The NSW approvals bill, and what it moves on your desk

The Building (Approvals and Practitioners) Bill 2026 has passed the lower house and sits before the upper house. The coverage is housing supply and certifier penalties. Here is the read for the people who administer the contract.

Three things change for the Contract Administrator.

The certificate names go. Construction certificates and occupation certificates are replaced by building approvals and completion approvals. Every contract, subcontract and close-out checklist that references the old terms is now out of date, and the CA is the one who finds those references first.

Staged approvals move the money. Work can start earlier and occupation can happen sooner, which shifts when milestones are hit and when claims fall due. The contractual milestones and the Security of Payment clock have to line up against a sequence that did not exist before.

Prefabrication becomes a claim problem. For the first time in Australia, off-site manufacture is recognised in law, with manufacturer declarations and instructions. Value is built in a factory before it reaches site, which forces the contract to answer who owns the off-site goods, what gets paid for work not yet delivered, and how retention works against a manufacturer.

The bill is not law yet. Commencement is by proclamation and the regulations are still to be written. That is the window. Review your templates for the old certificate language, map your milestones against staged approvals, and decide how you will administer an MMC claim before the first one arrives.

When the rules underneath a build change, the CA keeps it compliant and keeps the money moving.

Source: Building (Approvals and Practitioners) Bill 2026, NSW Parliament.