A federal consultation closing 16 October asks whether Commonwealth funded construction work should come with minimum standards on conduct, payment, workforce and safety. No model has been chosen, but most states already use public work this way. The Federal...
The Federal Government has finished the legislative work to fund free online access to Australian Standards written into law. The fix is welcome. The harder question is why it took the best part of twenty years. If you wire a house, plumb a bathroom or frame a wall,...
Rezoning and approvals have carried the housing supply debate. The Productivity Commission's interim report puts the water, sewer, power and roads underneath them on the same footing, and describes where approved land stalls. A rezoning tells you what land is allowed...
NSW, Victoria and Tasmania all passed land lease laws between mid August and mid September, on top of new maintenance rules in Queensland. Together they change how these communities are costed, approved and built. Land lease has grown up. The rules are catching up...
New rules in force since 15 September change how the Commissioner decides whether land is residential. Vacant sites in mixed zones, short stay properties and part built projects are all affected, and a new refund path opens for land developed for commercial use. South...
The state government will pay up to $4 million to restart Austral Bricks' Cardup plant. It adds a second producer to a market on allocation, but the plant returning is the one that closed, and new bricks are a 2027 story. The Western Australian Government will pay up...
The state will pay for half its council assessment officers to sit a half day course on the new planning rules. The program targets what planners ask for, not how many of them there are. Every builder who has lodged a development application in New South Wales knows...
New exploration tenders in the Taroom Trough are being framed as energy security. For builders, the more useful question is what fires a brick kiln in 2030. The Queensland Government has awarded petroleum and gas exploration tenders across the Taroom Trough, alongside...
Three projects just got a Prescribed Project declaration. It is a coordination tool with a two year clock on it, not an approval, and it does not put a single tonne of reinforcing bar on a Queensland site any sooner than 2028. Queensland has just declared three steel...
NSW, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia all have building reform underway. Each has picked a different constraint to fix, and almost none of it has started yet. Four states are rewriting the rules that govern building work. What gets less attention is that...
The Victorian Government says inspectors will soon be able to issue immediate fines for falls from height offences. The mechanism sitting behind that sentence is the part worth reading, because it changes how often a penalty can land, not how big it is. On Friday 18...
The federal government has announced that housing trades will be scored like university graduates in the skilled visa points test, and that construction will move up the visa processing queue. Neither change has been published, neither has a start date, and the step...
Two councils have built the most documented pathways in the country for a permanent home on wheels. Both were written to expire. On 13 December, the Surf Coast Shire pilot for tiny houses on wheels reaches the date it was written to stop. Every permit issued under it...
The Productivity Commission has until March to tell government how to fix housing supply. The parts of the system a builder actually carries were ruled out of the inquiry before it started. The Productivity Commission is running a national inquiry into the rules...
Every argument about tiny homes gets treated as a fight about where people should be allowed to live. It is really about a box the law never built. When the Land and Environment Court dealt with a tiny home on the far south coast this month, it opened with an...
Western Australia’s smallest council has 617 homes on just over a square kilometre. Its draft strategy models 1,242 more. The reason it exists matters as much as the number. On 25 August 2026, the Shire of Peppermint Grove voted five to one to prepare a preliminary...
The Advanced Entry Trades Training program opens for enrolments in late 2026 and closes in June 2028. What it covers, what it cannot do, and the parts that remain unresolved. The federal and New South Wales governments confirmed on 5 September that the Advanced Entry...
Round 2 was doubled to $1 billion in the June budget. Added to Round 1, that is the whole program. The statewide homes figure has moved from 98,000 to 161,000 since June, well ahead of the projects named in the announcements. Queensland’s Residential Activation Fund...
One set of design and siting rules for detached houses across the state. Here is what changed, and the two dates that decide when it lands on your jobs. The Queensland Housing Code commenced on 1 September 2026. It replaces the design and siting rules that have...
The interim report is unusually precise about what state variations cost. It is much less precise about what would stop them. Treasury has put a page count on something the industry usually describes in adjectives. State and territory variations contribute...
The exposure draft gives builders a way to keep the trust and skip the restructure. The catch sits in the timing, and in what the trustee signs away to get it. Treasury released the exposure draft legislation for the 30 per cent minimum tax on discretionary trusts on...
The drip pricing measure being flagged to builders does not capture site cost allowances or provisional sums. A different section captures how a build is sold. Australia has a new unfair trading law. The Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices)...
An independent capability assessment released with the appointment of a new Housing Australia chair puts dates on when the largest HAFF funding round clears approval, and when construction has to start. Treasury has released an independent capability assessment of...
Victoria moved its domestic builders onto a new financial capacity regime on 1 July. The gazetted rules set a ceiling on the total value of work a builder can carry at any one moment, and the way that ceiling is measured will catch businesses that are trading...
A new Part of the Building Act 1993 puts certification duties on manufacturers and makes the building surveyor the checkpoint Victoria has legislated a regulatory framework for prefabrication that does not exist anywhere else in Australia. Prefabrication work becomes...
Six reform plans are now public. They contain dated commitments, named legislation and a dollar figure against each reform. Western Australia became the seventh jurisdiction to sign a reform plan under National Competition Policy last week, with the Commonwealth...
The rules governing surplus federal land currently default to open market sale at full market value with no housing obligation attached. A private senator's bill would change that default, and it is worth reading rather than reading about. The Department of Finance is...
The referral itself is routine. What sits inside the ten point terms of reference is not. On 20 August 2026, the Senate referred the question of social housing to its Economics References Committee for inquiry and report by 1 March 2027. Submissions close on 24...
The federal manufacturing fund has financed a housing production line rather than housing. That distinction is the story. The National Reconstruction Fund has put $120 million into a factory in Perth’s north that will make components for apartments. It is the first...
The consultation draft runs to twelve sections and leaves every number to regulations that have not been written. Two things are already fixed in the drafting, and both raise questions worth putting in a submission before 4 September. Tasmania released the...
Draft regulations released for consultation would lift the maximum deposit on a standard house build from 5 per cent to 10 per cent, add a site preparation stage, and remove the ability to agree a different payment schedule. Submissions close 16 September. The...
Employers who want to take on an apprentice in Victoria would need a licence to do it. The Bill that sets that up is not a discussion paper. It is already in the Legislative Assembly. The Education and Training Reform Amendment (Apprenticeships, Traineeships, Schools...
Two different housing numbers are circulating for the same document. Only one of them is the target councils will actually be held to. Queensland has released the draft North Queensland Regional Plan and Infrastructure Plan 2026 for public consultation. It sets a...
Builders use family trusts because construction is an industry where the claim can arrive five years after the last invoice, where the bank wants a personal guarantee before it lends, and where the family home is often quietly standing behind the working capital. The...
The Building Codes Board already publishes the mandatory requirements as a standalone document. We downloaded it and measured it. The numbers reframe what the argument about code length has actually been about. A week of argument about how long the National...
A Western Australian parliamentary committee is examining whether the state should let people lease residential land from government and own only the house that sits on it. The Legislative Assembly Public Accounts Committee commenced its inquiry into land rent schemes...
The proposal puts a number on a debate the industry has been having in general terms for two years. Whether it would reduce the amount a builder needs to know, or simply move it somewhere else, depends on detail that does not exist yet. Speaking at the National Press...
Two of the three housing tax measures passed in June were drafted to shield new construction. The third, which started on Monday, was not. From Monday, a super fund cannot borrow to buy a house. It can still borrow to buy a shop, a warehouse or a factory. That...
The headline numbers barely moved between exhibition and finalisation. The controls underneath them moved a great deal. The rezoning of the Parramatta North precinct was finalised on 7 August 2026, covering 33 hectares of mostly government owned land sitting between...
Parliament has given the north's infrastructure lender a decade of runway. The more useful detail is the quarterly document it publishes showing exactly how many projects are sitting in assessment, and in which state. Most government money announced for northern...
The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services handed down its report on corporate insolvency in July 2023. Treasury published the Government response on 6 August 2026. Three years and one month separate the two documents, and the substance...
Western Australia has named the 25 projects sharing its $75 million Regional Housing Support Fund. The successful applicant list shows where the work sits, who is holding the money, and how quickly it has to be delivered. Western Australia has fully allocated its...
The Building (Approvals and Practitioners) Bill 2026 has cleared both houses of NSW Parliament. Most of the coverage has focused on modular housing. The bigger change for builders is that the certificates sitting at the centre of almost every job are being replaced....
The second tranche of negative gearing and capital gains tax legislation is out for consultation. One change in it speaks directly to builders and developers holding completed homes that have not sold. Treasury has doubled the period in which a finished home counts as...
Twenty million dollars is back on the table for infill apartment projects. The genuinely new part of this round is buried in the third dot point. Applications for Streams 1 and 2 of Western Australia's Infrastructure Development Fund reopened on 3 August 2026, with up...
The obligation is new. The number underneath it is the part worth reading. The NSW Government will require Sydney councils to identify and maintain at least 30 years of feasible housing capacity, an obligation that will form part of the Sydney Plan once that plan is...
