The Strategy was informed by engagement with industry associations, stakeholders and regulatory partners throughout its development. Feedback helped validate the proposed approach and ensured the Strategy reflects the challenges, risks and opportunities facing Queensland's building and construction industry.
It describes how the QBCC is evolving to be a more proactive, intelligence-led, risk-based, data-driven and future-ready regulator.
The approach focuses on making obligations clearer, identifying risks earlier and directing regulatory effort where the potential harm is greatest.
Enable, Assure and Enforce
The QBCC’s regulatory approach is organised around three complementary modes:
- Enable — education, guidance, data-led insights and early engagement that help industry understand and meet its obligations.
- Assure — targeted inspections, risk-based audits, thematic assessments and follow-up checks that verify standards and direct rectification where required.
- Enforce — proportionate action when behaviour is deliberate, repeated or high-risk, including penalties, licence action, public warnings, enforceable undertakings and prosecution where appropriate.
This approach recognises that prevention is better than cure. The QBCC will support willing compliance and early resolution wherever appropriate, while responding firmly when conduct places consumers, industry participants or the broader community at risk.
Using data and insights to prevent harm
Digital tools, stronger analytics and regulatory intelligence will help the QBCC identify patterns earlier, improve engagement with licensees and support timely, consistent and transparent decisions.
The QBCC will also share high-level audit findings, common defect patterns, practical guidance and examples of what good practice looks like. Human accountability will remain central to regulatory decisions and actions.
Priority areas
The Strategy identifies a priority portfolio of harm that includes:
- structural and life-safety risks
- unlicensed work and market integrity
- financial and solvency risks
- defective and incomplete work
- accountability for the quality of building work
- water ingress and moisture failures
- plumbing and drainage compliance
- fire safety systems and passive fire protection.
Priority areas will continue to be informed by data, intelligence and ongoing engagement with customers, industry associations, regulators and other stakeholders.
Clear rights and responsibilities
The Strategy also explains the rights and responsibilities of licensees, consumers and the QBCC. It commits the QBCC to regulating with integrity, transparency and proportionality, supporting compliance and being accountable for regulatory decisions and outcomes.
Read the Compliance and Enforcement Strategy 2026–2030 (PDF)
