Residential Focus: Reinventing the wheel – Building (Approvals and Practitioners) Bill 2026

Earlier this month, the Building (Approvals and Practitioners) Bill 2026 was introduced to the NSW Parliament.

The Bill comprises a significant set of changes, focusing on the approval system and the role of certifiers, as well as introducing a new statutory framework for prefabricated buildings. It is intended to reduce red tape at the approval stage and to assist the NSW Government with meeting housing targets.

Significantly, the Bill proposes to repeal the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (DBP Act) and its regulation, which has been deeply unpopular. However, it does so without reprieve, as many of the key provisions in the Bill mirror and adopt the requirements from the DBP Act.

Parliament has expressly stated that the Bill is intended to update the existing legislative framework to match the DBP Act, rather than create an entirely new compliance framework.

The key features of the Bill include:

• creating a new approval system which acts to ‘reset’ years of ad-hoc amendments to the existing framework, clarifying the role and responsibility of certifiers in the construction project
• repealing the DBP Act and the Building and Development Certifiers Act 2018 and their associated regulations
• simplification of the registration framework for designers and certifiers of building work, adopting the same requirements as the (prospective former) DBP Act
• replacing the term ‘occupation certificate’ with ‘completion approval’ across all legislation, and distinguishing approval into ‘building approval’ to do the works and ‘completion approval’ to occupy or use the building
• formalising the role of an ‘approval authority’ for construction projects, who will act as a central coordinator for that model
• redefining the definition of ‘building work’ to only refer to physical activities associated with construction, delineating it from approval and design work
• significantly increasing penalties for certifiers who act with a conflict of interest or seek to unduly gain benefits from certifying work
• extending the duty of care in the (prospective former) DBP Act to certifiers
• removing the existing exemption for manufactured homes from the definition of ‘building’ under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 which brings modular and prefabricated homes into the scope of the Home Building Act and (prospective former) DBP Act.

Over the coming weeks, we will be taking a deeper dive into key aspects of the Bill in a series of articles, so stay tuned.

Long-time readers will be aware that the Building Bill 2022 and its companions, the Building Compliance and Enforcement Bill 2022 and the Building Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 were originally intended to reform and consolidate building industry legislation in NSW (the 2022 Reform Package). Only the Building Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 was passed, in reduced form, becoming the Building Legislation Amendment Act 2023. The other parts of the 2022 Reform Package were abandoned last November, in favour of reforms to streamline planning approvals, provide greater certainty for industry and communities, and cut unnecessary red tape in the sector.

It remains to be seen whether this aspiration will be achieved by the Bill. Before that can be assessed, the Bill will need to avoid the fate which met the 2022 reform package, after a lengthy consultation process marked by industry opposition.

At minimum, the Bill will be unpopular with private certifiers, whose liability would be significantly increased because of the proposed changes, and those who engage their services, who may for the first time, be required to pay an appropriate amount for an expected level of scrutiny.

If you have any questions regarding the bill, please contact us here.

Disclaimer
The information in this article is of a general nature and is not intended to address the circumstances of any particular individual or entity. Although we endeavour to provide accurate and timely information, we do not guarantee that the information in this article is accurate at the date it is received or that it will continue to be accurate in the future.

Published by:

Christine Jones

Brandon Thai

Share this