AAA has written to the QLD Premier seeking a “seat at the table for mum and dad Queensland unit and apartment owners” after the newly announced inquiry into the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC).
Partnering with the Queensland Apartment Defects Advocacy Group (QADAG), AAA is demanding complete transparency and a say for thousands of apartment and unit owners
whose lives have been ruined by defects in strata buildings in Queensland.
QDAG has 6,000 members in Queensland and has been calling for an inquiry
into the QBCC for over 12 months. The group recently met with Assistant Director
General for Energy and Public Works, Ainslie Baron, to reinforce their frustration at
the lack of expertise and time delays demonstrated by QBCC.
“We welcome the announcement of an inquiry, but it is 12 months overdue and
it needs to have complete transparency,” QDAG spokesperson Samantha
Reece said today.
“To that end, we will be writing to the Premier asking for a seat at the table of this
inquiry so we can best represent the interests of apartment and unit owners who,
like us, have lost faith in the QBCC.”
“For too many years, cowboy builders have been able to get away with poor
workmanship and the QBCC has been a toothless tiger.
“There is now an opportunity to get this situation back on the right track and we
want a seat at the table.”
QDAG last month released expert reports showing the results of surveys in which
two in five new apartments in New South Wales had significant defects. Similar
results were identified in the 2021 Australian Apartment Advocacy research
which identified 49% of QLD apartment owners reporting defects, including
water ingress, inadequate water proofing and structural cracking issues.
“We know Queensland is in a state of crisis, especially off the back of reports that
builders are cutting corners to keep up with demand and to shave costs
because of rising material bills.”
