In late June, four building protections were pushed back — one of them indefinitely. Of the two headline Bills, one passed Parliament on 5 August 2026 and the other has not moved since May. Here is the actual state of play.
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If you own an apartment in NSW and you have heard that the building laws changed on 1 July 2026, here is the short version: for your building, almost nothing did.
Four protections due to start on 1 July were deferred by amending regulations on 26 June 2026 — changes to the fine print underneath the Acts, made without a press conference.
Since this article was first published, one of the two Bills before Parliament has moved: the Fair Trading and Building Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 passed both Houses on 5 August 2026 and is awaiting assent. The bigger of the two — the Building (Approvals and Practitioners) Bill 2026 — has still not moved since May.
Nothing you already had has been taken away. But several things you may have been told were coming have not arrived — and one of them matters a great deal if your building has cladding.
Four changes, all made by amending the regulations — the detail sitting underneath the Acts — rather than by any headline announcement.
The Design and Building Practitioners Regulation 2021 was amended to defer the application of the DBP Act to remedial work on class 3 and 9c buildings by a further two years. Repairs, alterations and renovations to those buildings — broadly hotels, boarding houses, residential care and aged care buildings — will now be regulated from 1 July 2028.
Importantly, the DBP Act continues to apply to alteration, repair and renovation work on existing class 2 buildings and mixed-use buildings with a class 2 part. Class 2 is the apartment building category, so ordinary residential strata remedial work is still covered.
Registered building practitioners have been exempt from the requirement to hold adequate professional indemnity insurance. That exemption has been extended by a further 12 months, to 30 June 2027.
This is the point most easily got wrong. If you have read that PI insurance became mandatory for building practitioners on 1 July 2026, that is not the position — the exemption was extended instead.
The Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016 was amended to defer the increase in the strata building bond from 2 per cent to 3 per cent until 1 July 2028. The bond stays at 2 per cent of the contract price for now.
The bond applies to new strata buildings that do not have home building compensation cover. Developers give it to the Secretary before an application is made for an occupation certificate, and it can be drawn on to rectify defects identified through the scheme's inspections.
This one received almost no attention and is arguably the most consequential. The Building and Development Certifiers Regulation 2020 was amended to remove the expiry date on the exemption that allows a registered certifier's professional indemnity policy to exclude cladding-related claims.
The exemption now continues with no expiry period. It was previously time-limited; now it simply continues.
Separately from those regulation changes, two Bills were before the NSW Parliament when this article was first published. Parliament sat on 4 and 5 August, and only one of them moved.
Status re-checked 12 August 2026 against the Parliament of NSW website. Parliament does not sit again until 15 September 2026, so nothing further can change before then.
This is the big one. According to its explanatory note, the Bill would replace the current certificate system with a regime of building approvals and completion approvals, create a registration scheme for people carrying out building work, establish a statutory framework for prefabricated buildings, and impose a duty of care on people carrying out construction work to take reasonable care to avoid economic loss from defects — owed to current and subsequent owners, and incapable of being contracted out of. It also carries a 10-year limitation on civil actions for loss caused by defective building work.
It was introduced on 6 May 2026 and has not moved since. Parliament records it as still in the Legislative Assembly, awaiting second reading debate. It has not passed the lower house, let alone the upper house. It is not law, and it cannot become law before Parliament returns on 15 September.
This Bill amends a long list of Acts administered by the Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading, including the Home Building Act 1989 and the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020. It passed the Legislative Assembly in February, sat in the Legislative Council for months, and then moved quickly: the Council passed it with amendments on 4 August 2026, and the Assembly agreed to those amendments on 5 August 2026.
So it has passed both Houses. As at 12 August 2026 Parliament records it as awaiting assent — meaning it has cleared Parliament but has not yet been signed into law, and its provisions commence as set out in the legislation itself. Practically: this one is done as far as Parliament is concerned, but do not assume any particular provision is already operating.
According to the Government's own announcement on its passage, the changes:
That last point is worth pausing on if you are an owner. Until now, a certifier facing disciplinary action could effectively step out of the industry and out of reach. That option is being closed. It does not, however, change the separate cladding insurance issue described above — a certifier's policy may still exclude cladding claims.
The practical position for owners and owners corporations is still largely unchanged from last year, which is itself the point: protections you may have been told were arriving have not arrived. The August Bill improves the outlook, but mostly for the future rather than for a building that already has a problem.
