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 year’s state budget, but they flow from a deeper reform agenda that has been reshaping how Queensland is getting housing and infrastructure delivered. If you tender for state work, or you are a subbie who has ever been asked to jump through a pre-qualification process, this is the reform that changes your day to day.

Here is what has actually changed, and what it means on the ground.

What was BPIC?

Best Practice Industry Conditions, known as BPIC, were a set of industrial and labour conditions that applied to Queensland Government construction projects valued at more than $100 million. They were introduced under the previous government through the state’s procurement policy and set expectations for wages, conditions and workplace arrangements on major state-funded builds.

Supporters argued they delivered fair pay, safe sites and a functional work-life balance on the state’s biggest projects. Critics argued they pushed up costs, restricted competition and, in practice, required head contractors and their subbies to align with union enterprise agreements to win work. That tension is the backdrop to everything that followed.

What the Productivity Commission found

The government paused BPIC in November 2024 and asked the Queensland Productivity Commission to examine construction sector productivity. The Commission’s final report, released on 21 January 2026, called for an industry reset. It found the productivity decline the inquiry documented ran deep: construction productivity had fallen by around 9 per cent since 2018, equal to an estimated 77,000 fewer new homes, and labour productivity in the sector had grown just 5 per cent over 30 years against 65 per cent across the broader market economy.

The Commission projected that BPIC would cost Queenslanders up to $20.6 billion over the five years to 2030, through fewer homes built and higher rents. The government agreed or agreed in principle to 51 of the report’s 64 recommendations, including permanently removing BPIC and removing subcontractor pre-qualification.

The Commission found construction productivity had fallen around 9 per cent since 2018, equal to an estimated 77,000 fewer new homes, and projected BPIC would cost up to $20.6 billion over five years.

The mechanism for the change is the Queensland Procurement Policy 2026, which commenced on 1 January 2026 and permanently removes BPIC after the earlier pause. One important caveat: the removal is not retrospective. Existing contracts that already incorporate BPIC clauses are not voided, and the parties must keep following those terms until the contract ends.

The change most builders will feel: pre-qualification is gone

For the broadest slice of the industry, the bigger practical change is the removal of subcontractor pre-qualification. Under the old framework, subbies wanting to work on major government building projects had to be pre-qualified, which in practice often meant aligning with particular industrial arrangements before they could even get on site. It was the pre-qualification paperwork subbies know well, and it is a recurring frustration across the trades: time-consuming to assemble, quick to go out of date, and a real barrier for smaller and regional operators.

The government’s stated aim in removing it is to widen the pool of businesses that can compete for government work. According to the Building Policy Framework, the change is designed to unlock market capacity by letting a broader pool of subcontractors access major government building projects, and to help regional and remote communities where attracting a workforce for major projects is harder. Managing contractors still need to be pre-qualified on relevant projects. Subcontractors no longer do.

For a small or regional subbie who previously found the paperwork prohibitive, that is a genuine lowering of the barrier to government work. The open question, and it is a fair one, is whether a broader bidding pool simply intensifies price competition. A wider field can mean more opportunity, or it can mean more operators chasing the same job on price. Which way it cuts will depend on how agencies weigh value against lowest cost when they award the work.

For head contractors, the change cuts the other way too. A broader pool of available subbies can ease a genuine capacity constraint, but it puts more weight on how you manage and pay your subbies, since the onus for vetting and managing those relationships sits more squarely with the builder once the government’s pre-qualification layer is gone.

Safety has not been deregulated

It is worth being precise here, because this is where the debate gets heated. The reforms remove industrial and procurement conditions. They do not lower workplace health and safety standards. The Productivity Commission acknowledged that some safety provisions had been used for purposes beyond safety, but it did not recommend cutting safety standards, and the government has retained best practice commitments on workplace health and safety and on apprentices and trainees. None of this changes what licensing and compliance still require of you on a Queensland site.

Unions see it differently, and their position belongs in any honest account of this change. When BPIC was first paused, the CFMEU argued the move signalled an intent to cut workers’ wages and conditions and warned of a more deregulated labour market, and five unions protested in Brisbane’s CBD in late November 2024. The government rejects that characterisation, framing the reforms as a productivity and cost measure rather than an attack on pay or safety. Builders can take their own view. What is not in dispute is that the formal safety obligations on site remain in place.

The honest caveat: removing BPIC is not the whole answer

One point from the Commission’s own report deserves more attention than it has had. The Commission was clear that removing BPIC on its own is unlikely to deliver the reset the industry needs. Its reasoning was that, given how the market operates, there may be few incentives for firms to negotiate more productivity-favourable conditions in future enterprise agreements without further action.

In other words, scrapping the conditions clears an obstacle, but it does not by itself build a more productive industry. The Commission pointed to the need for government, industry and unions to develop mechanisms for reviving site productivity without compromising safety, including the possibility of a negotiated set of revised conditions to underpin future agreements. The procurement reforms are a starting point, not a finish line, and the next phase of this story will be how that negotiation plays out.

Your Questions Answered:

What is BPIC and why was it removed in Queensland?

BPIC, or Best Practice Industry Conditions, was a set of industrial and labour conditions that applied to Queensland Government construction projects worth more than $100 million. It was introduced under the previous government through the state procurement policy. Following a 2025 Queensland Productivity Commission inquiry that found construction productivity had fallen around 9 per cent since 2018, the government permanently removed BPIC, saying it was projected to cost up to $20.6 billion over five years through fewer homes built and higher rents.

Does removing BPIC lower safety standards on construction sites?

No. The reforms remove industrial and procurement conditions, not workplace health and safety standards. The Productivity Commission did not recommend cutting safety standards, and the government has retained best practice commitments on workplace health and safety and on apprentices and trainees. Licensing and compliance obligations on Queensland sites remain in place. Unions have argued the broader change risks worker conditions, a position the government rejects.

What does the removal of subcontractor pre-qualification mean for subbies?

Subcontractors no longer need to be pre-qualified to work on government building construction projects. Previously, getting pre-qualified was time-consuming and, in practice, often meant aligning with particular industrial arrangements before getting on site. Removing it is intended to widen the pool of businesses that can compete for government work, particularly smaller and regional operators. Managing contractors still need to be pre-qualified on relevant projects.

When did the Queensland Procurement Policy 2026 take effect?

The Queensland Procurement Policy 2026 commenced on 1 January 2026. It replaced the 2023 policy and is the mechanism that permanently removes BPIC, after an initial pause announced in November 2024. The removal is not retrospective, so existing contracts that already include BPIC clauses are not voided and must be followed until they end.

Will removing BPIC fix construction productivity in Queensland?

Not on its own. The Queensland Productivity Commission was explicit that removing BPIC alone is unlikely to deliver the reset the industry needs, because firms may have few incentives to negotiate more productivity-favourable conditions in future enterprise agreements without further action. The Commission pointed to the need for government, industry and unions to develop mechanisms to lift site productivity without compromising safety. The procurement reforms are a starting point rather than a complete solution.

Sources: Queensland Productivity Commission, Opportunities to Improve Productivity of the Construction Industry, final report (21 January 2026); Queensland Government response to the QPC report and Queensland Treasury statements; Queensland Procurement Policy 2026; Queensland Government Building Policy Framework; Queensland Budget 2026-27. Union positions reported at the time of the November 2024 BPIC pause.

Last updated: June 2026

General information disclaimer: This article is intended for general information purposes only. It does not constitute legal, financial, or industrial relations advice. Readers should seek independent advice relevant to their individual circumstances.

Author: TGB Editorial