Across Australia, poor construction is putting residents and buildings at risk. Recent reports from Darwin state that up to 80% of apartment towers show serious structural issues, while Sydney’s unoccupied 24-storey Parramatta tower highlights that these are not isolated cases - the problem is industry-wide.

These failures highlight the cost of a system that allows buildings to go up faster than we can ensure they’re built properly. While the government focuses on cutting red tape and fast-tracking approvals, we’re being reminded that speed without quality creates long-term pain.

Defects, not delays, are the real productivity drag

Defects cost Australia an estimated $2.5 to $4 billion every year, in wasted materials, and labour with the resulting housing supply that cannot be occupied.

By comparison, the Productivity Commission’s own estimates suggest that deregulation and faster approvals might deliver $250 million in productivity gains annually, which unfortunately ignores the likely cost of additional defects arising from a faster approvals process.

In other words, we could gain far more - economically and socially - by building better, not just faster.

When a building becomes unsafe or unliveable, it’s the consumer who pays the highest price. Families are left without homes, owners face financial and emotional stress, and entire communities lose confidence in the system that is supposed to protect them.

In our submission to the Productivity Commission, we made a strong point that without stronger quality safeguards, deregulation won’t reduce delays. It will just push more defect-prone buildings into the market, driving up remediation costs, stalling supply and eroding public trust in housing.

Raising the standards to protect consumers

Speeding up approvals would mean little if the buildings approved aren’t fit for purpose. Without competent, consistent oversight across all states and territories, we risk repeating the same mistakes, at scale.

At AIBS, we’re calling for a national registration and licensing system to ensure that all building surveyors and inspectors meet consistent professional standards. We cannot continue relying on a patchwork of state-based rules and assume that quality will somehow rise to the surface.

Improving productivity starts with strengthening accountability across the entire building ecosystem, not just one group or profession. Developers, builders, suppliers, trades, architects, engineers, designers, surveyors, and regulators all have a role to play in ensuring quality outcomes.

This is not about blame. It’s about recognising that every stage of the building process contributes to consumer protection. When one part of that chain weakens, everyone - from homeowners to the broader economy - pays the price.

The reality is you can’t have trust without competence. And you can’t safely speed up delivery unless the systems underpinning it are rock solid.

Modular and factory-built housing also faces risk

Factory-built housing is increasingly thought of as a faster, more affordable way to meet demand. But unless it’s paired with high-quality assurance and independent oversight, it simply shifts the risk from the building site to the factory floor.

A national competency framework would allow us to safely embrace innovation, without sacrificing standards.

Every time we build something that must be fixed, we burn through resources, delay availability, and inflate costs. In a housing market where both supply and affordability are under pressure, we literally can’t afford to get this wrong.

By investing in competence, professional regulation, and better defect-protection, we not only protect consumers, we also free up capacity to build more homes, more quickly, and with fewer costly setbacks.

Learning from what we already know

In 2018, Professor Peter Shergold and Bronwyn Weir presented a landmark report to Australia’s Building Ministers outlining 24 recommendations to strengthen confidence and safety in the construction sector. Those recommendations covered licensing, supervision, enforcement, and national consistency.

Yet, nearly eight years on, implementation remains incomplete. The report’s final two recommendations were simply to establish an implementation plan and deliver it within three years - a reminder that our problem is not a lack of insight, but a lack of follow-through.

Consumers deserve better. They deserve homes built by qualified professionals, overseen by capable regulators, and supported by systems that prioritise safety and quality above speed.

Let’s reframe the conversation

It’s time to stop pretending that red tape alone is the reason Australians can't find homes. The story is far more complex.

Before we build faster, we need to build smarter. That means enforcing quality, backing professionals who get it right, and creating a national framework that gives Australians the safe, durable homes they deserve.

Anything less, and we’re just building future problems - one rushed approval at a time.

Image: Supplied.

By Jeremy Turner, Technical & Policy Manager at AIBS. (Above / Supplied)

Architecture & Design Team

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