builder, developer or sub-contractor to its online disciplinary register in the past eight months, despite a well-publicised crackdown on dodgy construction work across Canberra.
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Opposition planning spokesman Mark Parton said the public would find that extraordinary, given the government's intention to use the website to hold companies accountable for sub-standard work.
The government's approach to rectifying the problems plaguing Canberra's construction boom came under scrutiny on Wednesday, as Minister for Building Quality Improvement Gordon Ramsay and senior Access Canberra officials Dave Peffer and Ben Green fronted the fifth day of budget estimates.
Mr Green confirmed the government had ramped up enforcement activity in recent months, as it aimed to force "cultural reform" within parts of industry.
"Most builders want to do the right thing," Mr Green said. "[But] Frankly there have been instances where builders have been reckless with their approach."
The government temporarily shut down 28 building sites in the eight months to April 30.
But the crackdown has not, as yet, resulted in any companies being added to Access Canberra's online disciplinary register.
The register lists construction industry companies hit with sanctions in the past 10 years, including suspension and cancellation of licences and rectification orders.
Mr Parton was taken aback by the fact the list of 77 license holders had not grown since September, saying "people would find that a little extraordinary given everything that has gone on in the space".
He noted that Mr Peffer had late last year announced the government intended to draw greater attention to the register, as a means of improving buyers' awareness about companies histories.
On Wednesday, Mr Peffer stressed that the register only captured the "absolute pointy-end" of enforcement action which the government could take.
He said the regulator was focused on identifying and resolving problems before more serious sanctions needed to be handed out, such as rectification orders.
Mr Green noted licence holders appealed almost every rectification order to the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which delayed the company being added to the register, if at all.
He said the action which saw companies placed on the disciplinary register was separate to the types of enforcement measures witnessed during the recent crackdown, such as the shutting down of construction sites.
Budget estimates continue on Thursday,
Dan Jervis-Bardy
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
