Former NSW building chief says fugitive developer warned: ‘If you harm my project, I’ll harm you’
A former New South Wales building commissioner has told a corruption inquiry that fugitive developer Jean Nassif warned him: “Don’t you harm my project, and
A former New South Wales building commissioner has told a corruption inquiry that fugitive developer Jean Nassif warned him: “Don’t you harm my project, and if you harm my project, I’ll harm you.” The exchange has landed in the middle of a wider investigation into political donations, developer influence and the collapse of Toplace, Nassif’s property empire.
David Chandler gave the account to the Independent Commission Against Corruption on Thursday, describing a 2021 phone call with Nassif after the commissioner moved against one of Toplace’s projects over defect concerns. Chandler said the call followed earlier clashes with the developer, whom he described as “loud and overbearing.”
Threat after defect order
Chandler told the inquiry he had already ordered a “destructive inspection” of a Toplace building in Botany in 2020, a process that required bathrooms to be ripped up to check waterproofing. He later inspected the Skyview development in Castle Hill in April 2021 after concerns were raised, then issued a prohibition order so an independent engineer could certify the project.
The order stopped a certificate of occupancy being granted and delayed apartment settlements in the complex. That intervention became a flashpoint. Chandler said Nassif responded with threatening voice messages after the decision.
Short and sharp. That was the tone.
After the 2021 phone call, Chandler said he decided Nassif would no longer be allowed to be present on sites during inspections. He also resolved not to deal with him directly again.
Corruption probe widens
The ICAC is examining whether donations linked to Nassif were exchanged for political favours, including efforts to advance the interests of the right-wing NSW Liberal Party Reformers faction and, in some allegations, remove Chandler as building commissioner. Investigators are also looking at claims that people linked to the party solicited funds from prohibited donors and other sources.
Nassif fled to Lebanon in late 2022, with a NSW Police arrest warrant outstanding, after his Toplace empire collapsed owing billions of dollars to creditors. He is expected to appear before the commission on September 4 by audio-visual link from Lebanon, the commission confirmed to AAP.
The matter matters well beyond Sydney. Australia has seen a string of cases in which property, politics and regulation collide, but this one puts a senior building watchdog and a fugitive developer on opposite sides of a corruption probe that could test how far political fundraising reached into planning and oversight.
Chandler’s evidence is likely to remain central when Nassif fronts the commission next week. The inquiry will then hear, from abroad, from the man at the centre of the allegations.
