Building reform

The Northern Territory Government is prioritising reforms to building regulations to ensure confidence in the local building industry.

Reforms in progress

Registration of Commercial Builders

The Northern Territory Government is strengthening consumer confidence in the building industry by prioritising building reforms.  The introduction of commercial building registrations and expansion of regulation making powers to establish a continuing professional development are priority reforms.

On 15 April 2024, the Building Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 to introduce commercial building registrations will come into effect. To know more read the Building Contractor Commercial Registrations Fact Sheet DOCX (56.8 KB).

A 12 month transition period allows commercial builders to obtain a commercial registration. During this transition period, a grandfathering initiative provides for current experienced NT builders to be registered without needing to meet the qualification requirements.  Read the Grandfathering Fact Sheet DOCX (373.0 KB).

Commercial renovations and fit-outs will not require a registered builder if there is no increase in floor area or height, no structural elements are altered and there is no change in the building classification under the National Construction Code.   The registration models are at the Building Contractor Registration model DOCX (41.5 KB).

Building contractors registered as both residential and commercial building contractors will only pay a single registration fee.

Changes to the legislation also expands the regulation-making powers to enable drafting of a CPD scheme for stakeholder consultation in the future.

For more information:

Effective licensing and regulation of building practitioners is the foundation of a robust building industry that delivers buildings that are safe, compliant and of good quality.

Currently, dispute resolution, licensing and regulation of the building industry is administered by three different Government departments.

KPMG Australia is undertaking an independent review of the administrative arrangements for the licensing, regulation and dispute resolution for building and will make recommendations for an alternative administrative model that is appropriate to the size and context of the NT.

Effective and streamlined administration is aimed at ensuring that matters can be dealt with in a more efficient way and that the system can appropriately respond in a timely manner as it relates to enforcement and regulation of the industry when there is unsatisfactory conduct.

The review commenced in October 2023 and is expected to take 6 months to complete.

Independent Third Party Review

The Building Regulations 1993 were amended on 31 January 2022 to introduce the requirement for an independent third party review of the structural designs for significant and complex buildings.

The introduction of Independent Third Party Reviews means any significant and complex building work is required to have its structural design reviewed by another qualified, experienced and independent structural engineer before a building permit can be issued by a building certifier.

Find out more about Independent Third Party Review.

Strengthening Practitioner Discipline

In August 2022, the Building Act 1993 was amended to strengthen disciplinary action available to the Building Practitioners Board to respond to serious professional misconduct by building practitioners.

The amendment increased the maximum civil penalties for building practitioners from 40 penalty units to 160 penalty units for individuals and 800 penalty units for corporations, bringing them in line with other jurisdictions. The amendment also increased the timeframe subject to an inquiry for a practitioner
who is no longer registered from three years to seven years.

For more information on priority building reforms, email bas.policy@nt.gov.au.

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