Two separate reforms landed together. One changes how councils set siting rules. The other changes what goes into the house. Only one of them has a date inside the next month. The Queensland Government has released a new Queensland Housing Code and a set of amendments...
The measure would let compliant duplexes, townhouses and small apartment projects skip development approval entirely. The condition attached to it decides who actually benefits. Western Australia has proposed extending the planning exemption that currently applies to...
Prefabricated pods and kit homes are being sold direct to consumers on the promise of a weekend build and no paperwork. Regulators have now called that out. The part builders need to read sits further down the page. If a client asks you to install, finish or certify a...
Two factory built homes on one block can trigger a land use category most residential builders have never dealt with. Here is where that rule sits, why it stops a project cold, and where the decision actually gets made. In New South Wales, adding a second manufactured...
A company failure follows the people involved for three years, across state borders, and it gets tested at renewal as well as at application. Here is what the law asks them to prove. Western Australia can stop a building company from being registered because of who...
If you build anything with a basement in Sutherland, the NSW Government has just moved to take up to three months of dead time out of the front end of your next DA. That is the practical effect of a new pilot program in Sutherland and Kirrawee, and for a project...
A developer walking away from signed contracts is bad enough. What should worry builders more is how little stands in the way of it happening again. Last week, national developer Wel.Co cancelled 101 signed contracts at its Springwood estate at Gawler East, north of...
The Auditor-General’s report into the Housing Australia Future Fund is out, and it carries a finding the government would rather not have seen in print. The fund’s own promise of 40,000 social and affordable homes by mid-2029 now faces, in the auditor’s words,...
The Queensland Government has opened a new funding stream aimed at getting more apprentices onto the tools, with payments of up to $16,000 available to businesses that take one on. The program, called TradieStart, was announced by the Crisafulli Government alongside...
Two states, two processes, one question for builders: how work on subbies, traffic control and site arrangements gets scrutinised from here. If you build for a living, the corruption story running through the sector can feel like someone else's problem. It is about...
The most significant overhaul of Victoria's security of payment regime in two decades commenced in April. It reaches backwards into contracts signed years ago, and most of what it changed works in favour of the party trying to get paid. Most legislative change gives...
A single date now sits between a gas-connected design and a knockback at permit stage. The number that decides it is not the contract date. Last updated: July 2026 From 1 January 2027, a building surveyor in Victoria will not be able to issue a building permit...
After more than a decade of stalled negotiations, the ACT Government has finally landed one of the most significant pieces of housing land in the territory’s history. It has agreed to buy 243 hectares of the former CSIRO Ginninderra experiment station on the Barton...
The measure itself is not new. What is new is that the design detail is now on the table, and the window to influence it is short. The 30 per cent minimum tax on discretionary trusts has been coming since budget night. On 8 July, it moved a step closer. Treasury...
Queensland has finally put a dollar figure on its fuel ambitions. For builders watching diesel prices swing on every load of concrete, the number matters less than the timeline behind it. Queensland has now put a dollar figure on its fuel ambitions. The 2026-27...
The Commission has published Counsel Assisting's submission backing a Building and Construction Code and an independent regulator, with draft implementation guidelines attached. Here is what it means and how to have your say. The Queensland construction industry has...
From 1 July, anyone in NSW with a development application that needs state government input deals with a single authority instead of chasing up to 22 of them. Here is what that means on the ground, and where the real bottleneck still sits. If you have ever had a...
The Cook Government wants to abolish the average lot size rule, cut single-home approvals in half and lift density across Perth's suburbs. For builders, it reshapes where the work is. For years, a builder looking at a standard 700 square metre block in a Perth suburb...
The government modelled the housing impact of its negative gearing changes. The HIA wants to know why the same test has not been applied to the SMSF borrowing ban. The Housing Industry Association has asked the federal government one direct question about its new ban...
The government is handing regulators a faster way to punish unfair contract terms. For builders, the contracts in the firing line are the ones you use every day. The crackdown on unfair contract terms is about to get faster and harder to ignore, and the contracts most...
The diggers are in and the first homes are going up at Huntingfield. For Tasmanian builders, the timing of this land release matters as much as the location. Construction has started at Huntingfield, the Kingborough subdivision the State Government is now calling...
The Minns Government wants to move modular building beyond detached homes. For manufacturers and smaller innovators, the question is whether the money is worth the co-contribution. The New South Wales Government has opened applications for two grant programs aimed at...
Robert Redlich and Deborah Glass, two of the most senior figures to have run Victoria's integrity bodies, want a royal commission into the $109 billion Big Build. The government has said no again. Beneath the headlines, much of what is being reported remains...
Western Australia has legislated a 75 per cent land tax exemption for eligible build-to-rent developments, the highest rate of any state. What it means for the rental pipeline and for builders active in the Perth market. Western Australia's parliament has passed...
Published June 2026 Queensland has permanently removed Best Practice Industry Conditions from government construction work, and it has scrapped the requirement for subcontractors to be pre-qualified to work on government projects. Both changes were confirmed in this...
The 2026-27 NSW Budget locks in a two-year premium freeze for 340,000 employers, avoiding $4.1 billion in forecast cost growth. For construction businesses carrying some of the heaviest insurance loads in any industry, the timing matters. The NSW 2026-27 Budget,...
Treasurer David Janetzki handed down the Crisafulli Government's second budget on Tuesday, and for the construction industry the headline is straightforward. The state's four year capital program has climbed to a record $119.242 billion, the Residential Activation...
The Minns government has handed down its fourth budget with housing delivery and construction pipeline front and centre. Here is what builders operating in NSW need to know. The NSW Government handed down its 2026-27 Budget on 23 June, and for builders and...
Western Australia’s Construction Training Fund has opened applications for a $10 million capital grant round aimed at private training providers. The pool has nearly doubled in two years, and the priorities tell you where the state thinks the workforce gap is. Western...
The New South Wales government is no longer just talking about modular construction. It is preparing to build the factory itself. On Sunday the government confirmed that Tuesday's state budget will include funding to set up a partnership with a private manufacturer to...
Last updated: June 2026 Victoria has just introduced laws giving employees a right to work from home. The headlines warned of a new land tax for remote workers. That part is largely a beat-up. But underneath the noise sits a real rule that can catch self-employed...
The fuel excise cut that was set to expire on 30 June has been extended for another month. The relief is smaller, and it is the last step before prices revert. The Albanese Government has confirmed it will keep a fuel excise discount in place through July, rather than...
From 1 July 2026, Western Australia will no longer require a registered builder for non-habitable structures valued under $50,000. The change opens the door for more tradespeople to quote this work, but it also raises questions about quality and accountability. For...
Yesterday, the federal government announced expanded capital gains tax relief for small businesses, a new concession for innovative startups, and further detail on trusts. For construction business owners, there are real changes worth understanding before they see...
The state has begun the first full review of the South East Queensland Regional Plan in more than a decade. For builders, the detail worth watching is where new homes are allowed to go, and whether infrastructure arrives with them. The Queensland Government has opened...
In a formal response to a Senate Committee, the Government has restated the environment reforms it passed in late 2025. For builders, the substance sits in three words: assessment, duplication and timing. In a new response to a Senate Committee report, the Australian...
With housing supply falling short of every target set for it, a formal campaign to parliament argues that 10 per cent GST on new residential construction is adding tens of thousands of dollars to every build and making the problem worse. Australia needs to build more...
A new bill before Queensland Parliament would let the state compulsorily acquire private land to help deliver projects of state significance. Owners keep their right to compensation, but the usual avenues to contest the underlying decision on its merits would be...
The 2026-27 ACT Budget takes a structural approach to housing supply, removing upfront purchase barriers, cutting developer charges, and introducing pre-approved design plans to accelerate Canberra's missing middle pipeline. Canberra's housing market has some of the...
TGB has covered every major RAF announcement since April 2025. This is the consolidated status update: where the money has gone, which projects have confirmed construction underway as of June 2026, and what is still to come in Round 2. The Scoreboard at June 2026...
The state's consumer watchdog now has a dedicated team targeting dodgy tradies, and it is already putting serious money behind the message. South Australia has established a dedicated enforcement unit inside its consumer watchdog, with the Building Industry Response...
The Rockliff Government handed down its 2026-27 Budget on 21 May 2026, with fiscal repair, housing and major infrastructure as the central themes. The housing measures are targeted rather than transformational. But the structural changes underway in how the state...
Australia's most ambitious social housing program since World War II is now two years in. The contracts are signed, the money is moving, and Round 3 is open. But with less than 1,500 homes completed so far and a national audit in progress, builders and the industry...
A Landcom development in Sydney's north-west has become the first on-ground test of the NSW Government's push to mainstream modern methods of construction. The results will matter well beyond this site. Nine two-storey, three-bedroom terraces are being built in...
A new Victorian Bill introduced this week would make it a criminal offence for builders to agree to undocumented variations in two situations: when the total contract value reaches $20,000 or more, or when a variation increases the contract cost by $5,000 or more. The...
