Compliance and Enforcement Strategy 2026-2030
The QBCC has published its Compliance and Enforcement Strategy 2026–2030, setting out a fair, modern approach to reducing harm, strengthening industry capability and building confidence in Queensland’s building system.
Read the Strategy
The Strategy explains how the QBCC will become a more proactive, intelligence-led, risk-based, data-driven and future-ready regulator.
It is designed to make obligations clearer and easier to meet, identify risks earlier and focus regulatory effort where the potential harm is greatest.
Compliance and Enforcement Strategy 2026–2030 (PDF, 156KB)
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.
Prevention and proportionate action
Prevention is better than cure. The QBCC will support willing compliance and early resolution wherever appropriate, while remaining firm when conduct places consumers, industry participants or the broader community at risk.
Most licensees take pride in their work and want to do the right thing. Clear information, practical guidance and early engagement can prevent issues from escalating and reduce the need for formal enforcement.
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 good practice. 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.
Shaped by industry and stakeholder insight
Industry and stakeholder feedback helped shape the Strategy. This input was considered alongside complaints, audits, licensing information, inspections, financial indicators, product trends and partner insights.
Ongoing engagement will continue to help the QBCC identify emerging issues, understand their potential impact and target regulatory effort where it can make the greatest difference.
Clear rights and responsibilities
The Compliance and Enforcement Strategy 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.
Licensees can expect clearer information and support, more targeted assurance activity and proportionate regulatory responses. Licensees remain responsible for competent work, appropriate supervision, accurate records, constructive engagement and rectifying defective or non-compliant work where required.
The QBCC will use complaints, audits, licensing information, inspections, financial indicators, product trends and partner insights to identify patterns and target effort where the potential harm is greatest.
See our regulatory performance
The QBCC publishes Regulatory Reports that provide a high-level overview of outcomes from key compliance and enforcement activities.