Director of Workplace Relations Natalie Cameron has always been trailblazer, starting out flying ADF helicopters, then going into the law. This year Natalie made the first in-person HIA appearance at the Fair Work Commission's annual wage review. She brings 15 years of government and political experience to an area that can impact a builder’s bottom line and ability to deliver much-needed housing.

In a world of increasing regulation, Director of Industry Compliance Libby Pracilio fights to keep red tape from strangling businesses. From overreach in safety laws to stifling domestic building settings, increasing licensing requirements and other legislative change impacting industry, Libby makes sure HIA’s voice is heard. A background in architecture that led her into the compliance realm gives her the grounding to spot the flaws in laws that can prove costly for doing business.

You have been directly involved in some excellent submissions and reforms this year. What are the most important developments?

Natalie: Our response to the Senate’s passage of the Building Cooperative Workplaces legislation – both the speed and the substance of our public pushback shifted the conversation. 

Leading HIA’s first in-person appearance before the Fair Work Commission regarding the national minimum wage review and the practical realities of what costs our sector can continue to absorb. 

Our feedback to the Queensland Commission of Inquiry into construction industry misconduct, arguing against extending the Code of Practice to residential construction – a fight over regulatory scope creep that matters well beyond Queensland. 

Libby: We’ve had a few great wins in the safety this year, including in the Northern Territory, where we advocated for an increase in the ‘construction project’ value threshold and the increase of the high-risk construction work falls threshold for housing work. This change reduces the red tape and regulatory burden for lower-risk work, without removing the requirement for practicable safety controls on site.

Additionally, the proposed lowering of the workplace exposure standard (WES) for respirable crystalline silica would have created compliance challenges for industry and was not justified by the cost-benefit analysis. HIA’s advocacy at both state and federal levels influenced rejection of the change.

What would you like the industry to know about the work you and the team do?

Natalie: When members raise an issue, they’re not getting a diluted or delayed response, they’re getting direct, considered advocacy and advice shaped by exactly what’s happening in their businesses. My job is to translate what’s happening in Canberra, in the courts and Fair Work Commission, and in state parliaments into something practical that members can understand and act on – as well as to make sure the sector’s voice is in the room before decisions are made, not after.

Libby: My role is to support HIA’s advocacy nationally, as well as the state-based teams, to ensure that regulatory settings are suitable to allow industry to do business and deliver homes. We don’t always win. We don’t always get the exact outcome that we’re hoping for. But often it’s a better outcome than it would have been if we weren’t involved.

Tell us about your background. What does that tell us about your strengths and interests? 

Natalie: Having many members of my family in the military, it was a natural career choice. Sadly my eyesight ended my first career choice as a helicopter pilot, and legal studies was my backup.

Both demand precision under pressure, a strong sense of justice, and the discipline to make the right call when the stakes are real – but that same drive for high-stakes, high-impact work has carried straight through into advocacy.

Libby: I started my career as an architect and spent 15 years leading projects valued up to around $60 million. Over the course of my career I became increasingly involved with contracts and compliance matters and following my registration I did some further study in construction law.

I’d always known that architecture wasn’t going to be my final career choice, but navigating challenges with non-payment and disputes cemented my decision to use what I’d learned to help others get paid or find their way out of a tricky situation. Happily, I found my place at HIA.

What do you love the most about what you do? What are you the proudest of?

Natalie: Using the skills and knowledge I gained in over 15 years of government and political experience to help our members – whether it is presenting the voice of the sector at government or tribunal settings, or providing practical one-on-one advice to assist with a specific problem.

Seeing our advocacy actually land – MPs referencing our commentary in Parliament, national media pickup, other industry bodies aligning with our position. That kind of visible, third-party validation is the clearest measure that the advocacy is working, not just being heard.

Libby: My role is currently policy-based which means helping members in a different way; getting ahead of arising issues and also running proactive policy work to address potential problems that haven’t yet arisen. I’m really proud of the proactive work the WA IR&L Committee carried out on the home building contract laws, which has ultimately led to a review by government, and we hope to see some positive amendments in future.

What do you see on the horizon in terms of a significant change or emerging issue? 

Natalie: Industrial relations (IR) and employment law will stay firmly on the Federal Government’s reform agenda for the foreseeable future. These frameworks are foundational to residential building businesses, so pushing for a system that’s genuinely fair and balanced for both workers and employers remains at the core of what drives my advocacy approach.

Libby: The workplace health and safety settings are currently under siege from a range of political and ideological angles and we’re doing a lot of work in this area. Employers need to navigate a lot of emerging and ‘modern’ hazards now too, such as extreme weather, psychosocial hazards and managing the risk of crystalline silica. Psychosocial safety is particularly challenging space for an employer, given there are so many contributory factors and unseen hazards. 

If you were to go back in time and complete a trade, which one would you choose and why? 

Natalie: Aeronautical engineering. Different discipline, same appeal: precision, technical rigour, and getting something complex to work exactly as it should.

Libby: Probably a carpenter working on additions and alterations, which I’ve found in the past to be some of the most challenging and rewarding jobs.

Natalie and Libby are part of HIA’s contracts and compliance team. Members get unlimited support in areas from choosing the right contract, handling complex disputes and managing red tape.