Nine surplus government sites have been added to the NSW land audit pipeline, with more than 560 of the potential new dwellings concentrated in the Blacktown local government area. For builders watching Western Sydney, the sites signal where the next wave of work may...
Operation Broadwater sent inspectors across 17 towns from Coffs Harbour to Tweed Heads. Most builders passed. But the issues that keep showing up across every regional campaign tell a clearer story about where the pressure points are. Over 100 sites. 17 towns. 75...
The Malinauskas Government has handed down its second-term budget with housing at the centre. Across two fast-track funds, a new rent-to-own program, land releases and a dedicated construction workforce package, here is what South Australian builders need to...
Twenty-one modular dwellings assembled at a Gold Coast factory are now going up in Yeppoon. What this project tells us about where modular construction is heading in regional Queensland. A few months ago, these homes were panels and modules being assembled inside a...
South Australia's $50 million Playford Alive precinct is the first neighbourhood in the country ring-fenced entirely for first homebuyers. For builders willing to pay attention, there is real work on the horizon. Something unusual is happening in Adelaide's northern...
A sweeping change to Australian employment law will void non-compete clauses for most workers from 2027. For builders, the implications run deeper than a contract update. Most builders have never lost sleep over non-compete clauses. They sit quietly in employment...
The federal government has released its most comprehensive housing strategy in decades. Here is what is in it, what it means for the construction pipeline, and why builders should pay attention now. On 28 May 2026, the Australian Government released Homes for...
A nominal land transfer and $8.7 million in infrastructure funding are clearing the path for a new key worker village in regional WA. Here is what the model means for builders working in markets where worker accommodation is becoming a constraint. There is a land...
The Western Australian government's push to unlock residential supply in Karratha has cleared a significant hurdle, with six respondents shortlisted from a competitive Expressions of Interest process. The shortlisted parties are Together Housing (WA), M/Group, Profix...
New legislation passed through NSW Parliament this week makes it illegal for service stations to hide fuel prices or fail to report when a fuel type runs out. The changes come as fuel costs remain one of the most volatile line items on any construction budget. Fuel is...
The people who designed the 2026 Federal Budget have spent their careers inside the system they now control. That matters more than most budget coverage will tell you. There is a question that keeps coming up in conversations with builders, tradies and small business...
The federal and Queensland governments have launched a new tool designed to speed up environmental assessments for development projects. Here is what it means in practice, and why builders should be paying attention. The approval process for development in Australia...
The Crisafulli Government has launched a $2 million drive to get experienced tradies, veterans and career changers into TAFE teaching. It is a sound idea. Whether it addresses the scale of the problem is a different question. There is something quietly significant...
The Cook Government's Housing Innovation Fund is betting on prefabrication and factory-built components to close the gap between housing targets and housing delivery. Here is what the investment means for the industry. Western Australia just made one of the most...
The federal and NSW governments have jointly committed $11 million to upgrade a TAFE facility at Kingswood into a dedicated Construction Centre of Excellence. For builders facing a workforce gap that isn’t going away, this is worth paying attention to. Australia...
A small parcel of underused government land on the state's north-west coast is being rezoned under Tasmania's Housing Land Supply Act. Here is what the move means for the local supply pipeline and the builders who may be asked to deliver it. A vacant block of Crown...
The Malinauskas Government is piloting a new housing typology that sits between the detached home and the high-rise apartment. The opportunity for builders is real. For decades, Australian housing has worked at two speeds. You either build a detached house on a...
What the NSW Government's latest planning change means for builders working in one of the country's fastest growing corridors. The NSW Government has quietly removed one of the more frustrating planning restrictions affecting landowners near Western Sydney...
More than 1,000 parcels of buyback land across the Northern Rivers and Central West will be repurposed for community and commercial use. For builders working in these regions, that signals a significant shift in what gets built next and who gets to build it. The Land...
The Housing Diversity Pipeline is moving underutilised government land toward residential delivery. For builders watching the WA pipeline, here is what the latest release means and why the bigger story is still being written. Western Australia has a housing problem....
A complying development variation process and a new Targeted Assessment Pathway are now out for consultation. If they get up, the average DA wait for low-rise homes could be cut in half. Here is what builders need to know. If you have ever watched a straightforward...
From 1 July 2026, companies with turnover under $1 billion can carry tax losses back against profits from the prior two years and receive a cash refund. Construction revenue is notoriously uneven. This measure was built for exactly that kind of business. The 2026-27...
The Cook Labor Government has introduced legislation giving the Building Commissioner authority to act before a builder collapses. This is what changes, who it affects, and what builders operating well have to understand. The story of a troubled builder is rarely a...
From 1 July 2028, a minimum 30 per cent tax rate will apply to discretionary trust distributions. Around 350,000 small businesses currently operate through these structures. Many of them are in construction. The clock on deciding what to do is already running. The...
The Crisafulli Government has fast-tracked a lease extension for BP's Bulwer Island terminal, unlocking up to $100 million in storage upgrades. For builders and trades still exposed to diesel price shocks, the decision matters more than it might first appear. Diesel...
Free access to building standards. Fewer barriers for modular construction. Faster environmental approvals. Migrant trades workers entering the workforce six months sooner. The federal government's productivity package is a long document with a lot of moving parts....
The federal government has announced the most significant changes to property investment tax in more than 25 years. For builders, developers and anyone working in residential construction, the detail matters more than the headlines. On budget night, the federal...
The Minns Government's Building (Approvals and Practitioners) Bill 2026 is the most significant overhaul of NSW's building framework in years. It touches approvals, modern construction methods, and certifier accountability all at once. Builders need to understand what...
Amid a global oil shock and rising cost pressures, the federal government has handed down a budget with meaningful measures for the construction sector. The federal government handed down the 2026-27 Budget on the backdrop of a global oil shock triggered by the...
The 2026-27 federal budget lands tonight at 7:30pm. Pre-release reporting points to a productivity package targeting $13 billion in annual GDP growth. Most of it won't directly affect how you run a building business. Three parts of it will. The budget is handed down...
The biggest tax story heading into the 2026 federal budget is the expected overhaul of negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount. The detail that matters most to the construction industry is one that most coverage is glossing over: new builds may stay...
The Cook Labor Government is building a library of pre-assessed, architect-designed homes for medium-density infill. The approach has already shown results in New South Wales. Here is what builders in WA need to know. Planning approvals have been one of the most...
Before the full 2026 federal budget lands tomorrow night, one major housing announcement is already confirmed. It is not about buyers. It is about the ground beneath the homes that need to be built. The federal budget is handed down tomorrow, Tuesday 12 May, at 7:30pm...
The government is expected to confirm a new Housing Construction Apprenticeship stream in next week's budget, offering eligible apprentices in construction trades up to $10,000 in financial support. It is a reasonable policy. Getting more people into construction...
The government's argument for cutting the capital gains tax discount has a logic to it. Investors who can claim a 50 per cent discount on capital gains have a structural tax advantage over owner-occupiers. Combined with negative gearing, they can deduct property...
Budget night is 12 May. By the time Jim Chalmers sits down after his speech, Australian builders, developers and tradespeople will have a clearer picture of what the next few years could look like. Right now, the picture is a mix of confirmed policy already in motion,...
Yesterday's RBA decision was significant. The cash rate is back to 4.35 per cent. Every cut delivered in 2025 has been wiped out. Westpac is now openly forecasting two more hikes before year end. That alone reshapes the lending environment for every builder in the...
NCC 2025 was released on 1 May 2026. Victoria is in. The Northern Territory has deferred indefinitely. Tasmania is waiting on a parliamentary vote. South Australia, Western Australia and the ACT are on transition arrangements. Queensland and New South Wales have until...
The Cook Government's Seven Cities vision puts housing first, commissioning over 500 homes for frontline workers across the Pilbara, Kimberley, Goldfields, and Great Southern in a model that trades on construction work from one end of WA to the other. If you are a...
A national first in domestic fuel production is coming to Brisbane. Builders who rely on diesel should understand why. Diesel runs the building industry. It powers the excavators breaking ground. The delivery trucks moving materials. The generators keeping sites live....
A fire at the Geelong refinery has exposed just how exposed island states can be when mainland supply chains come under pressure. Tasmania is now moving fast to change that. The Trigger On Wednesday 16 April, a significant fire tore through the gasoline complex at...
Ten new residential lots and seven social housing allotments have been released in Karratha's Madigan Estate, the latest step in a broader push to grow permanent housing supply in one of Australia's tightest regional rental markets. The Western Australian Government...
A 1.1 hectare site at Varsity Lakes on the Gold Coast sat fenced off and unused for the better part of a decade. Now it is being unlocked for up to 250 new homes, and the Queensland Government wants builders to know about it. The site on Station Parade, directly...
The Cook Government has transferred the former South Hedland TAFE site to the Town of Port Hedland. After years sitting idle, the land is now set to become a community, cultural and sports hub. The real question is what it takes to get from transfer to delivery. There...
