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 to the Modern Homes Standards. The Modern Homes amendments are proposed to commence on 14 August 2026. The Housing Code becomes available for councils to adopt from 1 September 2026, under a three year transition period.
They are two different instruments doing two different jobs, and it pays to separate them before anything else.
The Housing Code deals with siting. How tall, how far off the boundary, how much car parking, how much private open space. The Modern Homes Standards deal with the dwelling itself. Energy performance and accessibility. A builder can be affected by one and not the other, and the timelines are not the same.
What does the Queensland Housing Code actually replace?
The Code replaces the design and siting provisions in the Queensland Development Code, specifically Mandatory Part 1.1 for lots under 450 square metres and Mandatory Part 1.2 for lots of 450 square metres and over. Those provisions have not been substantially updated in more than 15 years.
The gap between what those rules say and what actually gets built has been filled by councils writing their own. On the department’s own numbers, around three quarters of Queensland councils now apply alternative provisions. Detached homes make up roughly 70 per cent of new residential construction in the state, so this is not a fringe problem. It is the main game.
The new Code sets statewide standards for building height, setbacks, visual privacy, car parking, site cover and private open space, and it covers detached houses and secondary dwellings.
Will every council have to use it?
This is the question that determines how much the Code is worth to any individual builder, and the answer in the release is carefully worded.
Local governments will be able to adopt the Code during a three year transition period commencing 1 September 2026, supported by guidance materials, implementation assistance and a streamlined planning scheme amendment pathway. That is permissive language. It describes a pathway, not an obligation.
The Code exists. Whether it becomes the single standard depends on 77 councils choosing it, one at a time, across three years.
The industry reaction in the release points the same way. The Housing Industry Association welcomed the Code as the contemporary and consistent standard it has long argued for, framing greater consistency as greater certainty for builders, designers and homeowners. Master Builders Queensland described it as a step toward a more efficient system and said it looked forward to working with local councils on implementation. The Local Government Association of Queensland welcomed the modernisation and noted that the transition period and implementation support will assist councils as they consider adoption.
Consider is doing a lot of work in that last sentence.
For a builder operating across two or three local government areas, the practical benefit therefore arrives unevenly. Some councils may move early. Others may not move inside the window at all. Until a council amends its planning scheme, the existing provisions still apply on your jobs in that area. That is the same pattern seen in fast track approval pathways across the states, where the mechanism is announced nationally and delivered locally.
The six Modern Homes changes, and what each one moves from
This is the part with a date inside the next fortnight.
| Change | Position now | Position from 14 August 2026 |
| Homes under 50 square metres | Seven star building shell rating | Five star building shell rating |
| Raised floor construction, including traditional Queenslander styles | Seven star building shell rating | Six star building shell rating |
| Elevated homes and step free entry | Step free entry provisions with limited alternative pathways | New “ramp ready” option allowing a compliant ramp to be installed later when needed |
| Accessible bathrooms | Prescriptive layout requirements | Greater design flexibility |
| Step free entry, weatherproofing and termite management | Compliance friction reported by builders and certifiers | New practical compliance solutions |
| Narrow lot exemption from liveable housing requirements | Expires 30 September 2026 | Final extension to 30 September 2029 |
The last row is the one with the shortest fuse. The existing narrow lot exemption from liveable housing requirements expires on 30 September 2026. Without this amendment it would lapse roughly six weeks after the other changes commence. The release describes the new date as a final extension, which reads as a signal that 30 September 2029 is intended to be the end of it rather than the next in a series.
The two energy concessions are targeted rather than general. Homes under 50 square metres and raised floor construction were the two building types working hardest against a seven star standard modelled largely around slab on ground. A traditional Queenslander loses through the subfloor in a way a slab home does not, and a very small dwelling has an unfavourable ratio of external surface to conditioned floor area. Neither is a design failure. Both are geometry.
What is not changing
Plenty of coverage will read these amendments as a retreat from the Modern Homes Standards. The detail does not support that.
The seven star building shell requirement still applies to the large majority of new houses and townhouses. The Whole of Home energy budget is untouched, including the minimum score of 60 out of 100 for class 1 buildings. The Livable Housing Design Standard still applies. The optional one star credit for a well designed outdoor living area is still available. What has changed is the treatment of two specific building types and a set of compliance pathways that builders and certifiers reported were not working in practice.
Worth keeping in the frame as well: Queensland is not adopting NCC 2025 until 1 May 2027. These amendments sit on top of the NCC 2022 settings currently in force in the state, delivered through the Queensland Development Code. Anyone reconciling their licensing and compliance obligations across a multi year pipeline is now tracking three moving dates in Queensland alone.
Why this is happening now
The Queensland Productivity Commission handed down its final report into construction industry productivity on 21 January 2026. It contained 64 recommendations and the Government agreed or agreed in principle to 51 of them. The Commission found sector productivity had declined by 9 per cent since 2018, which it equated to around 77,000 fewer new homes, and that labour productivity had grown roughly 5 per cent over 30 years against 65 per cent for the market economy over the same period. That report is the engine behind the wider Queensland reform picture, including the Building Reg Reno program these two reforms sit inside.
Both reforms will be supported by guidance materials, worked examples and targeted communication for industry and local government.
What determines how much of this lands on your jobs
- The date split. Modern Homes amendments are proposed for 14 August 2026. The Housing Code opens for adoption from 1 September 2026 and runs on a three year clock after that.
- Which councils adopt, and when. Until your council amends its scheme, nothing about siting changes on your jobs in that area.
- Quoting exposure. Jobs priced now and built later can straddle a change in the applicable energy pathway, particularly small dwellings and raised floor designs where the concession alters the specification.
- Secondary dwelling economics. A five star shell for homes under 50 square metres and a six star shell for raised floor construction changes the numbers on granny flats and small infill product in a way the headline figures do not immediately show.
The Good Builder Take
The Modern Homes amendments are the real news here, because they have a date and they change specifications. The Housing Code is the bigger structural story, but it is a slower one, and its value depends entirely on how many of Queensland’s 77 councils actually take it up. A statewide code that three quarters of councils adopt is a genuine simplification. A statewide code that a third adopt is a fourth layer on top of an already fragmented system. Three years from now, the adoption count is the only number that will tell you which of those Queensland got.
Frequently asked questions
The amendments to the Modern Homes Standards are proposed to commence on 14 August 2026. The Queensland Housing Code becomes available for council adoption from 1 September 2026, under a three year transition period.
No. Local governments will be able to adopt the Code during the three year transition period commencing 1 September 2026. Until a council amends its planning scheme, the existing design and siting provisions continue to apply in that area.
No. The seven star building shell rating continues to apply to the large majority of new houses and townhouses. The amendments introduce a five star rating for homes under 50 square metres and a six star rating for raised floor construction such as traditional Queenslander styles.
The exemption from liveable housing requirements for certain narrow lots receives a final extension to 30 September 2029. It had been due to expire on 30 September 2026.
It allows an elevated home to be designed and built so that a compliant ramp can be installed at a later point when it is actually needed, rather than requiring the ramp to be constructed at the time of the build.
This article is general information only. It is not legal, financial or compliance advice, and it does not take account of the circumstances of any particular project. Compliance requirements vary by jurisdiction, by council and by build type. Verify current obligations with the Queensland Department of Housing and Public Works, your local government and your building certifier before acting.
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