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...

Inflation Remains Stubbornly High as Underlying Price Pressures Intensify

The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) data confirms that inflationary pressures remain deeply entrenched across the Australian economy, with underlying inflation showing little sign of easing despite a modest decline in the headline rate. The ABS reported annual CPI of...

The Federal Government's proposed trust tax changes could force many small builders to choose between paying significantly more tax or undertaking a costly and complex restructure, potentially requiring new licences, contract changes and additional regulatory approvals.

Master Builders has been hearing serious concerns from its members about the implications of the Federal...

The NSW Government has announced its renewed push to bring Decennial Liability Insurance (DLI) into the NSW market with the passing of its Fair Trading and Building Legislation Bill. 

DCI is 10-year defect insurance for apartment buildings and is supposed to give apartment owners protection against the cost of...