Wollongong's bad apartment builds 'a stain on the industry'

Mr Press was in town as part of the announcement the Building Commission's first regional office in the state would be based in Burelli Street, Wollongong, as of Monday.

"Unfortunately, the reality is we have seen some shocking projects here, projects like Young Street and Crownview," Mr Press said.

"They've really put a stain on the industry and really hurt its pride."

The regional office announcement was at The Civic building site on the corner of Kembla and Stewart streets, being built by Advanced Constructions - which gave the commission the chance to "showcase some of the good".

"We're here in front of a site being run by a trusted, rated builder and that's the news of this industry going forward more and more," Mr Press said.

"We're having trusted, rated builders and developers that are active in NSWs.

"In a bit of a change, we're trying to focus on what's good because there is a lot of good here. That's the way that this industry is going. An industry that takes pride in its work and is focused on what it's delivering to homeowners and the consumers of NSW."

Building Minister Anoulack Chanthivong said the Illawarra was chosen as the pilot program site because of the level of construction now going on.

"There will be 10 Building Commission inspectors across the Illawarra and Shoalhaven region ensuring that we identify the defects and actually get those fixed for consumers," Mr Chanthivong said.

"This is about bringing trust and confidence back to the sector. Investing in a home or an apartment is one of the biggest investments ... of so many people in NSW. We want to make sure that those who are investing all their life savings are actually investing in quality homes and quality apartments."

Asked about the risk of dodgy Sydney developers choosing to move south to the Illawarra, Mr Press said it can be "a game of whack-a-mole".

"That's why we're making sure that as a regulator we're not just Sydney based," Mr Press said.

"This starts us having that local presence day in day out, but that doesn't mean we're going to be vacant from the rest of the state.

"We'll continue to do our regional programs, making sure that we're active across all of NSW and making sure that it's in the front of mind of every contractor that Building Commission NSW's team could be there unannounced each and every day of the week."