As part of the Building and Construction Industry (BCI) Review, the State Government has recently made significant changes to the penalties provided under the Building Work Contractors Act 1995 (BWC Act), the Fair Trading Act 1987 (FT Act), and the Plumbers, Gas Fitters and Electricians Act 1995 (PGE Act) to purportedly strengthen consumer protection and encourage industry compliance.
Government Notice in Relation to the Changes
The commencement of the Amendment Act solidifies the delivery of five of the reform items proposed under the ongoing BCI Review.
Through this legislation, the BWC Act, the FT Act, the PGE Act, and the Magistrates Court Act 1991 (Magistrates Act) have been amended to strengthen consumer protections and encourage industry compliance by:
- introducing new offences for undertaking and engaging persons to undertake unlicensed work under the BWC Act,
- introducing expiation amounts for a number of offences under the BWC and PGE Acts,
- introducing penalties to existing offences under the BWC, FT, and PGE Acts as a deterrent for non-compliance, and
- expanding the Magistrates Court’s ability to impose penalties under the BWC, FT, and PGE Acts from $150,000 to $550,000.
These amendments enhance the enforcement capacity of Consumer and Business Services (CBS) by reducing barriers to undertake enforcement actions. The ability to expiate against offences introduces opportunities for CBS to proactively tackle prominent issues in the building industry, with immediate outcomes to address misconduct.
NECA SA/NT made a submission on the proposed Amendments Bill back in September 2025, which, whilst applauding the intent of the legislative changes, expressed our concerns on the size of the proposed increases, which in some instances are five to ten times the existing penalties.
Subsequent to industry feedback there has been little change made to the original proposed amendments. Therefore, it is critical that you are aware of these new penalties, which are significant to ensure you are compliant with the legislation.
To read the formal amendments, please click the button below.