Education and enforcement key to improved compliance on NSW building sites
NSW builders are increasingly showing they can ‘get the site right’, as revealed by the May 2024 inspection blitz with 26 councils participating in more than 1,200 inspections across 965 building sites in Sydney and regional NSW.
Compliance rates rose by 5 per cent since the last campaign in October 2023, with nearly 72 per cent of sites meeting standards after a second inspection. Council officers also saw a 46 per cent increase in compliance between the first and second inspections – 28 per cent more than the previous campaign – underscoring the value of ongoing monitoring and education.
For non-compliant sites, participating councils issued more than 100 penalty notices totalling $314,824 – almost $90,000 more than in October due to recently strengthened penalty notice fines under the Protection of the Environment Operations (POEO) Act. Offences included poorly installed sediment fences, unprotected stockpiles, and cement slurry escaping from the site.
NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) Executive Director Operations, Jason Gordon said EPA regulatory officers accompanied councils on a number of inspections and emphasised the importance of minimising environmental impacts from building sites.
“A single storm can wash away up to four truckloads of soil from a building site, which can severely damage aquatic ecosystems. It’s crucial for builders to implement proper systems to protect local waterways,” Mr Gordon said. “Developers and builders need to be proactive and preventing sediment from leaving their sites by using effective erosion and sediment controls.”
Get the Site Right is a joint taskforce between the Parramatta River Catchment Group, Cooks River Alliance, Georges Riverkeeper, NSW Environment Protection Authority, Sydney Coastal Councils Group, WaterNSW, and councils across NSW.
For more information, visit: Environment Protection Legislation Amendment (Stronger Regulation and Penalties) Act 2024 (nsw.gov.au).
Members of the public are encouraged to report pollution incidents, including poor sediment control, to their local council or via the NSW EPA’s 24-hour Environment Line on 131 555.
There has been a recent increase in penalty notice fines under the POEO Act by the EPA. Many common offences, such as committing water pollution or non-compliance with a clean-up notice now have increased fines including:
• $15,000 for a first offence and $22,500 for a second offence for individuals
• $30,000 for a first offence and $45,000 for a second offence for corporations.