The Albanese Government has accelerated access to billions in concessional capital, with timber and housing supply among the direct beneficiaries. The federal government has moved to bring forward $6.15 billion in concessional capital under the National Reconstruction...
New laws targeting union-enabled misconduct on construction sites have cleared Queensland Parliament, with the opposition voting against the reforms. Queensland construction sites have a new legal framework for how workplace safety information is accessed and used,...
The Cook Government has announced a major land release in Perth's northern corridor, unlocking capacity for 4,100 homes across Eglinton and Yanchep. The question now is whether the delivery pipeline can keep up. Announced this week by the Cook Government in Western...
The QLD Government has moved to overhaul Queensland's State Facilitated Development pathway, scrapping the previous framework's ability to bypass local councils and replacing it with a process that requires written local government support before any project can...
The Australian Government has appointed Anthea Harris as the nation’s first Fuel Supply Taskforce Coordinator, signalling a more coordinated and proactive approach to managing fuel security as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East begin to impact global supply...
A state-led rezoning proposal in Lake Macquarie is set to unlock up to 160 new homes, including 69 designated as affordable housing, as part of a broader push to increase housing supply across New South Wales. The proposed development, located in Garden Suburb...
Western Australia’s latest government and industry actions highlight a broader issue for the building sector The smooth operation of Australia’s construction industry depends on many moving parts. Labour, materials, approvals and finance all play their role. Yet one...
Construction has begun on a series of new social housing developments in the regional New South Wales city of Goulburn, with a total of 55 homes planned as part of the state government’s broader effort to expand housing supply across regional communities. The projects...
The Australian Constructors Association wants governments to stop treating better workplaces as optional extras. The evidence backs them up. The construction industry has a workforce problem. Not just a shortage of numbers. A shortage of people who want to stay. The...
Construction has begun on a new social and affordable housing development in Woy Woy on the New South Wales Central Coast, marking another step in the state government’s efforts to increase housing supply and address rising housing pressure across regional...
Australia's housing crisis gets discussed constantly. But most of the conversation circles the same few ideas. More supply. Tax reform. Interest rates. Stamp duty. Last week, a different idea got some oxygen. Treasurer Jim Chalmers met with a group of leading...
The New South Wales Government has enacted the second stage of reforms under the NSW Planning System Reform Act 2025, introducing new fast-tracked assessment pathways aimed at significantly reducing approval timeframes and accelerating housing delivery across the...
The Minns Labor Government has announced plans to deliver up to 8,500 new homes at Bays West in inner Sydney, directly above the under-construction Bays West Metro Station, marking what it describes as the first new suburb built in inner Sydney in decades. The...
Recent updates to Australia’s national land clearing framework are set to have flow-on effects well beyond agriculture, with implications emerging for residential developers, civil contractors and infrastructure projects across Queensland. While the reforms are...
The NSW Government has finalised a new framework designed to accelerate the delivery of housing-enabling infrastructure, releasing its updated Works-in-Kind Guideline alongside a suite of Infrastructure Opportunity Plans covering the state’s fastest-growing regions....
The Western Australian Government has introduced legislation to Parliament that would replace Project Bank Accounts with a deemed construction trust scheme for certain State Government construction projects. The proposed changes are contained in the Building and...
The Cook Government has announced a further boost to residential land supply in Albany, confirming the release of the first 20 lots in Stage 9 of the Oyster Harbour development at Bayonet Head. The move forms part of a broader strategy to maintain consistent land...
The NSW Government has confirmed the return of its flood buyback house auctions in the Northern Rivers, reviving one of the most distinctive housing initiatives in Australia. First launched following the region’s devastating floods, the program enables homes acquired...
The Tasmanian Government has introduced legislation aimed at halting the implementation of new changes to the National Construction Code in an effort to reduce red tape, provide greater certainty to builders, and ease cost pressures on home buyers. The proposed...
The Property Council of Australia has called on the NSW Government to use the 2026–27 State Budget to address mounting feasibility pressures that are preventing thousands of approved apartments from progressing to construction. Ahead of the organisation’s 2026 NSW...
The Northern Rivers is entering what government officials describe as its most critical rebuilding phase since the devastating floods of 2022, with the clock now firmly ticking towards a March 2027 completion deadline. In a region-wide call to action, the NSW...
The New South Wales Government has announced a new compliance initiative aimed at improving transparency, fairness and integrity across the state’s building and construction industry. Led by the NSW Industrial Relations Construction Compliance Unit, known as the CCU,...
The Western Australian Government has moved to strengthen support for the state’s emerging build-to-rent sector, introducing legislation to increase land tax exemptions for eligible developments from 50 per cent to 75 per cent. The change, announced by the Government...
Tasmania has recorded the strongest growth in social and affordable housing stock of any Australian jurisdiction over the past four years, according to a new national report examining the revival of public housing construction. The report, The Revival of Social...
The Queensland Government has announced plans to release five parcels of land at Brisbane’s Hamilton riverfront, paving the way for up to 3,000 new homes as part of a broader urban renewal push. The six-hectare release forms part of the Northshore Hamilton Priority...
The Western Australian Government has finalised its Master Plan for the redevelopment of the former Edith Cowan University Mount Lawley campus, outlining a long-term vision for a mixed-use urban precinct that blends housing, green space, education and creative...
The Victorian Government has approved plans for 795 new apartments in Glen Waverley, positioning the development within walking distance of the future Suburban Rail Loop station and key local amenities. Announced on Thursday 12 February 2026, the project has been fast...
The Queensland Government has released updated guidelines for Round 2 of its $2 billion Residential Activation Fund, setting the stage for a further $500 million investment aimed at unlocking land and accelerating new housing supply across the state. Applications for...
A 1.5-hectare parcel of state-owned land in Mango Hill has been brought to market for residential development, with the Queensland Government announcing it could unlock up to 250 new homes. The site, located opposite Mango Hill Train Station in Brisbane’s northern...
The NSW Government has finalised planning controls across four additional Transport Oriented Development (TOD) precincts, unlocking capacity for more than 31,000 new homes within walking distance of major metro and train stations. The latest precincts, covering St...
Four former defence sites across metropolitan Adelaide could soon play a role in easing housing pressure and reshaping established suburbs, as the South Australian Government begins investigations into their possible acquisition and redevelopment. The move follows a...
The Cook Government has opened two new Calls for Submissions aimed at accelerating the delivery of social and affordable housing across Western Australia, inviting builders, developers, and community housing providers to partner with the State on new housing supply....
Major reforms to New South Wales’ workers compensation system have passed State Parliament, delivering relief for employers across construction while strengthening recovery pathways for injured workers. The changes, described by the Government as the most significant...
The Crisafulli Government has launched a new Land Activation Program aimed at accelerating housing delivery by unlocking underutilised, government-owned land across Queensland and partnering with the private sector to bring sites to market. The program, to be led by...
The New South Wales Government has placed proposed regulatory changes on public exhibition that would establish a new Development Coordination Authority (DCA), positioning it as a single entry point for major planning referrals across the state. The reform is designed...
The Commonwealth and South Australian governments have reached a funding agreement aimed at unlocking the construction of up to 17,000 new homes across South Australia, including nearly 7,000 dwellings reserved for first home buyers. The $801.5 million deal brings...
The Queensland Government has moved to accelerate housing supply in the Somerset region, announcing major enabling infrastructure works designed to unlock new residential development in Fernvale South. Backed by the State’s Residential Activation Fund, the Fernvale...
Victoria is heading into one of the most consequential periods of building reform the state has seen in decades. From mid-2026, a series of legislative changes will reshape how residential buildings are insured, assessed, rectified and held accountable long after...
When the NSW Government quietly launched a $1 offer for architect-designed homes, it sounded almost too good to be true. For the price of a chupa chup, buyers could secure a professionally designed home that normally costs tens of thousands of dollars to commission....
Australia’s housing industry is preparing to push the federal government to cut billions of dollars in regulatory costs, arguing that red tape is now one of the biggest barriers to building more homes and improving affordability. Industry leaders say up to $47.5...
South Australia has taken a decisive step in shaping its regional future, releasing six long-term regional plans designed to guide housing, land use and infrastructure investment over the next 15 to 30 years. Released by the Malinauskas Labor Government, the plans aim...
Queensland’s construction industry has been handed what the State Government is calling a “fresh start”. After years of frustration around red tape, labour shortages, rising costs and shrinking margins, the Crisafulli Government has committed to sweeping reforms aimed...
Australia’s first new city in more than a century has taken a decisive step from planning vision to physical reality, with the NSW Government finalising a more than $1 billion development agreement that will kickstart large-scale residential and commercial...
Tasmania’s construction industry has received a targeted boost, with the state government committing $150,000 to a new support initiative aimed at helping builders and construction workers manage business pressure and mental health challenges. The 12-month pilot,...
There is a moment after a fire has passed when the danger quietens, the smoke thins, and the truth becomes unavoidable. The home is gone. Not damaged. Not repairable. Gone. Across Victoria this week, hundreds of families are standing on blocks of land that once held...
