A new team will be established within the ACT government to review design documents and attend mandatory inspections in an effort to improve building quality in Canberra.
The team in Access Canberra will initially focus on complex, high-rise apartment buildings before expanding to other residential projects.
Building Minister Rebecca Vassarotti said the staff would support private building surveyors and was a better policy than the government's previous commitment to employ certifiers in house.
"In many cases, this will put the onus of fixing defects onto developers in the construction phase meaning Canberrans won't be shafted with a dodgy house once they've moved into it," Ms Vassarotti said.
Changes to building certification standards in the ACT will come into effect from July 1, 2025, a move the government said provided enough time to recruit the team and support the construction industry to meet the new rules.
"When Canberrans buy or rent a home, they should be able to demand the best from those who built them," Ms Vassarotti said.
"Over recent years, high-profile cases of poor development have undermined the trust of Canberrans in the home building industry. Dodgy development choices are estimated to have cost Canberrans more than $50 million each year."
Ms Vassarotti said reducing defects in construction required an effort focused on the design and construction phase, rather than after buildings were completed and required rectification.
The power-sharing agreement struck between Labor and the Greens after the 2020 election included a commitment to establish a team of building certifiers working in the ACT public service.
Ms Vassarotti said a consultants' report found there would be significant barriers and risks to bringing all building certification services in house.
"While a public certifiers model delivers the exact wording of the [parliamentary agreement] commitment and is an option for addressing the conflict risk, it is not likely to materially impact on the reduction of defects," she told a recent environment and planning forum.
"Therefore, we have developed another option to better address the problem we are trying to solve, whilst also delivering on the public service oversight element of the original commitment."
The new system will provide government oversight of private sector building certifiers and surveyors, review building approval documents, ensure attendance at staged inspections and advise on whether certificates of occupancy can be issued.
"Fundamentally this approach is a solution which addresses both aspects of the policy problem, is cost and time effective, and complements other reforms we have progressed," she said.
