The Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC) has suspended and fined a prominent building surveyor following a series of failures to act against a notorious builder over a Carnegie renovation.
14 April 2026
Asanka Kodikara, who is both a private building surveyor and the Municipal Building Surveyor (MBS) for the City of Boroondara, is the first MBS to be suspended by the regulator.
The 6 month suspension means he won’t be able to work in either role when the penalty comes into effect next month.
The BPC has also issued Kodikara with a $25,000 fine after he was found to have failed to properly administer the mandatory inspections process required under the Building Act.
Kodikara committed the breaches while operating in his capacity as a private building surveyor and issuing permits for a swimming pool and a front and rear extension.
The grounds for the BPC decision include that Kodikara:
- failed to perform work as a registered building surveyor in a competent manner and to a professional standard including not issuing enforcement action and not obtaining inspection certificates in a timely manner
- failed to comply with the principles of the Building Surveyors Code of Conduct
- engaged in unprofessional conduct
The responsible builder on the permit, Aycon Constructions, has been cancelled and disqualified by the BPC for carrying out domestic building work without the required insurance.
The BPC has also successfully prosecuted the unregistered builder Upul Ranasinghe who carried out the work on behalf of Aycon. He was convicted and fined $70,000 in the Magistrates Court earlier this month.
The BPC also took disciplinary action against the building engineer, Mehran Orangi who carried out inspections at the Carnegie site. Orangi was fined $15,000 and prevented from carrying out any inspections on behalf of building surveyors for six months.
Building surveyors hold important powers and perform essential functions in the regulatory system and are required to take appropriate action to ensure safe and compliant buildings.
Municipal Building Surveyors are statutory officers employed by councils and have extra powers including the issuing of emergency evacuations.
Kodikara must also complete a training course within 12 months. He has the right to appeal the BPC’s decision.
Quote attributable to BPC Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer Anna Cronin
“The BPC values the vital role of the building surveyor in the regulatory system but we won’t hesitate to act when they fail to do their job.”
Quote attributable to State Building Surveyor Steven Baxas
“Mandatory inspections are a critical function in the regulatory system to ensure safe and compliant buildings and building surveyors have a duty to ensure this important process is carried out correctly.”