In short:

NSW's building watchdog quietly dumped a draft media release about record fines imposed on developer Aland.

Internal emails revealed senior officials approved a "reactive-only" strategy, indicating a shift in approach to keep disciplinary action against developers out of the spotlight.

The decision came months after the building commissioner attended an Aland-hosted event while the company was under investigation.

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

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

Aland is one of Western Sydney's largest developers and plays a key role in the NSW government's push to meet ambitious housing targets.

Behind the scenes, however, Building Commission NSW investigators had spent years examining the company's conduct.

In April, Aland's construction arm was fined $220,000; the largest penalty ever imposed by the regulator.

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

Breaches included the use of unlicensed contractors and the unauthorised removal of a power pole, overhead wires and street lighting at a St Mary's construction site, which cut electricity to a childcare centre and risked public safety.

When it came time to announce the significant disciplinary action, documents obtained under Freedom of Information reveal a flurry of discussions about what the public should be told.

It points to a recalibration of the watchdog's strategy, with efforts focused on fostering confidence in the struggling sector, rather than publicly spotlighting a developer's failings.

Internal emails and texts

At 1:03pm on Tuesday, April 28, a senior media advisor at the Department of Customer Service, which handles communications for Building Commission NSW, 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.

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.

The ABC asked whether Mr Sherrard, Mr Chanthivong, or either of their offices had requested or supported the decision to dump the release.

A spokesperson for the Department of Customer Service said the building watchdog did not "routinely issue a media release for every disciplinary action".

Yet in the same month, the regulator publicly announced action taken against two plumbers who used fake advertisements, issuing a media release detailing their penalties.

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.

A Department of Customer Service spokesperson told the ABC disciplinary action was published on the Verify NSW website, which can be searched by members of the public.

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.

Flashy celebration

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.

Loading...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".

Those comments, along with a clip of the building commissioner shaking hands with the Aland founder, was later featured in promotional material for the company.

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 torn rotator cuff requiring surgical repair, according to the District Court judgment.

"In relation to Safe Work NSW, ALAND has invested heavily into 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.