Western Australia has taken another step toward easing regional housing pressure, announcing the release of underutilised Government-owned land in Exmouth for a mixed-use development that will introduce new homes, retail space and a much-needed supermarket to the town...
A fresh wave of protests is set to take place across Melbourne as the state’s opposition intensifies its campaign against increased housing density and recently approved planning reforms. The developments come in the same week the Victorian Liberal Party voted against...
A major overhaul of New South Wales’ workers compensation scheme is set to proceed after the Government secured agreement with crossbench MPs on a reform package aimed at stabilising premiums and improving return-to-work outcomes across the state. The deal, announced...
Queensland has entered a defining period of city-shaping investment, and this week’s release of two major sites on Brisbane’s northern CBD edge marks one of the clearest signals yet. The Crisafulli Government has brought a dormant 8,900-square-metre precinct to...
Australia’s National Construction Code (NCC), the document that underpins how homes and buildings are designed and constructed across the country, is set for a significant rethink. In December 2025, the Australian Government released a discussion paper outlining a...
The Queensland Government has awarded an $8.3 million construction tender for a new 18-unit social housing complex in Rockhampton as the region continues to grapple with one of the tightest rental markets in the state. Local builder Griffin Builders Pty Ltd secured...
As Victoria attempts one of the most significant planning overhauls in decades, the political battle over how and where new homes are delivered has reached a new boiling point. This week, Liberal Leader Jess Wilson confirmed that the Victorian Liberal Party will vote...
Land registration times have quietly become one of the biggest forces shaping Australia’s home-building pipeline. With construction costs finally stabilising and parts of the market showing renewed demand, the journey from raw land to titled lots is now influencing...
Victoria has entered a new chapter in workplace safety, with fresh regulations coming into effect today that formally recognise psychological health as a core employer responsibility. The Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 now apply...
Australia’s battle to lift housing supply has taken another political turn, with a bloc of federal independents calling for the three billion dollar New Homes Bonus to be urgently reworked. Their concern is simple. The current structure rewards states only after they...
New South Wales has taken another major step in its plan to rebalance the state’s housing supply, unveiling nine new architect designed mid rise apartment patterns that promise faster delivery of high quality homes across well located neighbourhoods. The release marks...
Queensland’s construction sector has been asking for a reset and the state’s new government says it’s finally delivering one. The QLD Government has passed the next stage of its Building Reg Reno reforms, calling it a practical, industry-led push to modernise the...
A Bold Step Towards Faster, Smarter Building Western Australia has launched a major push to modernise its home building industry, unveiling a $50 million Housing Innovation Fund (HIF) designed to fast-track new technologies and manufacturing capability in housing...
Queensland’s long-running fight over how the GST pie is carved up has entered a new phase, with the Queensland Productivity Commission (QPC) now ordered to conduct its own independent review into the economic impacts of Australia’s GST distribution system. The move...
A generational shift for NSW planning The NSW Government’s Planning System Reforms Bill 2025 has officially passed through both houses of Parliament, marking the most significant overhaul of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 in decades. For an...
A Triple Win for the Festival State South Australia has once again claimed the title of Australia’s best place to do business, leading the nation in the 2025 Business Council of Australia (BCA) Regulation Rumble report, its third consecutive win. The independent BCA...
In another step toward easing New South Wales’ housing shortfall, the NSW Government has announced plans to transform a former TAFE NSW site in East Tamworth into a mixed-tenure residential community featuring nearly 90 new homes. The 6.7-hectare site, once used for...
Strengthening Governance in Construction The Queensland Government has announced a new leadership team for the Building and Construction Industry (Portable Long Service Leave) Authority, known as QLeave, appointing Damien Long as Chair and Matthew Byrne as Deputy...
A Global-First Platform Transforming Land-Use Planning The NSW Government has committed an additional $20 million to expand its Land iQ system, a world-first land-use intelligence platform that’s rapidly changing how planners, developers, and governments identify and...
The political ground shifted again this week when the Liberal Party formally abandoned its commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050. The move, confirmed yesterday, removes one of the nation’s key long-term climate targets and leaves a noticeable gap in the...
Fee-Free Training Lays Foundations for WA’s Housing Future Western Australia’s housing workforce is set to receive a major boost, with the WA Government announcing a $21.9 million investment to add seven new building and construction qualifications to TAFE’s fee-free...
The Western Australian Government has unveiled a major new initiative to support the state’s home building sector, launching the WA Builder Support Program, a partnership between government and industry designed to strengthen the state’s registered builder network and...
Beerwah, Toowoomba, Mackay projects lead $5.6 billion push to deliver 53,500 homes by 2044 Queensland’s new Crisafulli Government has begun rolling out one of the largest social and affordable housing programs in the state’s history, fast-tracking more than 5,600...
The Queensland construction industry has officially gone digital. More than 105,000 tradies, contractors, and builders now have access to their Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) licences through the Queensland Digital Licence app, marking a major...
A New Way Home For years, Sean Brown watched property prices climb beyond reach. Like thousands of long-term renters, he had come to terms with the idea that home ownership might never happen. But this week, standing at the doorstep of his own home, Sean became the...
New South Wales has hit a turning point in its housing story, recording more than 50,000 new housing approvals over the past year, the strongest showing since 2023. After years of sluggish activity and rising frustration among developers and builders, this latest data...
The Commission of Inquiry into the CFMEU and Misconduct in the Construction Industry has announced two upcoming blocks of public hearings, marking the next phase of its investigation into alleged corruption, coercion, and misconduct within one of Australia’s most...
Australia’s builders have given cautious support to the federal decision to audit the 10 billion dollar Housing Australia Future Fund, saying greater transparency will help get more dwellings out of the system. But they have also delivered a clear message to Canberra....
The Queensland Government has approved the next round of funding from its $12.5 million Scheme Supply Fund, supporting nine regional councils to modernise their planning schemes and unlock new housing opportunities. The $1.4 million package, announced by Deputy...
A bold bid to accelerate housing supply In one of the most significant housing policy announcements ahead of the March 2026 South Australian election, Premier Peter Malinauskas has pledged to establish a $500 million Pre-Sale Guarantee Fund aimed at unlocking stalled...
A Timely Boost for WA’s Tight Rental Market Western Australia has taken a decisive step to tackle its rental shortage with the launch of the $75 million Build-to-Rent (BTR) Kickstart Fund, now open for expressions of interest.Administered by Keystart, the initiative...
The ACT Government is stepping up efforts to open the construction industry to a new generation of young women, with the 2025-26 Budget committing $1.4 million over four years to expand the Women in Construction – Try-a-Trade program across Canberra’s public schools....
Queensland’s small and family-owned builders are set to benefit from a major workforce investment, with the Crisafulli Government launching a $19 million pilot program aimed at helping businesses train and retain apprentices. The Small Business Apprenticeship Pilot...
The Allan Labor Government has given the green light to transform one of Melbourne’s former golf courses into a new community with nearly a thousand homes planned for the site over the next decade. Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny announced the approval of the...
The Western Australian Government has opened public submissions for a statutory review of the Work Health and Safety Act 2020, marking the first major opportunity for industry, workers and the community to provide feedback since the laws came into effect in 2022....
A 25-Year Blueprint for Timber, Homes, and Regional Jobs Queensland’s new Future Timber Plan is being billed as the most significant forestry policy reform in a generation, a 25-year roadmap designed to secure a sustainable timber supply for one million homes by 2044....
Dispute Avoidance Boards could change the way Australian projects handle conflict before it even starts. Australia’s construction industry has entered a quiet but potentially transformative shift.In June 2025, Standards Australia released AS 4000:2025, the...
A Fresh Pipeline for Urban Infill Development The Victorian Government has announced a major expansion of its Small Sites Program, a move set to unlock hundreds of new homes across inner and middle-ring Melbourne suburbs. For builders and developers, this represents a...
Queensland’s newest environmental milestone is not just a win for conservation, it's a victory that ripples through housing, tourism, and local livelihoods. The Crisafulli Government has committed an additional $6 million to the Yellow Crazy Ant Eradication Program...
Rebuilding Queensland’s Skills Backbone The QLD Government has officially secured the site for the $60 million Moreton Bay TAFE Centre of Excellence, marking a major milestone in Queensland’s plan to rebuild its training infrastructure and support the next generation...
Queensland’s housing delivery model shows the power of collaboration done right In just 12 months, EveryOne Homes, the affordable housing division of Metricon has completed 100 new homes across South East Queensland, marking a major milestone under the Queensland...
The NSW Government has announced a $23.9 million funding boost aimed at fast-tracking housing delivery across regional New South Wales, giving local councils the financial backing they need to unlock thousands of new homes. At a time when housing affordability and...
Western Australia’s housing sector has received a much-needed injection of talent, with more than 2,000 skilled construction workers heading west under two government-backed workforce programs: the Build a Life in WA (BALWA) incentive and the Construction Visa Subsidy...
By The Good Builder Editorial Team Western Australia’s housing sector is facing one of its toughest challenges in decades — rising demand, rental pressures, and a shortfall of affordable dwellings. Against this backdrop, the Cook Labor Government has announced a $7.62...
