The ACT Government reports annually on progress of reforms to the ACT's building regulatory system. The report is current as at the end of the financial year being reported on.

During the 2025-26 financial year, the ACT Government undertook the following work in relation to improving and maintaining the building and construction industry and progressed actions that promote health, safety, amenity and sustainability outcomes and maintain quality of living standards for Canberrans:

  • Introduced and implemented the first tranche of reforms under the ACT Construction Productivity Agenda, aimed at streamlining planning and building regulations and processes in the ACT. Further tranches of reforms under the Construction Productivity Agenda will be brought forward in 6 monthly stages and will focus on improving productivity to support housing and economic outcomes, strengthening the resilience of the construction sector and ensuring new homes are delivered to high standards within a timely manner.
  • Commenced policy work on options for the extension of trade licensing, in line with the ACT Government’s commitment to extend occupational licensing to select building trades.
  • Progressed policy work and interjurisdictional engagement to implement the ACT Government commitment to reintroduce government building certifiers as an alternative to private certifiers in the building certification process. The new team of public certifiers would operate on a competitive, fee-for service model.
  • Continued implementation of the Property Developer Licensing and Regulation Scheme. The licensing scheme opened for applications on 1 October 2025, with licensing becoming mandatory from 1 October 2026. Implementation work includes development of minor Act amendments and subordinate legislation, working with Access Canberra on operational requirements, engagement with ratings entities, development of infringement notices and ongoing consultation with industry stakeholders.
  • Finalised and continued implementation of the findings of the review of residential building work insurance settings to improve consumer protection.
  • Commenced a review of the ACT’s security of payment laws. This review will consider ways the legislation could be improved to make the building industry fairer, with a focus on supporting contractors within the sector to be paid in a reasonable time and reducing their vulnerabilities to insolvencies. Stakeholder engagement is anticipated to be held in 2026.
  • Continued to implement and monitor home swimming pool safety reforms, which commenced on 1 May 2024 through the introduction and passage of the Building (Swimming Pool Safety) Legislation Amendment Act 2023. All home swimming pools and spas are required to have a safety barrier compliant with modern safety standards by 1 May 2028.
  • Scoped a project aimed at aligning Bushfire Prone Area requirements in the building and planning regulatory systems, in response to action 11.4 in the Strategic Bushfire Management Plan.
  • Continued to progress work on implementing regulation of medical gas systems, including a compliance framework and related offence provisions.
  • Contributed to the ACT’s input in the National Competition Council’s review of Automatic Mutual Recognition.
  • Continued to progress work on actions to support a mobile building and construction labour force.
  • Progressed work to update the Introduction to the ACT’s Building Regulatory System Course, with the intention of expanding this course to all licensed and registered trades and practitioners within the building and construction sector.
  • Progressed work to develop an Architects Code of Professional Conduct, including inter-jurisdictional research and consultation with industry.
  • Led national discussions on action to be taken to address embodied carbon emissions in new buildings in the National Construction Code (NCC).
  • Worked closely with national colleagues on the National Framework for Disclosure of Residential Energy Efficiency Information.
  • Supported participation of the Minister for Planning and Sustainable Development in national forums.
  • Supported the ACT representative on the Australian Building Codes Board and Building Codes Committee.
  • Worked with colleagues from other jurisdictions through Senior Officials meetings and working groups.
  • Provided information on the operation of the ACT's building regulatory system to Government, the community, stakeholders, other jurisdictions and national bodies.
  • Undertook ongoing engagement with the community and industry stakeholders.
  • Commenced research to identify the key costs and barriers associated with adaptive reuse in the ACT.

During the 2025-26 financial year, the ACT Government completed the following work:

  • Completed recruitment for four out of five members of the ACT Architects Board, this includes the academic architect, community representative, registered architect and commercial lawyer member roles. The fifth member’s term was extended.
  • Adopted the 2025 edition of the National Construction Code into the ACT legislative framework.
  • Completed targeted consultation for the Extension of Trade Licensing project.
  • Implemented the first tranche of reforms under the ACT Construction Productivity Agenda in April 2026:
    • Reform 1 - Make greywater piping requirements voluntary, which would reduce construction costs without impacting sustainable water reuse. There is an expected $1,550 reduction in the cost of constructing a new home.
    • Reform 2 - Simplify energy efficiency upgrade requirements for extensions and renovations. This provides an alternate pathway to comply with energy efficiency requirements by setting a revised whole-of-house star rating target proportionate to the area being renovated. This will address the need for complex redesign efforts, higher costs and risks of non-compliance by delivering a simpler alternative pathway for energy efficiency for industry and homeowners to meet their compliance requirements.
    • Reform 3 - Recognising Passive House (Passivhaus) certification as a compliance pathway for energy efficiency ratings. This will streamline building approvals and reduce regulatory burden for projects that demonstrate they outperform baseline requirements and therefore, forego the need for an additional National Construction Code compliance pathway.
  • Developed and implemented improvements to the ACTs building regulatory system through the introduction and passage of the Building and Construction Legislation Amendment Act 2026.
  • Completed a review of the public documentation that supported the home swimming pool safety reforms which commenced on 1 May 2024. The review report was circulated to the Legislative Assembly out of session on 21 January 2026 and made several recommendations to support improved communication of the reforms.
  • Published research on the Everyday Climate Choices website on how improving a home’s energy performance from the beginning delivers real benefits for households and community.