Building and construction

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We work with state and territory governments to ensure a more efficient and internationally competitive building and construction industry. This includes the adoption of nationally consistent regulations such as the National Construction Code (NCC).

To help maintain a stable regulatory framework for national industry, the Minister for Industry, Science and Technology chairs the Building Ministers’ Forum (BMF). The Australian Government collaborates with state and territory governments through the BMF's sub-groups.

Restoring confidence in the built environment

The Australian Government, with Australian states and territories, is creating a stronger building and construction sector in Australia.

While we don't have constitutional power to regulate the built environment, we’re working through the BMF to restore confidence by:

mitigating the public safety risks of industry non‑compliance
addressing systemic problems in the industry consistently and in a timely way

The BMF commissioned independent experts Professor Peter Shergold AC and Bronwyn Weir to assess Australia’s building and construction industry compliance and enforcement systems.

The Building Confidence Report was published in February 2018.

The report found some deficiencies in Australia’s building industry culture and governance arrangements. It made 24 recommendations to improve compliance and ensure building safety in Australia.

In July 2019 the BMF agreed to implement these recommendations nationally through the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB).

Implementation team and national framework

An implementation team has been established within the ABCB.

The team will develop a national framework for acting on the report recommendations and ensuring they are implemented consistently. The team will also:

make sure the design, construction and certification of complex buildings is consistent
report on the framework to the public

The national framework outlines a range of work to be done, including:

amendments to the National Construction Code
model legislative provisions,
non‑regulatory tools and
educational programs

The implementation team is engaging with industry and all states and territories to move this work forward.

Ultimately, state and territory governments are responsible for implementing the Building Confidence report recommendations.

Combustible cladding

While the Australian Government is concerned for residents and others affected by building failures, Australia’s state and territory governments are responsible for regulating building and construction activities including the remediation and rectification of combustible cladding.

State and territory cladding audits

Following the Grenfell Tower fire in the United Kingdom in 2017, Australian states and territories are auditing high-rise buildings to determine how much non‑compliant cladding has been used.

The Commonwealth strongly encourages the states and territories to cooperate to rectify non‑compliant buildings. Each state and territory has its own approach to:

identifying potentially non‑compliant cladding
determining which buildings are high risk and must be rectified

For information on cladding audits in your state or territory visit the relevant website.

New South Wales	Department of Finance, Services and Innovation
Victoria	Victorian Building Authority
Queensland	Queensland Building and Construction Commission
Western Australia	Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
South Australia	Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure
Tasmania	Consumer, Building and Occupation Services
Australian Capital Territory	Building Cladding Review Group

If you’re concerned about your property or home

If you own an apartment and you're concerned it might have a defect or issue, contact the body corporate or owners' corporation.

Owners of other kinds of property can contact the consumer protection agency or building regulator in their state or territory.

If you rent an apartment, contact your landlord to report your concerns.

Inquiries and reviews

We provide input and respond to parliamentary inquiries including the:

We conducted the legislative review of the Disability (Access to Premises-Building) Standards 2010 and the Government’s response.

Contact us

Email BuildingIndustry@industry.gov.au