The Housing Industry Association (HIA) has expressed deep concern over the planned closure of the CSIRO's North Ryde Fire Technology Laboratory, one of Australia's most important independent building-product testing facilities. The laboratory is scheduled to close when its lease expires in December 2026.

The North Ryde laboratory has been central to Australia's building and construction ecosystem, providing the independent fire-resistance testing that underpins product certification, National Construction Code (NCC) compliance, research and development, and the commercialisation of new building products. Its closure would remove up to half of Australia's large-scale fire-testing capacity at a time when demand for testing and certification is increasing.

Industry response

HIA Chief Executive Industry and Policy Simon Croft says the timing could not be worse for a nation working to improve housing affordability, boost construction productivity and accelerate new home delivery.

"The closure of CSIRO's North Ryde Fire Technology Laboratory is more than the loss of a testing facility, it is the loss of nationally significant innovation infrastructure," Croft says.

"Independent testing capability is fundamental to developing new building products, supporting housing delivery and accelerating modern construction methods. At a time when Australia faces a housing shortage and is seeking to boost productivity, we should be strengthening these capabilities, not reducing them."

Croft adds that every new building product, from prefabricated solutions and engineered timber to bushfire-resistant housing components, must pass rigorous testing before the industry can widely adopt it. Without accessible testing infrastructure, innovation slows, certification costs rise and housing delivery becomes harder.

What's at stake

Industry stakeholders have warned that reduced testing capacity could result in longer approval timeframes, higher certification costs and further pressure on an already stretched housing supply pipeline. The HIA notes that Australia cannot afford to lose decades of specialist expertise without a clear replacement strategy in place.

"If Australia is serious about building more homes, embracing innovation and improving productivity in construction, we need world-class testing and certification infrastructure. The North Ryde facility has played a vital role in providing exactly that," Croft says.

A call for urgent action

The HIA is calling on governments, industry and CSIRO to work together to ensure independent fire-testing capability remains available in Australia, with no gap in the infrastructure needed to support housing innovation and research and development.

"HIA is calling for an urgent national response to preserve Australia's building testing capability and ensure researchers, manufacturers and builders continue to have access to the facilities required to bring innovative housing solutions to market," Croft says.

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Architecture & Design Team

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