Owners in NSW apartment blocks that are under six years old and have unaddressed defects have only two months to register their scheme under the Project Intervene program to have the defects rectified for free.

Project Intervene, is run under the aegis of Fair Trading and the Office of the Building Commissioner, promoted and endorsed by the Owners Corporation Network (OCN).

It will be supported by forensic experts in construction from the Building Consultancy Division of Segwick, the largest risk management company on the planet.

The project will identify building defects and manage their rectification in circumstances where the developer is still in business.

According to the Fair Trading web page, Project Intervene uses the powers of Fair Trading to compel developers/builders to remediate serious defects.

In the past those powers could lead to a developer/builder being issued with a range of work orders for fixing non-compliant building work.

But Project Intervene is different, says Fair Trading. It “seeks to reach agreement with a developer (or builder) about the serious defects and the remediation work and thereby avoid litigation which can be very costly.

“Project Intervene also ensures remediation work is completed to an appropriate standard and imposes timeframes.”

The program aims to avoid costly and time-consuming legal options such as going to court. Instead, the Department negotiates an undertaking with the developer for the benefit of the owners corporation. All parties enter voluntarily but once an undertaking is signed it is legally binding.  

An owners corporation can register for the program up until 30 June 2023.  iCIRT-rated developers can also nominate a building.  

For a building to be included, a serious defect must be related to a building element. Other defects might be remediated at the same time but would have to be agreed to separately by the developer. 

There is no cost to the owners corporation as the developer pays for the remediation works and all associated costs. Strata schemes with a matter before a tribunal or court are still eligible. 

Owners corporations have until June 30 to apply for help with their defects. And you will find all the information you need on this website.