Western Australian house build times fell sharply in the year to June. Brick allocation began in October, and the state’s fixed price contract rules mean any new delay lands on the builder’s balance sheet first.

Western Australian builders have spent two years clawing back build times. Then, on 1 October, the state’s only major brick producer began rationing supply.

For a volume builder with hundreds of sites, allocation is a scheduling problem. For a small builder with a handful of jobs and a fixed price on every one, it is a cash flow problem.

That difference is the story.

When will WA brick supply actually improve?

Midland Brick, owned by BGC, began phasing in allocation from 1 October. BGC has said each account now has defined delivery timeframes and volumes, set against what its kilns can produce.

Relief is not close. The state government has agreed to pay up to $4 million to restart Austral Bricks’ mothballed Cardup plant, including a $500,000 incentive to resume operations by March 2027. It expects around 17 million Maxibricks from the plant and a lift in state brick supply of 10 to 15 per cent once it runs.

Demand explains the squeeze. Since Cardup was mothballed in April 2023, the government says WA housing commencements have grown to more than 24,200 homes, including around 19,500 detached homes, up more than 50 per cent.

The incentive date tells builders what they need to know. New output from Cardup is a 2027 event at the earliest.

Were WA build times improving before brick allocation began?

Yes, and that matters.

ABS Building Activity data released this month shows the average new WA house took 3.41 quarters from commencement to completion in the year to June 2026. That is roughly 10 months.

Two years earlier it was 5.19 quarters, or about 15 and a half months. In the five years to June 2021 it sat between about 2.2 and 2.4 quarters.

WA is still the slowest state or territory for houses. The national average was 2.80 quarters.

The figures cover homes completed before allocation began. They show a recovery under way, not one finished. Allocation now tests whether it holds.

Why does a brick delay hurt a small builder’s cash flow more?

Two rules in the Home Building Contracts Act 1991 do most of the work here. The Act covers home building contracts valued between $7,500 and $500,000. According to the state’s review, based on home indemnity insurance data, 82 per cent of home building contracts fell under the $500,000 limit in 2024.

The first rule is fixed price. Section 13 prohibits rise and fall clauses. The Act’s route to a price increase for delay depends on a delay in commencement beyond 45 working days that is caused by the owner, or that occurs without fault on either side. Once work has started, waiting for bricks creates no statutory right to pass on higher costs.

The second rule is payment. Under section 10, a progress payment must be a genuine payment for work already performed or materials already supplied. On a double brick house, the brickwork stage cannot be claimed until the bricks are laid.

Meanwhile supervision, site costs and overheads keep running. The deposit is capped at 6.5 per cent, and builders told the state’s review they already cover upfront costs above that cap from their own funds, recouping them from later progress payments.

Put those together and a stalled brick stage becomes a cash gap the builder carries, on a price the builder cannot move.

Scale changes how big that gap feels. A builder with dozens of jobs can shift its allocation from one site to another. A builder with four jobs has far fewer moves.

A stalled brick stage becomes a cash gap the builder carries, on a price the builder cannot move.

The Home Builders Action Group, which represents small to medium WA builders, has publicly warned that the uncertainty leaves builders unsure whether they can commit to new clients, and that smaller operators risk being squeezed out.

Definition: genuine progress payment (WA)

Under section 10 of the Home Building Contracts Act 1991 (WA), once work has started a builder may only demand a payment that is a genuine progress payment for work already performed or materials or services already supplied, or a payment of a prescribed kind. Where a contract sets out a schedule of stage payments, a payment claimed under that schedule is taken to be genuine until the contrary is shown. A stage that has not been reached cannot be claimed.

How does brick allocation change the decision to sign a new contract?

The risk moves forward, to the moment of signing.

A builder signing a WA contract today fixes a price and commits to a start against brick supply it does not control. The Act sets no completion date. Time for performance sits in the contract, and state guidance notes a builder may need an extension of time where the materials specified cannot be obtained.

If a delay in commencement does trigger a price increase above 5 per cent, the owner can terminate within 10 working days and the builder is left recovering reasonable costs.

Whether a start held up by allocation counts as a delay without fault on either side is a question for each contract and its facts. Neither answer is cheap if it is wrong.

In practice, a builder’s allocation now sets a ceiling on how many fixed price starts it can promise.

Is WA changing its home building contract laws?

A review is under way, but its published proposals do not reach this problem.

The state’s discussion paper, released in May, proposes extending the 45 working day trigger to 60 days, and treating a price increase as not excessive if it stays within a pro rata share of an ABS index of residential construction input costs in Perth.

It also proposes raising the upper contract limit to $800,000, lifting the deposit cap to 10 per cent up to $40,000, and allowing progress payment stages to be prescribed, as Victoria and the Northern Territory already do.

The paper itself notes that fixed price controls have been identified as a cause of financial distress for builders during recent periods of high inflation. According to the paper, WA is also the only jurisdiction to put an upper value limit on contracts covered by its home building laws.

Every escalation proposal is tied to delays before work starts. None deals with a materials delay once a job is under way. The final recommendations report was due to go to government in September, unless extended. It has not been published.

What happens next for small WA builders?

Allocation will ease when Cardup restarts and Midland Brick lifts capacity at South Guildford and Middle Swan, which the government says is under way.

Until then, the pressure sits in one narrow place. It is the time between a signed fixed price and a pallet on site.

Large builders absorb that time across a big book of work. Small builders absorb it in their own cash.

The build time recovery in the ABS data was hard won. Whether it survives the next six months depends less on how many homes WA wants to start, and more on how many builders are still in business to finish them.

We will keep tracking brick supply and the WA housing pipeline as the review lands. If you build in WA and allocation is changing how you quote or sign, we want to hear from you.

The Good Builder Take

Brick allocation is usually told as a supply story. For small WA builders it is a contract and cash flow story. The law fixes the price and pays only for work done, so time is the one variable the builder carries alone. Allocation makes time the hardest thing to control. The builders who come through this period will be the ones who know exactly how much unpaid waiting their business can hold.

Frequently asked questions

Related articles

• WA Is Paying $4 Million to Reopen Cardup Brickworks. For Builders, the Bricks Arrive in 2027
• WA Brick Supply Tightens Again as Allocation Extends to Maxi Bricks
• James Hardie Moves Into AAC as WA Runs Short of Brick. The Switch Starts With a Frame
• Cash Flow for Builders in Australia
• Construction Contracts in Australia

Last updated: 26 October 2026

General Information Only. This article provides general information about conditions in the Australian construction industry. It does not take into account your particular circumstances and is not legal, financial or professional advice. Figures cited are current as at the date of publication and may be revised by their issuing bodies. Proposed law reforms described are proposals only and may change. You should obtain your own advice before acting on anything in this article.

Author: TGB Editorial