New Registration and Approval Rules for Building Work
Building (Approvals and Practitioners) Bill 2026
Legislative Assembly
Legislative Council
Assent
Topics
building products building safety construction work consumer protection industry regulation professional registration
Introduced by: The Hon Anoulack Chanthivong MP (ALP); The Hon Penny Sharpe MLC (ALP)
Links to official parliament websites
Effects of this bill
If this bill passes, it means that:
The Debate
What different members said when this bill was debated:
Mark Latham IND
“I listened carefully to the Minister’s speech and ask the obvious question: How many members of the Labor ministry or caucus live in or want to live in modular homes? The answer, of course, is zero.”
John Ruddick LIBT
“The Libertarian Party supports the Building (Approvals and Practitioners) Bill 2026. We support any bill that allows private property owners and property developers to build more homes. The housing crisis in Australia is now so big that it risks becoming a generation-defining issue.”
Chris Rath LIB
“I speak on behalf of the Opposition on the Building (Approvals and Practitioners) Bill 2026. The Liberals and Nationals welcome reform to the State’s building laws and will support the bill.”
Cate Faehrmann GRN
“The Greens will be supporting the Building (Approvals and Practitioners) Bill 2026. We do so recognising that reform to the building approvals and certification system is necessary, and that the current system is not delivering the outcomes that the community expects, either in terms of housing supply or building quality.”
Emma Hurst AJP
“On behalf of the Animal Justice Party, I contribute to debate on the Building (Approvals and Practitioners) Bill 2026. In particular, I want to talk about how this bill will affect interior designers, which is an issue I have been raising with the Minister for several years now.”
Rose Jackson ALP
“Mark Latham, the Hon. Chris Rath, Ms Cate Faehrmann and the Hon. Emma Hurst. I also thank the Hon. John Ruddick for his contribution. The bill seeks to strike the right balance between accelerating the State’s housing delivery, whilst ensuring that the quality of those homes is maintained. That is not always an easy balance to strike. We talk a lot about the housing crisis.”
News articles and press releases
Building (Approvals and Practitioners) Bill 2026
Mr ANOULACK CHANTHIVONG, Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading — 2026-05-06
This bill provides a modern, efficient and intuitive approvals system for building work. It simplifies the registration framework for the professionals responsible for designing, certifying and approving building work—functions critical to maintaining public confidence in New South Wales homes. This bill strips away decades of red tape and administrative burden that is hampering industry and frustrating consumers due to a highly complex certification system. The building certification system, when introduced last century, was a novel approach to building regulation. While appropriate at the time, it has not kept pace with modern construction practices and digital advancements. It has also been impacted by years of ad hoc changes and bandaid solutions that have only served to burden the system.