Building and construction

We aim to ensure Australia's building and plumbing industries are safe, accessible and sustainable.

State and territory governments regulate building and construction activities in Australia.

The Australian Government collaborates with state and territory governments to promote nationally consistent regulations through the National Construction Code (NCC).

We do this through the Building Ministers’ Meeting and the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB).

Building Ministers’ Meeting

The Building Ministers' Meeting (BMM) oversees policy issues affecting Australia’s building and construction industries.

The BMM brings together Australian Government and state and territory government ministers responsible for building and construction. The Australian Government minister responsible for the building industry chairs the BMM.

The BMM works to:

  • harmonise building regulations and standards
  • collaborate on compliance and enforcement.

It sets the strategic direction for the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB). The ABCB is a multi-jurisdictional standards writing body. It oversees development of the National Construction Code (NCC).

Read more about these roles and responsibilities in the Intergovernmental Agreement on the ABCB website.

Read more about how we promote collaborative building and construction policy.

Contact us

Email BMM@industry.gov.au

Post: BMM Team, GPO Box 2013, CANBERRA ACT 2601

Restoring confidence in the building industry

We work through the BMM to restore confidence in Australian building and construction standards.

We do this by:

  • mitigating the public safety risks of industry non‑compliance
  • addressing systemic problems in the industry consistently and in a timely way
  • considering national priority reforms for states and territories to implement.

Ensuring building safety and quality

States and territories adopt and enforce the NCC. The NCC contains minimum building, plumbing and construction requirements for:

  • safety and health
  • amenity and accessibility
  • sustainability.

Each jurisdiction regulates:

  • licensing building practitioners
  • certifying buildings
  • enforcing building regulations
  • identifying non-compliant building products.

Improving building access for people with disability

The Premises Standards specify how public buildings must provide access for people living with disability. State and territory governments adopt the Premises Standards into their building codes. 

We review the Premises Standards every 5 years.

  • Premises Standards

    The Premises Standards ensure that new buildings, or new work on old buildings, provide the right levels of access for people with disability.

Advice for builders, building owners and tenants

Builders or workers in the building industry wanting to know how regulations and reforms will impact them should contact their state or territory regulator.

Tenants renting apartments can raise concerns about building defects or issues with their landlord.

Apartment owners can raise concerns with their body corporate or owners' corporation. Other property owners can contact the consumer protection agency or building regulator in the property’s state or territory.

Responding to building inquiries

We provide input and respond to parliamentary inquiries related to building and construction.

Building and construction news

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