The quality of high-rise residential developments needs to improve to engender confidence in buyers, NSW planning authorities say.

While it may seem a steep order given the huge challenges facing the construction industry, it is a long-term necessity, says Michael Edgar, general manager of The Hills Shire—one of a number of Sydney councils faced with poor-quality developments in recent years. 

These builds, of course, have not gone unnoticed. Evacuations of Mascot and Opal Towers in 2019 and 2018 respectively prompted a massive overhaul of the planning sector under NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler.