For years now, Queensland’s Best Practice Industry Conditions (BPIC) have been a focus of our advocacy.

We have long maintained they drive productivity down and push costs up, with flow-on effects to the private sector.

Recently, we applauded the Crisafulli Government’s decision to freeze BPIC on new major government projects. It was a strong first step to restoring productivity on worksites, and better equipping our industry to deliver the hospitals, schools, and infrastructure our communities need. Our calls on flexibility in BPIC were a key part of our state election campaign, focused on slashing the red tape stifling construction.

While the media coverage and talk about BPIC has intensified in recent months, it’s long been established that it doesn’t pass the pub test.

Under the previous Labor government policy, introduced in 2018 for the Townsville Stadium project, BPIC was a ticket to play in what they termed ‘Queensland’s Big Build.’ Contractors were bound by those terms and conditions if they wanted a look-in.

The flow-on effect to the private sector comes where workers expect to be paid the same whether they are working on a BPIC project or not. By requiring the builders and trade contractors to apply the rates set by the former state government, taxpayers are paying more than we need to for essential community projects.

With BPIC frozen, builders and trade contractors will no longer be weighed down by the associated pay rates and other conditions. This will mean many more trades, particularly in regional Queensland, will be encouraged to tender for state government work – and greater competition is good news for taxpayers.

The latest modelling from Queensland Treasury illustrates this point – and also backs up what we’ve been saying all along. It forecasts that over 2024-30, BPICs are likely to increase project costs by up to 25 per cent and create a net economic cost of up to $17.1 billion.

Our own analysis shows that depending on how the provisions in BPIC are applied, up to 96 working days are lost in a calendar year because of a lack of flexibility in the use of rostered days off (RDOs) and working hours generally.

While the freeze is a welcome move, this data adds further weight to our case for BPIC to be scrapped altogether. We expect that that the legislation to re-establish a Productivity Commission to consider this solution, will be passed before Christmas..

There are contractors who have signed the union Enterprise Bargaining Agreement  and that will remain in place for the duration. When it comes to projects and contracts already underway, we need to work with the government and the union to find ways to increase productivity.

In the past, our advocacy against the productivity-sapping elements of BPIC has attracted criticism. We’ve heard reports that workers are under the false assumption that Master Builders is pushing for their wages to be cut by 30 per cent, which of course is not the case. It has also sparked fear that builders would be forced to cut corners, and important safety protections skipped over – but nothing is further from the truth.

Wages, entitlements, and other working conditions are protected by workplace laws and enterprise agreements, and safety is ensured by WHS laws and government oversight. Rightly so. However, BPIC is an unnecessary layer on top of these.

Our calls are about getting back to four or five days’ work a week rather than two and a half to three days a week – and delivering state government projects on time and on budget.

Turning to flexibility to boosting productivity, a top priority should be allowing workers to take their Rostered Days Off when they wish. The existing practice of everyone downing tools according to a fixed calendar is only slowing progress, as whole sites are closed at once.

There will be those who say, ‘that’s how it’s always been done.’  Sure – but if we want to make things happen, it’s time for a serious overhaul.

That’s true of all the work of the re-established Productivity Commission as it gets down to the first order of business pledged before the state election: a review of the regulation of the building and construction industry.

This will provide an opportunity for all stakeholders to put their views forward on BPIC, as well as other key issues plaguing our sector, including Project Trust Accounts (PTAs).

While the reviews hold promise, there is the danger they could cause further delay. We are keen to see the Crisafulli Government take swift action and freeze PTAs, just as they have done with BPIC. We maintain that they don’t work, cause unnecessary administrative stress and delay, and don’t protect payments in insolvency.

We’ve already sat down with Housing Minister Sam O’Connor to reiterate our calls for the state government to back our industry with urgent reform. Now is the time for the Crisafulli Government to make good on its promise of ‘a fresh start for Queensland,’ build community confidence in our industry, and get our state moving.

Enjoying Sourceable articles? Subscribe for Free and receive daily updates of all articles which are published on our site

Want to grow your sales, reach more new clients and expand your client base across Australia’s design and construction sector?

Advertise on Sourceable and have your business seen by the thousands of architects, engineers, builders/construction contractors, subcontractors/trade contractors, property developers and building industry suppliers who read our stories across the civil, commercial and residential construction sector