The Minns Labor Government will today introduce nation-leading building reforms to support the uptake of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), streamline building approvals and introduce stronger penalties for certifiers to NSW Parliament.
TheBuilding (Approvals and Practitioners) Bill 2026 ('the Bill') will be critical in supporting the Government's commitment to deliver safe, high-quality homes at the scale and pace required to meet the state's housing needs while making it quicker and easier to resolve building disputes without the need for costly court proceedings in the first instance.
Nation-leading approach to supporting the adoption of MMC
Embracing MMC is key to boosting housing supply in NSW. The Commonwealth Productivity Commission has estimated that MMC, such as modular and prefabricated homes, can reduce overall costs by up to 20 per cent and are up to 50 per cent faster to build in comparison to traditional homes.
The Bill will see NSW become the first Australian jurisdiction to:
- Recognise MMC in law by defining "prefabricated buildings",
- Integrate MMC into the approvals system, and
- Guarantee important consumer protections.
These changes will help increase both industry and consumer confidence in MMC and encourage more homeowners and builders to see MMC as a first choice.
Streamlining building approvals and removing duplication to save industry time and money
The Bill will streamline building approvals by amalgamating the currentlyfragmented legislative framework process into a single piece of legislation.
This consolidation will:
- Remove the need for duplicative designs for the same building elements, saving approximately $330,000 per apartment block
- Establish a system of staged approvals to allow construction to begin and for people to move in as early as possible
- Allow minor variations to a building's development consent - like changing the size of a door or installing a tap outside - to be approved if it fits the approval framework
- Operate in an easy-to-use digital environment for industry professionals
- Create a single authoritative source of truth for consumers, regulators, and industry, making the approvals process easier for everyone who needs to access it.
Increasing maximum penalties to $1 million for certifiers breaching conflict-of-interest rules
The Bill will also deliver on the Government's commitment to restoring transparency in the certification sector by introducing clearer conflict-of-interest laws.
Certifiers play a particularly crucial role in the building approvals process. While most certifiers do the right thing, the Bill will provide greater certainty to industry and improve public confidence by setting out a clearer conflict-of-interest test for certifiers to determine when a certifier cannot be involved in a development.
It will also increase maximum court-imposed penalties from $33,000 to $1.1 million for certifiers who breach conflict-of-interest requirements, and provides automatic suspension if the courts convict the certifier for a breach of the conflict-of-interest provisions.
Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully said:
"These reforms are another example of the Minns Labor Government making it faster and easier to build the quality homes our state needs.
"They build on last year's landmark planning reforms so the process from planning to building and moving into a new home is as smooth and simple as possible.
"With this bill we're taking another fragmented, inconsistent and often repetitive system and replacing it with a clear and consistent approach that will enable better outcomes for NSW."
Minister for Housing Rose Jackson said:
"For too long, NSW has been let down by building approvals systems that are slow, outdated and have not kept pace with the need for housing across our state.
"Today, that's changing. The reforms we're introducing will remove barriers to prefabricated and modular housing without compromising building quality, allowing more people to take advantage of the benefits of modern methods of construction.
"These are no longer fringe options - they are central to how we build the homes of tomorrow and the Minns Labor Government is proud to be leading the way in Australia."
Minister for Building Anoulack Chanthivong said:
"The Minns Labor Government is making it easier to build quality homes.
"These reforms are about removing unnecessary red tape to boost housing completions and support innovative ways to build homes faster and cheaper without compromising on quality.
"As we confront this once-in-a-generation housing supply challenge, prefabricated homes are becoming an increasingly popular time and cost-effective alternative to traditional housing.
"This Bill, if passed, will see NSW become the leading jurisdiction in Australia when it comes to modern methods of construction."
NSW Building Commissioner James Sherrard said:
"These reforms give Building Commission NSW the tools it needs to ensure certifiers and the innovative types of homes people are increasingly adopting have the proper regulatory oversight.
"The new rules and support for prefabricated homes in particular, will give industry and consumers more confidence in this type of construction, leading to what we hope will be increased adoption."
Executive Director of Master Builders NSW Matt Pollock said:
"This Bill is about getting the balance right between reforms which help to improve consumer protections and lift quality in the building industry, while also speeding up and streamlining approvals processes so we can get on with the job of building more homes.
"The reforms to MMC will give builders more options to construct homes faster and in a controlled environment.
"We welcome this announcement and thank the Minns government for its collaborative approach to these reforms."
