Qld removes red tape for builders
Builders in Queensland will be able to deliver homes faster as a new regulation aims to slash “unnecessary paperwork” and drive down costs.
In a bid to build homes faster, building regulations in the Sunshine State are to be overhauled to reduce costly red tape for builders, tradies and subcontractors.
The new regulation, Building Reg Reno, will reduce builders’ administrative burden, ensuring they can focus on building homes rather than paperwork.
The regulation will be implemented in stages, beginning with an immediate pause on the industry’s trust account rollout on projects below $10 million.
Builders with projects above $10 million will still be required to have trust accounts, with the Queensland Productivity Commission set to review how secure payment will be made as part of a sector overhaul.
The Productivity Commission will also review Queensland’s $59 billion construction industry to identify ways to boost productivity and reduce red tape further.
Minister for Housing and Public Works, Sam O’Connor, said the changes will remove the financial reporting requirements and reduce red tape for 50,000 licensees, which represents 97 per cent of small operators.
“We want Queensland to be the building capital of the nation, but at the moment our construction sites are the least productive in Australia,” O’Connor said.
Other Building Reg Reno key reforms include minimising disruption by providing more time to meet new fire protection licensing rules, scrapping occupational licence fees for plumbers who also do fire protection work, fast-tracking the digitising of licensing and administrative processes, and removing duplicate workplace safety notification requirements by amending the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) legislation.
“This is about doing all we can to take the pressure off our building and construction industry to get more Queenslanders into homes and easing Labor’s housing crisis,” O’Connor said.
New Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data showed that 171,394 home buildings were approved in 2024, a 4.7 per cent increase from the 163,722 dwellings approved in 2023.
Queensland recorded 36,429 dwellings approved in 2024, up 7.4 per cent on the previous year.
Despite the approvals rising, Australia still fell short of its annual 240,000 housing target.
The ABS data also showed that multi-unit dwelling approvals were higher than for detached houses.
In the Sunshine State, Toowoomba led the way in the December quarter with 40.9 per cent growth in building approvals, followed by Central Queensland at 26.6 per cent and Wide Bay-Burnett at 10.8 per cent.
In comparison, Mackay and the Whitsunday recorded the highest decline in building approvals at -16.4 per cent, while Far North Queensland dropped by -8.5 per cent.
CEO of Master Builders, Paul Bidwell, welcomed the “renovation” of industry regulation that showed builders’ voices had been heard.
“Slashing red tape is crucial to unlocking construction in Queensland,” Bidwell said.
“By hitting pause on the looming Project Trust Account expansion, scrapping additional financial reporting, and setting a new direction for the QBCC, the state government is better empowering our industry, particularly thousands of small businesses, to get on with the job.
“There is, of course, more work to be done to hit ambitious housing targets.
“We look forward to further announcements as the wheels of the Productivity Commission begin to turn,” Bidwell concluded.