Victoria’s building industry regulator completed hundreds of virtual online audits rather than physically attending construction sites despite the authority having legal advice for almost two years warning it might break the Victorian Building Act.
A September 2022 investigation commissioned by the planning department, obtained by, also recommended the virtual audits cease because they risked inspections being “in breach of the Building Act”. It recommended “no more virtual audits or inspections be performed”.
“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.”
A WorkSafe report after his death found the Victorian Building Authority was an unsafe workplace due to managers pressing building and plumbing inspectors to tick off construction sites to meet ambitious targets set by the Andrews government. From 2020, the authority began putting pressure on inspectors to meet an Andrews government order that 10 per cent of all building permits issued each year be inspected.
When Karkut died, the authority was pushing him to visit more sites – despite him saying he could not properly monitor building standards and hit these target numbers. In recorded audio, Karkut told managers at the authority: “I’m trying to cover my backside because I think you’re becoming unrealistic with your expectations.”
Five of the authority’s current building and plumbing inspectors, all of whom risk losing their jobs if their names are revealed, said the daily inspection targets were extremely problematic. One said it forced them to the brink of “a dangerous dereliction of duty”. One building inspector said the corners they were encouraged to cut were confronting: they were instructed not to inspect concrete slabs, or to conduct virtual inspections.
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