Building and construction industry

Gain an understanding of the legal, operational and business issues relevant to the building and construction industry.

The building and construction industry includes:

• residential and non-residential construction
• building structure services
• installation services
• heavy and civil engineering
• land development
• site preparation

Our professional services industry information is relevant to you if you are an architect.

You must be aware of the laws that apply to the building and construction industry.

Key legislation

• Competition and Consumer Act 2010 
• Australian Consumer Law (ACL)
• National Construction Code
• Disability (Access to Premises-Buildings) Standards 2010
• National Prequalification System for Civil (Road and Bridge) Construction Contracts
• Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
• Heritage protection
• National Native title Tribunal

State or territory governments manage the licences and permits for the building and construction industry.

The licences and permits you may need include:

• building licences
• plumbing licences
• gas fitting licences
• electrical licences
• development applications
• zoning approvals
• heavy vehicle licences
• obtaining a white card
• water usage or constructing a bore or well
• connection or work on sewerage/drain
• carrying out high risk work
• protecting trees and wildlife
• fire management and safety
• use of blasting explosives
• removal of asbestos
• use of public land
• work on heritage properties
• building energy efficiency
• disposal of waste
• handling, storage and use of chemicals or dangerous substances

The building and construction industry have specific Goods and Services Tax (GST) measures. Know your GST obligations and register with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to ensure you can claim your GST credits.

Further taxation measures specific to the building and construction industry include:

• Personal services income (PSI)
• Taxable payments reporting

Personal services income

If you’re a consultant or contractor, the income you receive for your skills, knowledge, expertise or efforts may be personal services income The PSI rules affect what amounts you include in your assessable income and what deductions you can claim.

Taxable payments reporting

Businesses in the building and construction industry need to report to the ATO the total payments they make to each contractor for building and construction services each year.

Recover money owed to you

Security of payment laws apply to building and construction contractors in most states and territories. These laws provide a low cost adjudication process to recover money owed to you.

To find information on security of payment laws relevant to your state or territory:

• Use the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman's Dispute Support tool.
• Read the Security of Payments information on the Australian Building and Construction Commission website.

Find out what to do when you haven't been paid. This information covers:

• debt collection
• dispute resolution
• where to find help and advice
• legal action

Manage business debt

If your business is in debt and you want to get your finances back on track, read our information on what to do when you're in debt. We provide steps and advice to help you manage and reduce your debt, including:

• prioritising your debt
• how to deal with creditors
• where to find advice and help

Prevent unpaid debt

Simple steps can help you prevent disputes and unpaid debt by your creditors.

There are very few grants available for the construction industry, unless you:

• employ and train apprentices or trainees
• build in a region encouraging growth
• build structures to support a community activity or event

Search Grants & Programs to find grants that may be relevant to the construction industry.

If you employ staff, you need to comply with Australia’s national workplace laws specific to the building and construction industry.

Visit the Fair Work Ombudsman website for awards specific to your industry.

All business must comply with general occupational health and safety regulations. The building and construction industry also has state specific WHS requirements. These include:

• induction cards (white card)
• asbestos training (ACT)
• approved clothing
• managing noise
• preventing falls
• electrical safety
• excavation work
• demolition work
• high risk building work
• sun safety and heat stress

Health and wellbeing

Mates in Construction provides suicide prevention training and support to people in the construction industry. If you or your staff need advice or someone to talk to, contact Mates in Construction at information@matesinconstruction.org.au.

You can find more organisations that provide information and support to help you with your health and wellbeing on the ATO website.

Environmental conditions can dictate certain aspects of a construction project. You can learn to work within these conditions. The main environmental issues that businesses in the building and construction industry should understand include:

• house energy ratings
• soil contaminated locations
• areas infected by a species (animal, plant, insect, or disease)
• flood prone areas
• bushfire prone areas
• tree management
• trade waste management and reduction

Alongside compulsory insurances, the building and construction industry has specific insurances. These insurances include:

• domestic building insurance
• professional indemnity insurance
• public liability insurance
• structural defects/builders' indemnity insurance
• vehicle and heavy machinery insurance
• tools, plant and equipment insurance for tradespeople
• insurance for loss or damage to property in the course of construction