Australia’s housing pipeline has taken another hit. New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows building approvals fell sharply for the second month in a row, a signal that tomorrow’s housing supply is under real pressure. According to the ABS, total...
The NSW Government is pushing hard to ease the housing crisis, with five new modular homes taking shape in Lake Macquarie under its $6.6 billion Building Homes for NSW program. Four of the homes are already near completion and set to welcome new residents, while the...
Queensland’s housing shortage has been thrust into the spotlight again, this time with a major injection of state funding aimed at clearing the roadblocks for new development in Mackay and the Whitsundays. The Crisafulli Government has confirmed that $41.66 million...
The ACT Government has again rolled out its cost-of-living payment for apprentices and trainees, pledging $1.8 million to help young Canberrans cover the rising cost of tools and equipment. Eligible apprentices will receive $250, with first-years scoring an extra $250...
On 1 October 2025, all eyes in Queensland’s construction industry will turn to Courtroom 17 at Brisbane Magistrates Court. It’s there that the Commission of Inquiry into the CFMEU and Misconduct in the Construction Industry will officially open its public hearings, an...
The Minns Labor Government has opened Expressions of Interest for its landmark Pre-sale Finance Guarantee (PFG) program a $1 billion revolving fund designed to unstick housing projects languishing between approval and construction. Announced on 22 September 2025, the...
The Victorian Government is moving to reshape its planning landscape, with a new pathway designed to fast-track housing and job precincts across the state. Launched by Minister for Planning Sonya Kilkenny, the will cut through years of rezoning delays, opening...
The NSW Government has unveiled the Planning System Reforms Bill 2025, a sweeping attempt to simplify and modernise a system many say has become one of the state’s biggest barriers to housing supply. For nearly half a century, the Environmental Planning and Assessment...
The Bundaberg region is set to see a major boost in housing supply, with the Queensland Government confirming $23.2 million in funding for infrastructure projects that will support the delivery of more than 1,400 new homes along the Coral Coast. The investment forms...
A Turning Point for Queensland Timber Queensland’s timber industry, a sector employing thousands across regional communities, is set for its most comprehensive long-term strategy in decades. The Crisafulli Government has announced that consultation has now closed on...
Australia’s construction industry is staring down a $60 billion-a-year opportunity and the message from the nation’s top leaders is clear: it’s time to stop talking about productivity and start delivering it. In what some are calling the industry’s equivalent of a COP...
By The Good Builder Editorial Victoria is on the verge of a planning shake-up that could transform suburban backyards into homes for the next generation of families. The Allan Labor Government this week confirmed new streamlined rules will slash subdivision and...
By The Good Builder Editorial Team A Two-Pronged Boost for Regional Housing Queensland’s regional housing market is set for a major lift, with the Crisafulli Government confirming 2,300 new homes will be unlocked across Rockhampton and the Fraser Coast through the $2...
The Victorian Government is moving to reset the balance on jobsites across Victoria, with new legislation designed to give subcontractors more security and confidence that their hard work will be paid for, on time and in full. This week, Housing and Building Minister...
The Crisafulli Government has moved to accelerate housing delivery in Ipswich, with a new land release in Bundamba that could ease pressure in one of South-East Queensland’s fastest-growing corridors. Economic Development Queensland (EDQ) has unlocked 6.1 hectares of...
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has issued a pointed submission to the Queensland Productivity Commission’s inquiry into the state’s construction sector, outlining six key reforms it says are critical to lifting productivity, reducing risk, and protecting...
Western Australia is preparing for its most significant shake-up of state development laws in more than 70 years. The Cook Government this week will introduce the State Development Bill 2025, a bold piece of legislation designed to fast-track approvals, unlock major...
Australia is facing a housing supply crunch like never before, and at its core is a severe shortage of skilled tradespeople, the “tradies” essential to building homes. This crunch comes at a time of record population growth driven by immigration, creating soaring...
When the NSW Government handed over the keys to three new police homes in Coonamble last month, the headlines focused on recruitment and retention. But for builders, tradies and suppliers, there’s another story here: the pipeline of work that key worker housing...
A Walkthrough of the Future In mid-September, the NSW Government will throw open the doors to one of the state’s first modular housing showcase sites, giving locals a rare chance to walk through a full-scale prefabricated home. The open day, scheduled for Friday 19...
By The Good Builder Editorial Team The Crisafulli Government has announced a major biosecurity push in South East Queensland, delivering free fire ant treatment kits to more than 64,000 households. Residents in suppression zones across Logan, Ipswich, Redlands, and...
The ACT construction sector is on the brink of a cultural reset. In a move set to ripple across the industry, the ACT Government has announced it will embed the Culture in Construction Standard into every government-funded infrastructure project. The initiative,...
The Cook Labor Government has announced a major new residential land release in Bunbury’s southern suburbs, with more than 55 hectares of zoned land at Usher to be brought to market by DevelopmentWA. The release is designed to fast-track housing delivery in the South...
The Crisafulli Government’s $2 billion Residential Activation Fund (RAF) is accelerating Queensland’s housing pipeline, with three new announcements in Ipswich, Logan and Townsville set to unlock more than 21,000 homes. Together, the projects represent $118 million in...
The Sunshine Coast is set to gain a world-class skills hub, with the Crisafulli Government confirming land has been secured for a $78 million TAFE Centre of Excellence in Caloundra. The facility, focused on construction and allied trades, promises to boost the...
South Australians have saved more than $50 million in course fees since the introduction of the Fee-Free TAFE initiative, with thousands of students gaining qualifications that may have otherwise been out of reach. Now, a further 1,600 places in construction training...
Queensland’s housing shortage has prompted another round of state government funding, with the Crisafulli Government’s $2 billion Residential Activation Fund (RAF) backing new infrastructure projects across Toowoomba, the South West, and Far North Queensland. The two...
A new approach to community housing Queensland has taken a decisive step in tackling the state’s housing crisis, launching an “always-open” community housing procurement process designed to accelerate the delivery of affordable homes. The Queensland Community Housing...
Australia’s chronic shortage of skilled tradies has pushed the federal government to roll out a new plan: milestone cash payments to apprentices. The initiative is designed to keep young workers on track to completing their qualifications, rather than being lured away...
One of the largest affordable and social housing construction programs in Western Australian history has reached a key milestone, with three builders locked in to deliver 1,146 new homes across the Perth metropolitan area. The Cook and Albanese Labor Governments...
A radical proposal to tax “desirable” spare bedrooms has set off a firestorm among Australians and rightly so. The idea, floated at last week’s Economic Reform Roundtable, suggests households with more rooms than they “need” should be hit with higher taxes to free up...
The Allan Labor Government has approved a major new land release in Riddells Creek, setting the stage for more than 1,300 new homes, affordable housing options, and vital community infrastructure in one of Victoria’s fastest-growing regional corridors. The Amess Road...
Queensland’s housing supply crunch is set for a major boost, with the Crisafulli Government announcing funding for infrastructure projects in both Moreton Bay and North Queensland. Together, these projects will unlock more than 16,500 new homes, signalling one of the...
The Western Australian Government has announced plans to establish a WA Productivity Commission in 2026, merging the functions of Infrastructure WA (IWA) and the Economic Regulation Authority (ERA). The new body is being pitched as a centre of excellence to boost...
Australia’s housing crisis is, in large part, a planning crisis. Development approvals are bogged down in red tape and bureaucratic delays, far-reaching consequences for affordability, supply, and housing delivery. In response, both the federal government and several...
Australia’s housing crisis has been defined by bottlenecks, long waits for approvals, shifting regulatory standards, and a market unable to meet demand. At the Economic Reform Roundtable held in Canberra last week, the Albanese Government announced a series of reforms...
Victoria’s construction sector is under renewed scrutiny as WorkSafe ramps up prosecutions and inspections, warning builders that cutting corners on safety will not be tolerated. New data shows construction remains one of the state’s most dangerous industries,...
Why affordability won’t shift until governments fix their side of the equation The conversation we’re not having There’s no shortage of talk about productivity in construction. Industry panels, government taskforces, and think tanks keep asking the same question: how...
The Building Legislation Amendment (Buyer Protections) Act 2025 came into effect on 1 July, ushering in one of the most significant reforms to Victoria’s building landscape in decades. At the centre of these changes is the establishment of the new Building &...
The Albanese government has confirmed it will pause further changes to the National Construction Code (NCC) until 2029, citing “sheer complexity” and the need to give builders space to deliver homes without navigating constant red tape. The announcement follows the...
Queensland’s $2 billion Residential Activation Fund (RAF) is rapidly gathering pace, with the Crisafulli Government announcing more projects that will unlock nearly 1,900 new homes across regional Queensland. The two major announcements include: Livingstone Shire: $25...
Every state is talking about faster housing approvals. But as good builders know, talk doesn’t pour footings. We’ve dug through the actual rules and results to see which ones can shave days off your timeline this month, and which are still promises on paper. The...