None of this changes the statutory warranties under the Home Building Act 1989 or the duty of care under the DBP Act. Strict time limits apply to defect claims, and they do not pause because reform is pending. We cover those in more detail in our guide to building defects in NSW.
If you are engaging a builder or practitioner for residential work, the PI insurance position is worth understanding. Until 30 June 2027, a registered building practitioner may be operating without professional indemnity cover, entirely lawfully.
That does not mean you are unprotected — home building compensation cover, statutory warranties and contractual rights all still exist. But it does mean that if your recovery strategy assumes there is an insurer behind the practitioner, that assumption should be tested before you sign, not after a defect appears. Asking what cover a practitioner actually holds is a fair question and a cheap one.
For practitioners the deferrals buy time, but they are not a reprieve. The PI exemption ends on 30 June 2027, and the insurance market for building practitioners has been difficult for several years. Practitioners who wait until mid-2027 to find out what cover costs, or whether they can obtain it at all, may find their options narrow.
For anyone working on class 3 and 9c remedial projects, the two-year deferral to 1 July 2028 changes compliance timing but not the direction of travel. And if the Building (Approvals and Practitioners) Bill passes in something like its current form, the approvals and registration regime changes substantially — so building compliance systems around the current rules is worth doing with one eye on what is in Parliament.
Before qualifying as a solicitor I worked as an engineer on NSW infrastructure projects, which is a useful background when a matter turns on what was actually built rather than only on what the contract says.
Michael Campbell Law advises homeowners, owners corporations, builders and subcontractors across Baulkham Hills, Norwest, Castle Hill and the wider Hills District on construction and building disputes, defect claims, and property and conveyancing matters. Fixed fees are offered where applicable, and you will receive a written costs agreement before any work begins.
Related reading: Building defects in NSW: your rights and the new 10-year cover · What happens if your builder goes broke? · Getting paid on time: Security of Payment for subcontractors · Buying off the plan in the Hills District
This article is general information only and is current as at 12 August 2026. It is not legal advice. The status of Bills before the NSW Parliament changes, sometimes quickly, and regulations can be further amended. Verify the current position before acting, and contact Michael Campbell Law for advice about your situation.
No. As at 12 August 2026 the NSW Parliament website records the Building (Approvals and Practitioners) Bill 2026 as being in the Legislative Assembly, awaiting second reading debate, with debate adjourned since 6 May 2026. It has not passed either House and it is not law. Parliament next sits on 15 September 2026, so it cannot move before then. Because commentary on this Bill has not always reflected its actual status, it is worth checking the Parliament of NSW website before relying on anything it proposes.
Yes. The Fair Trading and Building Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 passed both Houses of the NSW Parliament on 5 August 2026. As at 12 August 2026 the Parliament of NSW website records its status as awaiting assent, which means it has passed Parliament but is not yet in force, and commencement arrangements are set out in the legislation itself. Among other things it clarifies the requirements for Decennial Liability Insurance, strengthens the licensing powers of NSW Fair Trading and Building Commission NSW, and allows disciplinary action against private certifiers who surrender their registration.
The exemption that relieves registered building practitioners from holding adequate professional indemnity insurance has been extended by a further 12 months and now runs to 30 June 2027. Any suggestion that the requirement became mandatory on 1 July 2026 does not reflect the current position. Practitioners should confirm their own position with Building Commission NSW and their insurer.
The increase in the strata building bond from 2 per cent to 3 per cent of the contract price has been deferred again and is now scheduled to commence on 1 July 2028. Until then the bond remains at 2 per cent. The bond applies to new strata buildings that do not have home building compensation cover, and is given to the Secretary before an application is made for an occupation certificate.
It depends on the class of building. The Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 continues to apply to alteration, repair and renovation work on existing class 2 buildings and mixed-use buildings with a class 2 part. Its extension to remedial work on existing class 3 and 9c buildings, such as hotels, boarding houses and aged care, has been deferred by a further two years and is now scheduled to commence on 1 July 2028.
Yes. The Building and Development Certifiers Regulation 2020 has been amended to remove the expiry date on the existing exemption, so a registered certifier's professional indemnity policy may continue to exclude cladding-related claims with no expiry period. This is relevant to owners considering a claim against a certifier over cladding, because the certifier may not carry insurance covering it.
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