Mirvac’s CEO Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz has called for improvement in building standards, according to a report from The Sydney Morning Herald.
The building sector has been in hot water after high-profile incidents in which tenants evacuated poorly-built apartment buildings, prompting calls for reform.
Raising the building standards in the country is of particular urgency, according to Lloyd-Hurwitz.
It is “unacceptable” that families who bought or rented apartments in good faith could find themselves homeless, facing years of legal battles and substantial costs to rectify buildings, she said.
“It's an outrageous situation as people bought them in good faith and now they have to battle through the legal processes. This breach of faith is more than just a transaction gone wrong. These homes represent the life savings and dreams of Australians who have invested their futures in those homes,” she said.
People should know that their homes are safely constructed, and if something goes wrong, they will have support and recourse, Lloyd-Hurwitz said.
Mirvac has benefited from the crisis, with customers seeking better-known brands at the same time the market slows down, she said.
“Despite a challenging market, we have seen sustained sales throughout the financial year, and we achieved our settlement target. We don't see a big uplift in confidence for the residential sector until late 2020 and into 2021,” she said.
Mirvac announced a headline profit of over $1bn for the fourth consecutive year, allowing the company to deliver at the top end of its guidance, according to the report.
