In the third episode of Coleman Greig’s ‘In Practice’ series, Litigation and Dispute Resolution Principal Lawyer Nick Kallipolitis meets with Dr Chyi Lin Lee, Associate Professor in Property at Western Sydney University’s Parramatta campus, to discuss some of the implications surrounding the ongoing construction taking place here in Western Sydney.

There are currently a wide range of new and exciting construction projects taking place in Greater Western Sydney, including the new Badgerys Creek Aerotropolis, and the Parramatta Square project.

In this video, Dr Lee suggests that one of the most impactful short-term challenges facing the Building and Construction industry here in New South Wales is linked to the lack of certainty surrounding government policies – e.g. whether there will be changes to negative gearing and/or stamp duty laws coming into effect in the near future.  

With state, and potentially federal elections on the horizon, and with the state’s political parties boasting differing policies pertaining to issues of influence within the Building and Construction industry, it is difficult to say what the future holds.  Whilst Dr Lee notes that the past 6-12 months have indeed shown clear evidence of Australia’s residential housing market softening, he does not feel that this is necessarily the case with regard to the country’s commercial property sector.

This disparity in growth between the two sectors can presently be seen here in Parramatta, with corporations having already altered plans from ones previously focused on the development of residential property within the new Parramatta Square district, to plans surrounding the development of commercial property.
One positive change to come from this ongoing focus on the development of commercial property within the Greater Western Sydney region, according to Dr Lee, is that it will help to close the gap between the Western and Eastern Sydney regions.

With higher rates of commercial development come greater opportunities for employment – so it is already possible to see the positive and far-reaching impact that Western Sydney’s Building and Construction industry is having on Sydney as a whole.

There are a wide range of ways that Coleman Greig’s Building and Construction Law team can provide assistance to you and your business – if you are looking for advice or support pertaining to your own matter, please don’t hesitate to get touch today.

Episode 1 – Understanding the Contract: More Bargaining Power for Subcontractors
Episode 2 – Security of Payment Act: Understanding the Fundamentals