The latest data on building trade apprenticeships released by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) is encouraging for the industry. However, the positive news is overshadowed by the prospect of even more inflationary pressure and its negative impact on the level of building activity. 

Nationally, 16,018 new...

Key Points:

• Economic conditions continue to worsen according to the latest survey data from  Roy Morgan, ANZ and NAB.
• RBA Assistant Governor says the central bank expects home building activity to be low in 2027 and 2028.
• Construction and mining lead the collapse in business confidence in August 2026 compared...

Key Points: 

• NSW is by far the largest data centre market in Australia, with Sydney accounting for the majority (65%) of the country's operational capacity and construction pipeline.

• NSW accounted for roughly two-thirds of Australia's data centre construction activity in 2025, implying an estimated construction value of approximately AUD 11...

Tell the NSW Government what you think about workers compensation premiums in NSW. The Government is reviewing workers compensation premiums and inviting members of Master Builders NSW to share their feedback.

Workers compensation premiums play an important role in supporting injured workers, promoting workplace safety and maintaining a...

Key Points: 

• High underlying inflation, high interest rates, rising costs and falling consumer sentiment reflected in ABS Building Approvals data for July. 

• Approvals for detached houses fell in July 2026 by 4.2% across the country

• In NSW detached housing approvals fell by 4%

• SA had the biggest fall in detached...

Building Approvals for July 2026 shows that persistently high inflation is increasingly weighing on residential building activity.

Approvals for detached houses in NSW fell bv 4% in July and by 8.1% for all dwellings, Across the nation the number of new dwellings approved fell by 3.6% and the fall...

Changes to HBCF 

icare and the NSW Government have made changes to the HBCF.
 

What is changing from 1 September 2026? 

The current HBCF distributor model is ending and icare is moving to a digital self-service model that shifts day-to-day responsibility for managing HBCF from distributors to builders. 
The...

NSW has passed the Building (Approvals and Practitioners) Act 2026, a significant reform package that will ultimately repeal and replace the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (DBP Act), the DBP Regulation, and the Building and Development Certifiers Act 2018 framework. The new Act received assent on 14 August...

Key Points: 

• 10.7% increase (nationally) in capital expenditure by business over the year. 
• But investment in major categories fell in the June quarter 2026. 
• NSW is the strongest performer among the states and territories over the year, up by 26.6%. 
• Data Centre investment is a major driver of CAPEX investment...

Household Spending Jumps In July

As we are all aware, Australian households have been feeling the pinch with the rising cost of living.  

And we don’t need an ABS dataset to tell us that - a simple visit to any supermarket, or a look at a Council...