Introduction of the BIFOLA Bill

The Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 (the BIFOLA Bill) was introduced into Parliament on 14 February 2024 by the Honourable Meaghan Scanlon MP, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Planning and Minister for Public Works.

This Bill includes amendments to a number of pieces of legislation to promote a safer, fairer, and more sustainable building and construction industry. These include amendments to:

• The Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (BIF Act) to clarify and simplify several requirements of the Trust Account Framework, help fast-track the development of software solutions to facilitate industry compliance, and reduce regulatory burden for current and future trustees.  
• The Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 (QBCC Act), Building Act 1975 (BA), and Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018 (PDA) to formalise the Government’s response to several recommendations of the review into the Queensland Building and Construction Commission’s governance arrangements.
• Make minor and miscellaneous changes to the BIF Act, QBCC Act, BA, PDA, Architects Act 2002, and Professional Engineers Act 2002 to enhance existing provisions, registration processes, and information sharing between agencies.

There have also been some recent changes to the structure of Parliamentary Committees. As a result, the Bill was referred to the Housing, Big Build and Manufacturing Committee for consideration.

The committee has scheduled a public briefing on the Bill by officers of the Department of Housing, Local Government, Planning and Public Works on Monday 26 February 2024 and a public hearing on Monday 18 March 2024.

Information and updates about this will be available from the Committee’s page on the Queensland Parliament’s website.