NSW's building watchdog quietly dumped a draft media release about record fines imposed on developer Aland.
Internal emails revealed senior officials approved a "reactive-only" strategy, indicating a shift in approach to keep disciplinary action against developers out of the spotlight.
Aland is one of Western Sydney's largest developers and plays a role in the NSW government's push to meet housing targets.
Behind the scenes, however, Building Commission NSW investigators had spent years examining the company's conduct.
In April, Aland's construction arm was fined $220,000; the largest penalty ever imposed by the regulator.
Its founder, Andrew Hrsto, was personally fined $40,000 and ordered to sit compliance training to retain his licence.
Breaches included the use of unlicensed contractors and the unauthorised removal of a power pole, overhead wires and street lighting at a St Mary's construction site, which cut electricity to a childcare centre and risked public safety.
When it came time to announce the disciplinary action, documents got under Freedom of Information reveal a flurry of discussions about what the public should be told.
At 1:03pm on Tuesday, April 28, a senior media advisor at the Department of Customer Service, which handles communications for Building Commission NSW, circulated a draft media release titled: "Building Commission NSW takes disciplinary action against Aland."
Less than two hours later, the advisor emailed the Office of the Building Commission again.
"Approved," Mr Sherrard replied at 4:26pm.
A spokesperson for the Department of Customer Service said the building watchdog did not "routinely issue a media release for every disciplinary action".