New NSW Building Commissioner Steps Up

Crumbling buildings are being rectified and projects completed with certainty as James Sherrard prepares to step into the role of new NSW Building Commissioner on December 2.

There were big construction boots to fill, following the departure of David Chandler who made it a priority to take “risky players” out of the construction game and finished up in August.

Sherrard was finalising his last weeks as Transport NSW’s head of commercial, performance and strategy where major infrastructure projects were the aim of the game.

The incoming building commissioner said he was looking to lead the 400-strong team through its latest incarnation while working with the industry, government and community.

In December 2023 the Building Commission NSW officially became a “fit-for-purpose” building regulator bringing a team from the NSW Fair Trading Office to the table.

Working with governments was nothing new for Sherrard who was project manager on civic, residential and sporting infrastructure projects across NSW as well as the UK, Algeria, Afghanistan and Hong Kong.

This included the Sydney and London Olympics as well as work within his current role for Transport NSW in contract framework, property and project acquisition and analytics. 

NSW Minister for Building Anoulack Chanthivong this week welcomed the appointment and thanked Matt Press for his work as acting commissioner during the recruitment process. 

▲ Prior to working for Transport NSW, James Sherrard was national lead partner of the infrastructure, urban renewal team and capital projects practice at PwC.

“With his depth and breadth of experience across the public and private sectors and globally, Mr Sherrard is well placed to take the Building Commission to the next level in its development,” Anoulack said.

“As part of this change, we last year launched Building Commission NSW transforming a 10-person Office of the Building Commissioner into a more than 400-strong standalone regulator.

“It is exciting to embark on a new era with James at the helm, working with stakeholders, industry, consumers and government to continue the Minns Labor Government’s work to rebuild trust in the construction industry and ensure a supply of well-built homes across the state.”

Chandler retired in August after five years of being an outspoken force for creating change in the building industry, including the scrutiny of the likes of Toplace and Dyldam.

Some of the projects on Toplace’s books were mid-way through, including multiple towers across Sydney.

In the past month Aland acquired several of the Toplace sites including 964 apartments opposite Castle Towers Shopping Centre and 425 apartments at Parramatta.