Building Reg Reno making it easier to build in Queensland
- Crisafulli Government is reducing red tape and unnecessary costs for builders, tradies and subbies, to help ensure homes can be built sooner.
- Building Reg Reno demolishes unnecessary financial reporting for more than 50,000 operators who make up 97% of individual licensees.
- Supports further QBCC reform and complements the Queensland Productivity Commission's review of the building and construction sector.
The Crisafulli Government is reducing red tape and unnecessary costs to make it easier for builders, tradies and subbies to get on with the job, delivering the homes Queensland needs sooner.
The Building Reg Reno will deliver immediate relief for tradies sick of getting bogged down in unnecessary paperwork and provide support for the 270,000 Queenslanders working in the $59 billion industry.
The regulatory changes will also pause the rollout of new project trust accounts on projects less than $10 million, to allow smaller contractors to focus on more building and less administrative burden.
Trust accounts will still be required for private projects above $10 million. Security of payment will be considered by the Queensland Productivity Commission as part of its review of the building and construction sector.
These changes will be rolled out progressively to give builders, subcontractors, and homeowners greater certainty and fairness.
Changes will include:
- Scrapping unnecessary financial reporting for more than 50,000 individual operators in the self-certifying licensee categories.
- Providing more time to meet new fire protection licensing rules to minimise disruption to important work.
- Scrapping occupational licence fees for plumbers doing fire protection work.
- Fast-tracking the digitising of licensing and administrative processes which are still paper-based.
- Amending the legislation governing the Queensland Building and Construction Commission to remove duplicate workplace safety notification requirements.
The announcement follows the establishment of the Productivity Commission which will be tasked with a review into the construction industry to identify opportunities to boost productivity, which is lagging behind other states and territories.
Minister for Housing and Public Works Sam O'Connor said the changes would deliver a place to call home for more Queenslanders by reducing the administrative and paperwork burden on builders.
"The Crisafulli Government is removing unnecessary red tape and reinforcing the foundations for a stronger, more efficient building industry that can deliver the homes and infrastructure Queensland needs," Minister O'Connor said.
"Building Reg Reno removes the financial reporting requirements will reduce red tape for 50,000 licensees.
"We have a huge challenge ahead of us to fix Labor's Housing Crisis but the Crisafulli Government is up to the challenge and taking immediate action.
"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.
"We want Queensland to be the building capital of the nation but at the moment our construction sites are the least productive in Australia."
CEO of Master Builders Paul Bidwell welcomed the Crisafulli Government's Building Reg Reno.
"We've been banging on, calling for action on these challenges for years, and in the first 100 days of the Crisafulli Government, we've seen swift action and commitment to change," Mr Bidwell said.
"Slashing red tape is crucial to unlocking construction in Queensland. 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.
"We applaud this 'renovation' of industry regulation and look forward to further measures being announced."
