Builders are being boxed into a no-win situation

By Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn. Published in the Courier Mail on 8 August 2026.

A systemic shock is about to hit the building and construction sector, delivered by the Federal Government.

This is an industry which is 98 per cent small businesses and contributes 11.8 per cent of GDP.

Around 1 in 5 of these small businesses use a business structure that involves a trust.

The shock is the Federal Government’s proposed changes to trust laws, which will compel many small businesses to restructure. These are changes to long-established and lawful business structures that help builders manage risk in a sector as volatile and cyclical as construction.

Politicians and bureaucrats might say, “just restructure as a company instead of a trust. Simple.”

This misses the reality of what that would mean.

Changing a building business from one structure to another isn’t like changing your mobile phone plan. It can involve lawyers, accountants, banks, insurers, licences and contracts, all of which cost money and ultimately make building more expensive at the worst possible time.

Our analysis indicates that a small family-owned construction business with taxable income of $400,000 could face tax increases of up to 70 per cent, and one-off restructuring costs of between $82,000 and $175,000. It could also include ongoing annual costs of between $21,000 and $67,500.

These are not multinational corporations. They’re local family builders and tradies building homes, roads and facilities, employing apprentices and supporting communities across Australia.

The impacts do not stop with builders. Forced restructures could create serious questions around existing warranty arrangements, contractual obligations and consumer protections that have not been properly considered.

What builders and tradies around the country are discovering is a no-win situation.

At a minimum, these changes should be grandfathered. It is not right for the Government to change the rules halfway through the game.

It is not right that this is going after small businesses, hence our call for a permanent small business carve out. There also needs to be a full regulatory impact assessment and a review of the definition of discretionary trust.

The big question is why, in the middle of a housing crisis, is the Federal Government making it harder and more expensive to run a building business and build homes?

We will leave that for the Government to answer.