NSW building watchdog's secret dealings with developer Aland exposed

Internal government emails and documents reveal that NSW's building watchdog decided to quietly shelve a media release detailing disciplinary action against developer Aland, despite imposing the maximum fine available and sanctioning its founder.

The decision to keep the release under wraps came months after Building Commissioner James Sherrard attended a party hosted by the developer while the company was under investigation.

Aland's disciplinary action

Aland, one of Western Sydney's largest developers, was fined $220,000 in April for breaches including using unlicensed contractors and the unauthorised removal of a power pole, overhead wires, and street lighting at a St Mary's construction site.

The company's founder, Andrew Hrsto, was personally fined $40,000 and ordered to sit compliance training to retain his licence.

Documents obtained under Freedom of Information reveal a flurry of discussions about what to tell the public.

At 1:03pm on Tuesday, April 28, a senior media advisor at the Department of Customer Service circulated a draft media release titled: "Building Commission NSW takes disciplinary action against Aland." Less than two hours later, the advisor emailed the Office of the Building Commission again.

"Hey all, going to make some further changes to this one." By Wednesday, the planned media release had been abandoned.

"Any word on when we'll receive the Aland briefing pack? Just keen to start briefing on my end," a staffer from Fair Trading Minister Anoulack Chanthivong's office texted the media adviser on April 29.

"Holding statement at this point," came the reply.

Internal discussions

Unlike a media release, which is proactively published and distributed to media outlets, a holding statement is generally only provided if a journalist specifically asks about the matter.

Internally, discussions continued.

By the afternoon of April 29, a draft holding statement was sent to management.

"Approved," Mr Sherrard replied at 4:26pm.

The statement was forwarded to the minister's office.

On Friday, May 1, a ministerial staffer responded: "Please see approved lines … these are for reactive only at this stage." Days later, a separate building commission staff member queried why no media release had been issued.

The senior media advisor replied: "We've got ALAND in hand — no proactive comms at this stage." The decision meant disciplinary action taken against the developer for serious misconduct was never proactively announced to the public, despite plans to do so.

Commissioner's comments

The approved holding statement, to be provided only to journalists who requested it, contained quotes attributable to the NSW building commissioner.

"Throughout the disciplinary proceedings, Aland and Mr Hrsto fully co-operated with Building Commission NSW and have already made changes to their business," Mr Sherrard said in the statement.

Developer responds

A spokesperson for Aland said it was working with the regulator to "further strengthen our processes" and reaffirmed its commitment to "continually improving our already high standards," pointing to its gold star iCIRT rating.

Commissioner's attendance at Aland event

Five months before the regulator ditched the draft media release, Mr Sherrard attended a ritzy event hosted by Aland to mark the opening of its $375 million Archibald project on the Central Coast.

Mr Sherrard told budget estimates in August he was aware the firm was under investigation at the time, but was "not concerned about the optics of it" as the probe had "all but concluded", and the developer had been working to address shortcomings.

"I knew the details of what the offences were … I keep at arm's length from the disciplinary proceedings team in making a determination about what penalties to apply," he said last month.

Mr Sherrard was joined at the Gosford ribbon-cutting ceremony by NSW Premier Chris Minns, who spruiked Aland and told the crowd the development was "fantastic for NSW".

String of controversies

For a developer who is no stranger to public scrutiny, the regulator's action attracted remarkably little attention.

In 2020, the owners of the Mascot Towers development in Sydney took legal action against an Aland subsidiary in the Supreme Court, claiming cracks in their building appeared after the developer conducted excavation work on neighbouring site, Peak Towers.

Aland denied the claim and settled out of court for a confidential sum on a non-admissions basis.

In 2024, Aland B&W was convicted and ordered to pay $225,000 after a migrant worker was crushed by 6-metre steel rods.

A crane worker lost control of the load, which hit the man, lifted him in the air and pinned him against formwork for up to a minute.

The worker suffered fractured ribs, a lower back injury and a torn rotator cuff requiring surgical repair, according to the District Court judgment.

"In relation to SafeWork NSW, ALAND has invested heavily in its safety processes and procedures and continues to champion a safe working environment," the spokesperson for Aland said.

The same year, Mr Hrsto was reprimanded and fined $1,500 by the regulator after he failed to disclose pending criminal charges on a licence application.

Mr Hrsto had been caught with a 0.95g bag of cocaine at the Star Casino in 2019.

He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to an eight-month good behaviour bond, with no conviction recorded.