Stage 1 – Tougher penalties

Increased fines and new compliance focus (from Monday 8 June)

New laws affecting builders, plumbers, gas fitters, and electricians have introduced significantly higher expiation fees for breaching legal obligations.

Key changes include:

  • $5,000 expiation fee for working unlicensed (or outside licence conditions), or advertising for work you are not licensed to perform
  • $20,000 expiation fee for carrying out building work without building indemnity insurance (BII), when required
  • $5,000 expiation fee for demanding or requiring payments you are not entitled to
  • $5,000 expiation fee for using a contract that does not comply with the Building Work Contractors Act 1995 (SA).

To support these changes, CBS has established a dedicated Building Industry Response Team targeting:

  • unlicensed building work
  • misleading or improper advertising
  • failure to obtain BII
  • improper demands for payment.

You can expect increased compliance activity and enforcement, including the use of expiation notices where breaches are identified. Traders who do the wrong thing may face significant penalties.

We encourage all industry participants to review their obligations and ensure they are complying with the law.

For more information, please refer to the factsheet and if you have any questions, please contact CBS on 131 882

Commenced 15 January 2026

New laws strengthen consumer protections, introduce new offences, expand enforcement options, and increase penalties in the building and construction industry.

The Statutes Amendment (Building and Construction Industry Review—Penalties) Act 2025 (external site) (external site) (external site) introduces reforms, following a review of the building and construction industry. These changes reflect feedback from consultation, as well as national recommendations and recent challenges across the sector.

The reforms aim to protect consumers while reflecting the realities of today’s building industry.

Changes affect the:

Key changes

New offences

  • New offences for unlicensed work.
  • Hiring unlicensed subcontractors to undertake licensed work.
  • Using another contractor’s licence number.
  • Falsely claiming to be licensed or registered.
  •  

Increased penalties

  • Significant increases, up to $150,000 for individuals and $550,000 for companies for repeat offences.
  • Expiations introduced or increased for many offences, for example $5,000 for key breaches.
  • Higher penalties for false or misleading information to regulators or consumers, contract breaches, and advertising violations.

The  Table of Amended Penalties (PDF, 279.5 KB) lists increased expiations and new offences.

Court & enforcement

  • The Magistrates Court can impose penalties of up to $550,000 for offences under the laws governing the building and construction industry including builders, plumbers, gas fitters and electricians.
  • Authorities have up to 2 years to prosecute all offences, and up to 5 years to prosecute an offence with Ministerial approval in certain cases.
  • Some offences may be handled with an infringement notice for faster enforcement.

BII insurance reforms

What you need to do

If you’re hiring a subcontractor, make sure they’re licensed through CBS’ Licensing Public Register. (external site) (external site) (external site)