How many failures occur when Andrews gets involved??
Here is the latest Andrews Fiasco that is causing so much grief in the housing sector. This is on top of the failure of the Victoria Building Insurance Authority to rein in Porter Davis despite warnings, which the Andrews' agency ignored.
The VBA CEO has resigned due to reports of poor performance by the regulator. One of the key issues is that VBA senior management has pressured VBA inspectors to carry out hundreds of building inspections via iphone rather than physical inspections.
Other issues include a shockingly toxic workplace culture and the unfortunate death of a building and plumbing inspector in the past 12 months.
See reports below published overnight in The Age and Herald Sun.
Construction watchdog chief resigns after iPhone inspection revelations ByLachlan Abbott
May 10, 2023 — 10.50pm
Victorian Building Authority chief executive Sue Eddy has resigned from the state’s embattled construction watchdog, effective immediately.
Eddy, who was reappointed for another five years in 2022, told VBA staff last Friday that she would be taking personal leave due to a family matter. However, staff will be told on Thursday morning that she will not return.
Eddy gave no reason for her resignation, said a source with direct knowledge of the situation who was not authorised to speak publicly before the announcement. No decision has been made about her replacement.
A government source confirmed the resignation when contacted by The Age.
The Age also attempted to contact Eddy, but she did not respond. VBA deputy chief commissioner Justin Madden was also contacted and said he was not in a position to comment. The Age also tried to contact the organisation itself and several other board members for comment. The Age and 60 Minutes revealed on Sunday that VBA inspectors completed hundreds of virtual audits rather than physically attending construction sites, despite legal advice that these “inspections by iPhone” might breach the state’s Building Act.
The building authority has been under the spotlight in the past year for its failures. WorkSafe last year issued an order for it to provide a safe workplace for its 43 building and plumbing inspectors after the suicide of inspector Rob Karkut.
The WorkSafe report following Karkut’s death found the VBA was an unsafe workplace due to managers pressing inspectors to tick off construction sites to meet ambitious targets set by the Andrews government in 2020.
Building surveyors claim the watchdog ignored their warnings about virtual home building inspections for two years and called for the VBA leadership to be overhauled on Tuesday.
Victorian Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny told The Age on Sunday that Victorians expected their homes “be built to approved building standards and built to last – and that the regulator is functioning appropriately and effectively”.
“I have been considering the Victorian Building Authority’s performance of its important regulatory functions and have sought advice from my department regarding the governance and management of the Victorian Building Authority. I will have more to say once I have received and considered that advice,” Kilkenny has said.
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Herald Sun
Victorian Building Authority chief Sue Eddy resigns
Victorian Building Authority chief Sue Eddy, who last week took leave amid fresh reports of poor performance by the regulator, has stood down from her role. Kieran Rooney
May 11, 2023 - 7:53AM
THE chief executive of the state’s embattled building regulator has resigned.
Sue Eddy, who last week took leave ahead of fresh reports of poor performance by the Victorian Building Authority, is understood to have quit her role.
The VBA had been under pressure to replace Ms Eddy after a horror year in which the Herald Sun revealed the tragic death of a staff member and a probe was launched into allegations of a toxic culture.
A first report has been handed down but a second report, understood to include testimony from those under nondisclosure agreements, has been expected for months.
The Victorian Building Authority has been under pressure to replace its chief executive.
Last year, the Australian Institute of Building Surveyors declared they had no faith in the regulator overs it’s handling of cladding and registration processes.
Many homeowners have been frustrated by VBA audits which have left them to cover the cost of replacement while ongoing issues with dodgy builders have prompted calls to shake-up the regulator.
The Herald Sun also revealed a massive backlog in signing new recruits which was contributing to a shortage of surveyors needed across the state.
Ms Eddy’s resignation is expected to heighten pressure for a total reform of the VBA and the building industry more broadly.
Kieran Rooney
