Building Reg Reno

For more information on the Building Reg Reno, visit the Queensland Building and Construction Commission.

The Queensland Government has a plan to position Queensland as the building capital of the nation.

The Building Reg Reno (Building Regulation Renovation) is a package of reforms that will:

  • boost productivity
  • reduce regulatory burden
  • help safeguard investment to make it easier to build in Queensland.

The reforms, which are intended to complement the Queensland Productivity Commission’s (QPC) regulatory review of the building and construction industry, are progressively rolling out in 4 tranches.

The first 2 tranches have already been delivered, with a further 2 tranches underway.

Tranche 1 (delivered) – Project trust accounts

The further rollout of trust accounts to private projects below $10 million was paused to help smaller contractors focus on building.

This also gives more time to educate builders and subcontractors on existing payment protections, ensuring they know their rights and options.

The trust account framework continues to apply to:

  • eligible Queensland Government contracts of $1 million or more
  • private sector, local government, statutory authority and government-owned corporation contracts of $10 million or more.

Tranche 2 (delivered) – Minimum financial requirements, passive fire protection, fee waivers and other exemptions

A delivery of more regulatory amendments has:

  • cut paperwork for over 97% of small builders and sole traders by removing MFR financial reporting for lower categories of individual licensees (SC1 and SC2). This means around 50,000 individual licensees will no longer need to provide annual financial reports to the QBCC
  • provide additional time of up to 5 years (to May 2030) to meet the new occupational licensing requirements for passive fire protection work, as well as upskilling requirements for other existing licences, such as some Special Hazards licences
  • provide free occupational licences for plumbers who already pay for a QBCC contractor licence to do certain fire protection work
  • extend existing time-limited exemptions regarding Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) coverage for building certifiers
  • extend existing time-limited exemptions from the Livable Housing and Design Standard (contained in the NCC Modern Homes standards) for certain narrow lots and certain pre-built small dwellings.

Tranche 3 (in progress) ‒ regulator enhancements

Tranche 3 amendments are contained within the Queensland Building and Construction Commission and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025, which was introduced to Parliament on 27 June 2025.

The Bill:

  • supports the QBCC to be a customer-focused and user-friendly regulator by digitising and modernising processes, such as providing alternatives to paper-based methods
  • helps the QBCC to use digital platforms more effectively, cutting paperwork and making it easier to manage licences
  • simplifies the pathway for making safety notifications.

Tranche 4 (in progress) – licensing, insurance and construction codes

The Queensland Government is considering further proposed legislative changes under Tranche 4, aimed at helping industry become more efficient by reducing red tape and improving and modernising legislation.

The proposed changes include:

  • reviewing licensing thresholds and improving consistency across all QBCC licensees (e.g. licence restorations)
  • reviewing the insurance threshold, cover amount and timeframes of the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme
  • streamlining QBCC’s internal review and dispute resolution processes
  • establishing a clear and consistent approach to implementation timeframes for future NCC updates
  • introducing a Queensland Housing Code to streamline design and siting rules for housing
  • further reducing administrative burden associated with trust accounts and providing guidance for trusts following an insolvency.

Like the earlier tranches, these broader reforms would support Queensland’s construction sector to function well and able to deliver the homes and infrastructure our growing state needs.

The Building Reg Reno is intended to complement the Queensland Productivity Commission’s regulatory review of the building industry. Its final report is due to be provided to government on 24 October 2025.