Queensland’s bricklaying trade is set for a skills boost, with the Australian Brick and Blocklaying Training Foundation Ltd (ABBTF) rolling out its Lay the Way pre-apprenticeship program across Logan, Ipswich and Far North Queensland. Funded under the Crisafulli...
Summary Housing Minister Clare O’Neil has told industry leaders she’s open to slowing down the pace of National Construction Code changes and cutting unnecessary regulation. The aim? To help builders and developers deliver more homes, more quickly, without sacrificing...
Industry welcomes major overhaul of legacy planning schemes in Woolloongabba and Northshore Hamilton. The Queensland Government has officially opened public consultation on two major development scheme updates that promise to reshape inner-Brisbane’s housing and...
Graycar Scores $1M to Deliver 52 New Homes in Port Pirie The Mid North is set to get a serious housing lift, with Graycar Contractors securing a $1 million investment from Renewal SA to deliver 52 new housing opportunities in Port Pirie. The boost comes through the...
Queensland’s construction sector is facing a critical productivity problem, according to a new interim report from the Queensland Productivity Commission. The report outlines steep declines in industry output and rising project costs, pointing to regulatory barriers...
The Queensland Government’s new home ownership initiative, Boost to Buy, is barely out of the gate — and it’s already making waves. In just weeks since the announcement, more than 11,000 aspiring first home buyers have registered their interest in the $165 million...
The Queensland Government has declared North Harbour in Burpengary East as the state’s newest Priority Development Area, fast-tracking 3,700 homes and generating nearly 2,000 jobs in a major economic and housing boost for the Moreton Bay region. The announcement, made...
Canberra’s second all-electric suburb is proving a hit with locals looking for connection, sustainability, and space. Jacka, a blossoming new suburb just 20 kilometres north of Canberra’s city centre, is fast becoming one of the ACT’s most sought-after addresses for...
The Northern Rivers region is about to see the most significant post-flood housing development since the devastating 2022 disaster, with 72 hectares of flood-free land in East Lismore now secured to unlock more than 400 new homes. In a move described as “a key part of...
Queensland’s housing ambitions have taken another decisive step forward with the declaration of a new Priority Development Area (PDA) at Mount Peter, just 15 kilometres south of Cairns. Announced by Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development and Infrastructure...
Adelaide is in the grip of a land rush and it’s not just about housing dreams. With land scarcity at record highs, developers, builders, and families alike are chasing fewer blocks at higher prices, creating a competitive storm that shows no sign of calming. The New...
Brisbane’s rental market gets a boost as the state government partners with the private sector to deliver nearly 400 new homes under its Build-to-Rent pilot program. New Approach to Tackle an Old Problem Queensland’s housing landscape is undergoing a major shake-up....
Cairns is set for a shake-up in housing approvals – and it’s looking like a win for builders, developers, and homeowners alike. The Crisafulli Government has approved $350,000 in funding for Cairns Regional Council under the Scheme Supply Fund’s Pathway 2 program. The...
The Sunshine Coast’s urban heart is set for a major housing boost, with the Queensland Government committing $82.9 million to critical infrastructure works in Maroochydore under the landmark $2 billion Residential Activation Fund (RAF). The investment will accelerate...
The Albanese Government has committed $54 million to accelerate modular and prefabricated construction, signalling a shift toward advanced manufacturing as a long-term housing solution. But will it be enough to cut through planning bottlenecks? A National Pivot to...
The Malinauskas Government has unveiled a bold plan to accelerate housing delivery using modern prefabricated construction methods. Could this be the blueprint for the future of affordable housing across Australia? Prefab Homes: A Fast-Track Solution for Housing...
Gympie is on the brink of a major housing boost, with more than 5,300 new homes set to be unlocked under the Queensland Government’s landmark Residential Activation Fund (RAF). The announcement, part of the Crisafulli Government’s first state budget, delivers a...
Summary: Queensland’s housing market is under pressure. According to the Urban Development Institute of Australia’s (UDIA) latest National Housing Pipeline report, Southeast Queensland (SEQ) is staring down a greenfield land crunch, with just over three years of...
Queensland’s housing challenge is front and centre — and the state government has just taken a big step toward unlocking land and enabling nearly 40,000 new homes across key regional areas. Through the Residential Activation Fund (RAF), a further $308 million has been...
A carbon border adjustment mechanism could reshape Australia’s construction sector — and force builders to rethink material choices. Australia’s building industry may soon face one of its biggest policy shifts in decades, as the Albanese government explores a carbon...
What if you could download architect-designed plans for your new home for just $1 – and have confidence your council would approve it within weeks? That’s the bold promise behind the New South Wales government’s new Housing Pattern Book, unveiled this week by Premier...
The Sunshine Coast is at a turning point. With population growth on the horizon and increasing pressure to balance housing demand with environmental preservation, the Sunshine Coast Council has unveiled its proposed Planning Scheme—a forward-looking framework set to...
The Queensland Government has announced $7.15 million in funding to deliver two major infrastructure upgrades in the Fraser Coast region — a move that will directly unlock close to 440 new homes. The investment, delivered through the state’s Residential Activation...
The Crisafulli Government has greenlit a major funding package to fast-track three infrastructure projects across Townsville and Hinchinbrook — unlocking over 2,700 new homes in North Queensland. Delivered under round one of the $2 billion Residential Activation Fund,...
Rockhampton is the latest regional centre to benefit from the Crisafulli Government’s landmark Residential Activation Fund, with $27.58 million in funding announced to support three infrastructure projects that will unlock over 3,600 new homes. This investment is part...
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s speech at the Crown Hotel in Sydney on 4 July 2025 painted a picture of optimism for Australia’s future. On paper, it sounds good — a booming manufacturing sector, clean energy jobs, more housing, better approvals processes, and...
Crisafulli Government Residential Activation Fund backs critical infrastructure to address housing shortfall The Bundaberg region is set to benefit from a major housing push, with the Queensland Government announcing funding for six key infrastructure projects...
Australia’s building industry has rarely seen this level of collaboration. Here’s what the NCIF’s draft Blueprint means for builders, and why it’s worth paying attention. Summary The National Construction Industry Forum (NCIF) has announced that its draft Blueprint...
Summary: From today, apprentices working in construction trades can access $10,000 in government incentives, part of the Albanese Government’s plan to ease cost-of-living pressures, strengthen the workforce, and help deliver 1.2 million new homes over five years. New...
Summary In a bold move to tackle Queensland’s ongoing housing shortage, the 2025–26 State Budget has doubled the initial round of the Residential Activation Fund, unlocking $1 billion to fast-track shovel-ready housing projects across the state. This landmark...
The Queensland Government has released a draft Queensland Housing Code (QHC) for consultation, and it could mark a significant shift in how homes are designed, sited, and approved across the state. For builders, certifiers, and developers working across multiple...
Summary: In a recent Sky News interview with Tim Gilbert, Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn delivered a clear message to the construction sector. With building costs rising more than 40 percent, delays blowing out by up to 80 percent, and critical trade...
Summary: Australia’s steel sector is bracing for impact following the United States decision to double tariffs on imported steel. While the direct export effect may be limited, builders should be alert to potential shifts in global supply chains, changes in product...
Summary: WA is investing $100 million in vocational training, freezing TAFE fees and expanding fee-free construction courses. For builders and business owners, this means more young people on pathways into construction, and a stronger pipeline of future trades. Here’s...
Summary: Ipswich is fast becoming one of Queensland’s hottest building markets, with the newly released Ipswich City Plan 2025 signalling unprecedented growth for the western corridor of Brisbane. From major new residential estates and catalytic infrastructure to...
As Australia races to meet its climate targets, the federal government is keeping carbon tariffs on the table—potentially impacting cement, steel, and other essential building materials. Here’s what the construction sector needs to know. Australia’s construction...
Summary: Two large housing developments planned for North Richmond and Grose Wold, NSW, could reshape the Hawkesbury region — yet locals have had no formal say. A new state authority is fast-tracking approvals, bypassing councils and community consultation. While...
Extended $30k grant and stamp duty abolition signal strong support for the building industry Summary: The Queensland Government has reinforced its commitment to increasing home ownership and stimulating the state’s construction sector, extending the $30,000 First Home...
Recent changes to Noosa’s secondary dwelling rules are opening the door for tiny homes, modular builds, and long-term rental solutions. Here’s what’s changed and how to take advantage of it. With housing affordability under pressure and median house prices now at $1.3...
Logan City Council’s long-term planning scheme is nearing public consultation. Here’s what builders, suppliers, and residents need to know as the city braces for unprecedented growth. Logan's Growth Is Inevitable... As South East Queensland braces for a population...
Brisbane’s lord mayor Adrian Schrinner has announced a sweeping review into low-to-medium density residential zoning (LMR), marking a bold move to tackle the housing affordability crisis head-on. With only 445 homes built in these LMR areas in 2023 — down from a...
Australia’s National Construction Code (NCC) is set for its most significant update in years — and if you’re in construction, this one’s not just about red tape. It’s about the future of how we build. From energy efficiency to fire safety, water damage to women’s...
