Advocate group Builders Collective of Australia has written to Prime Minister Scott Morrison calling for a royal commission after “appalling failures within Australia’s residential construction sector.”

The group’s director, builder Phil Dwyer, said the well-publicised events in Sydney and Melbourne have highlighted the "system is broken and failing the people".

Alongside the cladding-fuelled fire disasters on Melbourne's Lacrosse and Neo200 apartment buildings and the Opal Tower evacuation, issues with builders warranty insurance, the privatisation of certifiers and surveyors and a lack of accountability are plaguing the industry.

"One only has to visit the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal building in Melbourne on any given day and look over the schedule for the day’s hearings. The Tribunal is virtually under siege from disputes between developers/builders and ‘Mr and Mrs Average’," Mr Dwyer said.

Mr Dwyer said cases like these account for 72 per cent of the hearing and conciliation time.

"Our legislators need to reflect very seriously on the mood out here that is gaining momentum every time we hear or read of good, hard-striving fellow citizens who have been dudded by bad dwelling design, greedy developers who have facilitated the cutting of corners, or builders who work purely on a basis of expediency," Mr Dwyer said.

“The bad designer, the greedy developer, the ultra expedient builder/tradesman might win an argument in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal against your average Joe on the basis of 'bigger money buys the better advocate', but a properly constituted judicial enquiry (ideally a Royal Commission with nationwide coverage) would surely not be a place to dodge the fact that the system is badly broken and in need of a complete revamp. "

Last week, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal ordered Lacrosse owners be paid $5.7 million damages, as a result of a serious cladding fire on November 24 2014, which was started by a single cigarette on a balcony.

He says last week's ruling was the outcome they have been fighting for years.

“The judgement is a breath of fresh air and vindicates our long-held position. But this moment must be taken as a chance to move this industry forward. 

“Conflicts of interest, poor oversight from regulating bodies, and seeming indifference from Governments ensure that regulations, standards, and expectations are not being met in modern-day Australia," Mr Dwyer said.

In a paper submitted to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, The Residential Construction Industry in Australia: Destined for Disaster, identifies four key areas of concern that have developed within the industry throughout the past few years.

They include the privatisation of building certifiers/surveyors, the "virtual collapse" of Builders Warranty Insurance with the demise of HIH insurance, and a national shift toward high-density living in Australia.

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