01Summary
Who is Dominic Ogburn?
Dominic Ogburn is a licensed NSW builder, published author, NSW Minister's Award winner, and Standards Australia committee member with over 40 years in Australian residential construction and building compliance.
Dominic holds a current NSW Builder's Licence (369417C) and received the 2005 NSW Fair Trading Minister's Award for Consumer Advocacy from the Hon. Diane Beamer MP. He served on Standards Australia committee BD-038, contributing to AS 3740-2010 (Waterproofing of domestic wet areas). Operating his building and property inspection practice Access Property Services since 1987, he submitted expert evidence to the Senate Select Committee on Aircraft Noise in Sydney in 1995, and in 2001 was cited by name in the NSW Legislative Council Hansard during a parliamentary debate on the Home Warranty Insurance Scheme.
Dominic is the co-author of Your Home: Buying, Selling, Renovating, Building (Allen & Unwin, 2004) and has been cited as a construction industry authority across six Sydney Morning Herald articles spanning 1995 to 2018. His 16-page inspection report on Regis Towers contributed directly to calls for a NSW parliamentary inquiry into building standards. As CEO of ABE Education since 2007, Dominic has trained over 31,000 students across owner builder and CPD courses, with government approvals in NSW, ACT, TAS, QLD, and WA.
02Credentials
What's been independently verified.
Sixteen credentials with documentary evidence — every claim cross-checked against a primary source (regulator, government archive, or publisher record).
Licensure & recognition
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NSW Builder's Licence 369417C
Current contractor licence (expires June 2027). Clean regulatory record — zero disciplinary actions across all jurisdictions.
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2005 NSW Fair Trading Minister's Award for Consumer Advocacy
Awarded by the Hon. Diane Beamer MP, then Minister for Fair Trading. Citation: "valuable contribution to raising awareness of consumer rights among the people of New South Wales."
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Standards Australia Committee BD-038
Member of the technical committee that developed AS 3740-2010 (Waterproofing of domestic wet areas). Certificate of Appreciation presented 5 November 2010, signed by John Castles AM (Chairman) and Colin Blair (CEO).
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Published Author — Allen & Unwin (2004)
Co-author of Your Home: Buying, Selling, Renovating, Building with Harvey Grennan. ISBN 1865088919. NLA Bib ID 3067415. Held in public library collections nationally.
Parliamentary citations
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NSW Legislative Council Hansard (2001)
Cited by name in the NSW Legislative Council, 27 March 2001, during the HIH Insurance Adjournment Debate. Two separate references in the same debate — the Reverend the Hon. F.J. Nile MLC names Dominic directly; the Hon. I. Cohen MLC quotes a Linda Morris SMH article that cites him on insurance coverage gaps in apartment buildings.
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Senate Select Committee on Aircraft Noise (1995)
Submitted expert evidence to the Australian Senate Select Committee on Aircraft Noise in Sydney. Property values pilot study covering 74 properties post-opening of Sydney Airport's third runway, documenting at least 15% devaluation. Validated by McLennan Steege & Associates (registered valuers) and Macquarie University.
Media & expert citations
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Sydney Morning Herald — six articles (1995–2018)
Cited as a construction industry authority across six SMH articles spanning 23 years. Including the 2001 "Towers of Trouble" Regis Towers investigation — Dominic's 16-page inspection report led Sydney City Council to inspect 15 units, finding 14 in breach of the Building Code of Australia.
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Institution of Engineers Australia — AEES Newsletter 3/2001
The "Towers of Trouble" investigation reproduced in full under the "Nuggets" section of the Australian Earthquake Engineering Society Newsletter, the technical society of the Institution of Engineers Australia.
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CHOICE Magazine — Featured Expert (2011)
Featured in CHOICE's investigation into house energy efficiency ratings (article still live, last updated November 2025). Four direct quotes plus the Kozicki case study — Dominic's audit found over $100,000 of additional work required for compliance, despite the property being certified for occupation. The vendor rescinded the sale.
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Australian Financial Review (2002)
Referenced expert in "Big apartments and big problems" (13 April 2002). URL confirmed; full content behind paywall.
03Approvals
Approved across five Australian jurisdictions.
Since 2007, as CEO of ABE Education, Dominic has developed Owner Builder and CPD training completed by 31,000+ students across five jurisdictions — each approval verifiable via the relevant .gov.au source.
ACT
Access Canberra
Approved Owner Builder course provider for the Australian Capital Territory.
accesscanberra.act.gov.au
TAS
Consumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS)
Approved Owner Builder & CPD provider for Tasmanian practitioners.
cbos.tas.gov.au
WA
LGIRS — Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety
Course meets the owner-builder knowledge requirements of LGIRS Form 75 (Approval — Owner-builder). WA operates a knowledge-requirement model, not provider-approval.
wa.gov.au — Form 75 PDF
QLD
Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC)
Approved by QBCC for Owner Builder course delivery.
qbcc.qld.gov.au
NSW
NSW Fair Trading / Building Commission NSW
Online CPD training for builders & swimming pool builders meeting NSW Fair Trading's CPD criteria — 12 points/year across 8 topic areas (technical, sustainability, compliance, communication, dispute resolution, contracts, safety, business management).
nsw.gov.au — CPD criteria
04Experience
40+ years in Australian construction.
Career began March 1980 at Stuart Brothers — one of the oldest construction firms in Australia, founded Sydney 1886 — and continues today as CEO of ABE Education.
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1980 — 199111 yearsTrainee Cadet → Senior Construction ManagerStuart Brothers Pty Ltd · Sydney
Eleven years at one of Australia's oldest construction firms (founded by William and James Stuart in 1886). Progressed from Trainee Cadet / Quantity Surveyor / Estimator to Senior Construction Manager on commercial and residential projects valued up to $11M. Project portfolio: 50 Miller Street North Sydney refurbishment ($11M), The Wintergarden Rose Bay luxury residential ($7.5M), 22 houses for the NSW Department of Housing on The Glebe Estate ($2.5M), restoration of 652–662 George Street in The Rocks for the Sydney Cove Redevelopment Authority, and the initial rollouts of the Commonwealth Bank Auto Bank Service and the State Bank ATM network.
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1987 — Present39 yearsFounder · Building & Property InspectorAccess Property Services · Petersham, NSW
Founded and ran a property and building inspection practice servicing inner-west Sydney. The 1995 Senate Select Committee submission (74-property aircraft-noise study) and the 2001 Regis Towers inspection that triggered the SMH "Towers of Trouble" investigation both originated from this practice. Operating concurrently with the later Stuart Bros years.
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2007 — present19 yearsFounder · CEO · Course DeveloperABE Education · Sydney
Founded May 2007 to address the gap in jurisdiction-specific Owner Builder and CPD training. Personally develops ABE's Owner Builder and CPD course content. 31,000+ students trained across five jurisdictions. Clean regulatory record — zero adverse findings from any Australian state regulator.
05Verification
Every credential cross-checked.
Sixteen credentials independently verified against primary sources — government registers, parliamentary records, publisher catalogues, and physical certificates. Last full re-verification: 14 April 2026.
Verified
14 April 2026 · NSW Fair Trading licence register, NLA catalogue, NSW Parliament Hansard PDF, Senate Tabled Papers, Standards Australia certificate, training.gov.au RTO records, all five state regulator
.gov.au source pages.