1 day ago
6
April 14, 2026 — 5:00am
Never on a Sunday used to be the construction industry standard.
But a dispute between North Sydney Council and developer Deicorp over a $640 million hotel/apartment project has the potential to extend NSW building hours more widely.
Deicorp wants to build seven days a week, arguing the change would accelerate housing supply. It proposes to extend Saturday hours to 5pm and introduce Sunday work between 8am and 5pm, limited to internal fit-out activities.
The company told the NSW Department of Planning a half-day Saturday was no longer viable in an industry grappling with labour shortages, “unpredictable” delays and supply chain disruptions caused by global events.
The final decision rests with the department, but some worry that a ruling is likely to carry implications well beyond this case.
We have been here before.
After the pandemic, the Coalition government wanted to help the state get moving and allowed construction until 5pm on Saturdays and between 9am and 5pm on Sundays, as long as it did not involve blasting, rock drilling, jack hammering or other very noisy activities.
After a year, building went back to standard construction hours, based on the Environment Protection Authority’s Interim Construction Noise Guideline from 2009, of between 7am and 6pm on weekdays and 8am to 1pm on Saturdays, with no Sunday activity.
North Sydney Council officials and increasingly weary residents warn Deicorp’s proposal, if granted, could set a precedent that would be “difficult to reverse”, effectively ending the long-held expectation that construction sites fall silent for at least one day each week.
The Deicorp development site that has become ground zero for this dispute is hardly a quiet suburban avenue. It is on the corner of the Pacific Highway and busy Falcon Street in Crows Nest, and has mostly commercial neighbours.
For years, the area has been a busy road and significant eat street that, with the opening of the Crows Nest Metro Station, is undergoing massive transformation into a high-density, mixed-use transport-oriented development precinct.
Premier Chris Minns in 2024 identified Crows Nest as one of eight Transport Oriented Developments to deliver more housing around heavy rail and metro stations as part of the government’s reform plans to tackle Sydney’s housing crisis.
They included the removal of red tape from the approvals process, streamlining of applications and coming over the top of councils with the aim of building 377,000 homes under the Housing Accord. Yet amid soaring houses prices, development has slowed.
While North Sydney Council and resident opposition is to be expected, there are wider issues at stake that touch on the common good.
Sydney faces a monumental housing crisis preventing or driving families out of well-serviced inner suburbs searching for shelter in areas still lacking adequate infrastructure.
The Deicorp proposal for a seven-day working week is worth consideration, at least. Certainly, any changes need to be proportionally balanced and consider the impact on amenity. To assuage fears such reforms become a permanent part of the building industry, applications should be treated on a case-by-case basis and only apply to developments around transport hubs.
Jordan Baker sends an exclusive newsletter to subscribers each week. Sign up to receive her Note from the Editor.
