Building Industry Body Warns Against Rising Regulatory Fragmentation

Canberra - The Building Products Industry Council (BPIC) has issued a formal warning regarding the escalating volume of state-specific variations to the National Construction Code (NCC), asserting that these deviations are placing an undue burden on Australia’s construction and manufacturing sectors.

While the NCC is designed to serve as a harmonised national framework, BPIC Executive Officer, Rodger Hills, stated that escalating jurisdictional amendments are undermining the code’s efficiency and driving up costs.

He noted that although the framework is intended to be nationally consistent, states and territories have continued to introduce independent regulatory paths.

Data provided by the council reveals that the expansion of the variations has been significant.

In New South Wales (NSW), state-specific amendments have surged from 16 in the 2022 code to over 210 in the 2025 edition, adding approximately 70 pages of additional regulation.

Tasmania has followed a similar trend by introducing 125 new variations, bringing its total to more than 150 jurisdiction-specific requirements.

Hills argued that even minor variations force builders, manufacturers and designers to spend excessive time interpreting conflicting requirements.

He said whether a variation substitutes a single word or an entire clause, the result is greater uncertainty, higher compliance costs and an increased risk of non-compliance.

Furthermore, he said the changes create barriers to national supply chains and prevent the industry from achieving effective economies of scale.

A primary concern raised by the council is the perceived lack of national oversight regarding these state-level changes.

Unlike national provisions, state and territory variations are not required to meet policy-neutrality tests or undergo a Regulation Impact Statement process to assess economic implications.

Many of the variations are reportedly developed after the public comment period, which prevents the industry from providing feedback before they are implemented.

While BPIC expressed support for the Federal Treasury’s NCC Modernisation Project, the council maintains that the project’s success depends on addressing how jurisdictional fragmentation is managed.

The building products industry contributes an estimated A$67.3 billion annually to the Australian economy, and industry leaders maintain that a stable and predictable regulatory environment is essential for future productivity.