In most industries, “meeting the standard” would be cause for celebration. In construction, it should be the starting point — not the destination. Yet time and time again, clients are told that their concerns are invalid because something has been built “to code.” For...
In a significant move to address the housing shortage, the Tasmanian Government has announced the release of over 600 hectares of land across Greater Hobart, paving the way for the construction of nearly 10,000 new homes. This expansion of urban growth boundaries is...
The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut interest rates for the second time in as many months, lowering the official cash rate to 3.85%. It’s a clear signal: the RBA is shifting gears to reignite confidence and get the economy moving again. But while the headlines focus...
New PDA to deliver 3,700 homes, a new marina, and a major jobs boost in the City of Moreton Bay In a major move to address Queensland’s ongoing housing shortfall, the state government has greenlit a long-awaited Priority Development Area (PDA) at North Harbour,...
On Wednesday, May 14, 2025, from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM AEST, STIEBEL ELTRON Australia is hosting an insightful event titled “Building for the Future” at their Port Melbourne location. This afterwork session is designed to delve into the upcoming changes in the National...
Illegal Dumping Costs One Council $2.3 Million a Year As Australia races to meet ambitious housing targets, an ugly side effect is emerging across the urban fringe: illegal dumping. In the City of Melton on the outskirts of Melbourne—one of Australia’s fastest-growing...
Two nests of the invasive red imported fire ant has been detected and destroyed in Harmony Estate in Palmview on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, raising concerns across the construction industry and local communities. The detection, confirmed by Biosecurity Queensland,...
The Queensland Government has kicked off a wide-reaching inquiry into the productivity of the state’s building and construction sector, a move that could reshape how projects are approved, delivered, and managed for years to come. Under direction from Treasurer and...
In a recent social media post, Housing Minister Clare O’Neil appeared to adjust the timeline for the Albanese government’s ambitious housing target. Originally, the goal was to build 1.2 million new homes between July 2024 and June 2029. However, in a 30-second video...
Is it time for the QBCC to open up its books? There were 6,115 defective work complaints and 1,301 directions to rectify made against builders in the last financial year. This trove of complaints is the only up-to-date data source on: Which elements of our new home...
As Australia approaches the 2025 federal election, both major political parties have unveiled ambitious housing policies aimed at assisting first-home buyers. While these initiatives are designed to improve housing affordability, they may inadvertently recreate the...
Not everyone’s got time for election chatter on Easter Sunday, but if after the long weekend you're straight back into pricing up a job or trying to hire your next apprentice, the way government handles housing is going to hit you one way or another. Both major...
With an election around the corner, both major parties have started rolling out big promises for home buyers. On paper, the numbers sound impressive: $10 billion to help build 100,000 new homes, tax breaks for new builds, and tens of thousands of places in the Home...
One thing we can all agree on is that Trump is great for a headline. There’s been a lot of noise out of the US lately. Trump’s back at it, throwing tariff-shaped grenades and rattling global trade. Feels like a rerun, doesn’t it? But the kicker is this: what’s...
Not everyone gets excited about government policy announcements (or even has the time to, for that matter), but this one might actually mean something for those looking at Queensland’s pipeline. For those in Queensland, the new government is putting serious cash...
Some positive news in Queensland for your weekend. Not everyone wants to talk about planning zones and government declarations – but this one could shape where a whole lot of Queenslanders live in the next couple of decades. We’ve all seen the negative news headlines....
Not everyone wants to chat policy or per-square-metre rates before they've had their coffee, but this one’s worth taking a quick look at. The feds threw $54 million at modular in the last budget. Commonwealth Bank’s been making noise too, saying prefab could be the...
Not everyone’s interested in contracts and paperwork, but this one might be worth a closer look. A QCAT decision earlier this year sent a very strong message to builders, all because of one missing document: the Consumer Building Guide. We've covered this topic a...
The Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) has announced a new interim leader, with Skye Bowie appointed as Interim CEO and Commissioner while the recruitment process for a permanent appointment continues. Backed by the QBC Board and with the approval...
We’ve previously talked about the common pitfalls of building contracts. At The Good Builder, we try to make your working life a little easier by cutting through the politics and the red tape to help you avoid errors that waste time and money. This week (off the back...
Any thoughts on how we fix Australia’s housing crisis and the tradie shortage? We've talked about a few things here on The Good Builder, but it turns out the answer might fit inside a small bus. Last Friday, 13 young apprentices, all part of a training partnership...
If politics and federal budgets aren’t your thing, we’re assuming you didn’t click to read this anyway, so here we go. Whether you're on the tools, running a business, or trying to get a project over the line, a federal election always brings some uncertainty... and...
The Federal Help to Buy scheme, where first home buyers partner with the government to purchase a home, has been significantly revamped. After criticism from The Good Builder and others, the scheme's income and property price caps have been increased to make it more...
Well, here it is. The Queensland Government just dropped their blockbuster announcement today, March 25, 2025, that got the construction industry buzzing yesterday afternoon. If you’ve been tracking the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games like it’s your next big opportunity,...
Alright, folks, the 2025-26 Federal Budget landed tonight, and if you’re one of those builders, tradies, business owners, or project managers who’ve been waiting with bated breath for Treasurer Jim Chalmers' announcement, hats off, you’re already on top of it. For the...
Whilst you were out enjoying your weekend (hopefully), the industry got a lift from the Federal Budget on Saturday, 22nd March 2025, with new housing initiatives that have the Housing Industry Association (HIA) celebrating the win. Managing Director Jocelyn Martin...
The Queensland Government has launched the $2 billion Residential Activation Fund (RAF) to tackle the state’s housing crisis. They’re not mucking around, either. Money will start to flow to developers and councils from July 2025, with applications opening in April...
As the federal election draws nearer, the industry bodies are letting both sides of politics know what they are looking for. The HIA have laid out a comprehensive set of imperatives for both side of politics on their website. HIA Managing Director, Jocelyn...
In a boost to home builders across the State, the QLD government has abolished stamp duty on new homes for first home buyers. Treasurer and Minister for Home Ownership David Janetzki said thousands of Queenslanders will benefit from the change which will start on 1...
A new Productivity Commission report into the construction industry has called for urgent reforms to fix Australia’s housing affordability crisis. Housing construction productivity: Can we fix it? said the sheer volume of regulation has a deadening effect on...
In what could be the biggest turning point in the year for construction, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has dropped interest rates for the first time since 2020. The RBA has announced a 0.25 percentage points reduction. The cash rate...
The state government is expected to abolish stamp duty on new homes for first home buyers in this week’s first Parliament Sitting of the year. Low Deposit Homes Director, Chaice Paterson has called it one of the best policies that’s been implemented for a very long...
Pressure is mounting on the Reserve Bank of Australia to cut interest rates at its first board meeting of the year which started today and will conclude with an announcement tomorrow. Some of Australia’s best known builders have joined the chorus calling for a cut,...
Subbies have come out swinging against the Queensland State Government’s decision to pause the future rollout of the Project Trust Account program. Phase 3 of the program, which was expected to commence on 1 March 2025, was going to require public or private...
Former Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson has called on his old council and the new state government to get the new planning scheme sorted as soon as possible or risk losing opportunities to address the affordable housing crisis. Jamieson said people crying out for...
More than 50,000 Queensland builders could benefit from a state government initiative to reduce red tape and unnecessary costs. Minister for Housing and Public Works Sam O’Connor said the initiative, Building Reg Reno, will reduce paperwork for tradies. “Building Reg...
Here’s a test for you – get on to your mobile and try and find a home and land package in Brisbane for less than $750,000. It shouldn’t take long – because there aren’t many, if any. When you go a bit further out to Logan, Ipswich, Moreton Bay or pockets of the...
Last week we brought you the story of the Prime Minister’s commitment to give construction apprentices $10,000 to solve the capacity crisis. On the whole, the $626.9 million announcement was greeted favourably by the major...
One of Queensland’s most successful mortgage brokers has called for the Federal Government to increase the cap for its new Help to Buy scheme as the current $700,000 limit will make it nearly impossible to find a property in South East Queensland.
The long, lazy business lunch, where much of our nation’s new business ideas have been spawned, may be making a return in the near future.
LATEST NEWS
A federal consultation closing 16 October asks whether Commonwealth funded construction work should come with minimum standards on conduct, payment, workforce and safety. No model has been chosen, but most states already use public work this way. The Federal...
A missed call. An invoice nobody expected. A weekend spent wondering what is happening on site. Melbourne builder Alex Palazzolo says that is where client trust is really lost, and he has built his business around closing those gaps. Most builders can tell you about...
After a long downturn, Stats NZ figures show building work on the ground finally picking up. Housing is carrying the recovery, Canterbury is leading the regions, and Wellington is still going the other way. New Zealand's building industry has had a rough couple of...
Queensland's building regulator is layering defect trends, licensee risk and warranty claims onto maps to decide where inspectors go. The regional patterns it has released show defects are not spread evenly, and neither is the scrutiny that follows them. Where a home...