HIA Executive Director Victoria Keith Ryan said the Government is advancing significant reforms without providing stakeholders the opportunity to properly assess their impact or propose workable alternatives.

“Introducing major regulatory changes at the eleventh hour, without genuine engagement, is not good governance. Victoria’s home building sector is already carrying one of the heaviest regulatory loads in the country, and this legislative rush only adds to the pressure,” Mr Ryan said.

Four Bills currently before Parliament illustrate the problem:

• Equal Opportunity (Work from Home) Bill 2026 – introduces new obligations on employers that may be impractical for small business and trade based workplaces, with little clarity on how compliance will be assessed.
• Workplace Legislation Amendment (Accident Compensation and Other Matters) Bill 2026 – expands compensation and reporting requirements, adding complexity and potential cost at a time when builders are already managing rising insurance premiums and workforce shortages.
• Education and Training Reform Amendment (Apprenticeships, Traineeships, Schools and Other Matters) Bill 2026 – establishes an employer licensing scheme for apprentice hosts, despite minimal consultation and no clear evidence that licensing will improve apprentice outcomes.
• Associations Incorporation Reform Amendment Bill 2026 – imposes new governance and administrative requirements on incorporated associations, affecting many small industry bodies and community based organisations that rely on volunteer support.

HIA warns that these Bills were developed without transparent evidence of their need, without broad consultation, and appear to be driven more by political timing than sound policy.

“Good regulation requires careful design, proper consultation and a clear understanding of how it will operate in practice. Rushing four major Bills through Parliament before an election is the opposite of good regulatory practice,” he said.

HIA is calling on the Victorian Government, and the Legislative Council as a whole, to pause the passage of these Bills until after the election and commit to a structured consultation process with industry and other stakeholders. This must include releasing full regulatory impact assessments, engaging with affected sectors, and ensuring any reforms are workable, proportionate and evidence based.

“Builders, tradespeople and industry organisations deserve better than last minute lawmaking. Victoria needs stable, predictable regulation that supports housing supply, not hurried legislation that creates confusion and adds cost,” concluded Mr Ryan.

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