Do you need DBP registration? A builder’s decision guide
Registration under the Design and Building Practitioners Act turns on what you actually do on a job, not on your licence category. This guide works through eligibility, class selection and the commercial cost of getting it wrong.
11 min read
The PointCPD blog
Building industry news and articles
What is changing in Australian building, and what it means on site: construction technology, materials, energy, regulation, safety, contracts and the housing market.
Do you need DBP registration? A builder’s decision guide
Registration under the Design and Building Practitioners Act turns on what you actually do on a job, not on your licence category. This guide works through eligibility, class selection and the commercial cost of getting it wrong.
11 min read
NCC 2025 for builders: what has changed, and when it applies in your state
The National Construction Code 2025 was released on 1 May 2026. Most of the big changes are commercial, but condensation, water management and governing requirements affect residential builders too. Here is the plain-English version.
9 min read
AI for builders: 12 practical uses that save hours, and where it will get you into trouble
AI will not build a house, but it will write the variation, tidy the site diary, summarise a 60-page spec and draft the client email. Here is what works, and where AI output needs a builder’s eye before it goes anywhere.
10 min read
Keeping good apprentices and trades on your team
Getting a good apprentice onto the books is the easy part. Keeping them past the point where they can read a plan and run a small job is a supervision and business problem, and it is cheaper to solve than to keep re-hiring.
11 min read
Mass timber in Australia: CLT, glulam and what builders need to know before using it
Sydney’s Atlassian Central has just topped out as the world’s tallest hybrid timber tower. Mass timber is also turning up in social housing and townhouses. Here is how it works and what a builder has to get right.
9 min read
Why building costs jumped in 2026: fuel, plastic pipe, bitumen and what comes next
The 2026 Middle East conflict pushed diesel, plastic pipe and bitumen prices up sharply. Here is what it did to building costs, what the cost indices show, and how builders on fixed-price contracts can protect themselves.
9 min read
Masonry flashing and weep holes: where water is meant to leave the wall
Water will get into a cavity wall. The detail that decides whether the building performs is where that water leaves. This article covers the drainage path from the outer leaf to the outside face.
12 min read
Engineered stone ban: what builders, cabinet makers and renovators must do now
Engineered stone can no longer be supplied, installed or processed in Australia, but the silica rules reach much further. What the ban means for kitchens, renovations and every cut into concrete, brick and tile.
9 min read
Payday Super for builders: paying super every payday from 1 July 2026
The quarterly super float is gone. From 1 July 2026 employers pay super with every pay run. What that means for a building business’s cash flow, payroll software and subcontractors who are really employees.
10 min read
Checking subcontractor insurance and WHS before they start
The cheapest place to fix a subcontractor compliance problem is your desk, the week before they mobilise. Once they are on site, you own the gap.
12 min read
BIM for residential builders: where it pays, where it doesn’t, and how to start
Building information modelling started on towers and hospitals. On a house or a small commercial job it pays in a few specific places: clashes, quantities, prefabrication and client sign-off.
9 min read
Victoria’s new Guide to Standards and Tolerances is in force: what builders need to know
The Building and Plumbing Commission’s 2026 edition replaces the 2015 guide for new contracts from 1 August. Two editions now run side by side, and the wording has shifted from “defective” to “not within tolerance”.
6 min read
Pipeline risk: when one client is most of your turnover
Dependence on a single developer or referrer rarely shows up as a crisis. It shows up as a slow loss of pricing power and payment terms, and by the time it is obvious the pipeline has already narrowed.
11 min read
Free site templates for builders
SWMS, JSA, Take 5, inspection checklists, site diary, variations and payment claims. Word and PDF, free for commercial use.