PREMIER Jacinta Allan has announced that the State Government is introducing the Building Legislation Amendment (Buyer Protections) Bill 2025, and will kick off consultation on more proposed reforms to protect consumers.
The bill creates a new integrated building watchdog and gives it tough new enforcement powers to fix dodgy work. It also delivers new schemes for developer bonds and first-resort insurance, to make things fairer for consumers.
Minister for Housing and Building Harriet Shing emphasised the importance of the amendments for buyers.
“It’s essential that consumers are protected and supported when buying or building their home, and we’ll continue to work with industry to get the balance right and deliver quality homes of a consistently high standard,” she said.
New building watchdog
The Building and Plumbing Commission will be a powerful watchdog overseeing domestic building and plumbing industries across the state.
If you’re a consumer and you have a problem with the quality of your new home, this regulator will become the one-stop-shop you can turn to, and it will have tough new powers to protect homebuyers.
Tough new powers
Currently, the regulator can direct builders to fix substandard work, but only before someone moves in.
Under the bill, the new regulator will get tough new powers, including for enforcement. If serious defects aren’t rectified, the regulator can stop the issuing of occupancy permits or the completion of off-the-plan sales for apartment buildings. In other words, if it’s not fixed, it’s not for sale.
The powers won’t just apply before someone moves in. With this bill, the new regulator can order the rectification of dodgy building work up to 10 years after an occupancy permit is issued.
The powers will come into place by the end of 2025. Builders can face disciplinary action for failing to comply with these rules, including suspension of registration.
Introducing developer bonds
Consumers currently have no financial protection for defective building work in buildings that are four storeys and above. This bill takes the first steps to make the system fairer, by introducing a developer bond scheme.
A developer bond works in a similar way to a rental bond. Under the scheme, developers pay a bond, which is held by the regulator. If there are building issues, this money can then be released to pay for rectification works.
Fixing domestic building insurance
Domestic Building Insurance (DBI) protects consumers, but currently, they can only access this insurance as a last resort under very limited circumstances: when their builder becomes insolvent, disappears, or dies.
With this bill, consumers will get access to a ‘first resort’ insurance scheme, allowing them to make a claim when a building issue is first identified, so they won’t have to face huge out-of-pocket costs for fixing defects.
Building manuals and more inspections
If you’re buying an apartment, this manual will give you the information you need about how it was built and the maintenance that has occurred; and when you move in, the manual can help you navigate the systems in your building and speed up defect repairs.
Another proposal being considered is for more mandatory inspections during construction—specifically, prior to waterproofing and plastering. This will detect non-compliance sooner, reducing the number of homebuyers who must pay for expensive rectifications after moving in.
