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11 August 2026
The Reserve Bank has today held the cash rate at 4.35 per cent.
The decision follows warnings from RBA Governor Michele Bullock last month that weak productivity remains a key challenge for the Australian economy.
Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn said no sector understands that challenge better than building and construction, which has experienced seven consecutive years of declining productivity.
“If the Reserve Bank is warning that weak productivity is one of Australia’s biggest economic challenges, the last thing the Government should be doing is introducing changes that make it harder for builders to invest, grow and improve their businesses.
“We are talking about the proposed changes to trust structures, which will make it harder to run a building business and burden thousands of builders and tradies with additional paperwork, compliance costs and administrative complexity instead of allowing them to spend more time on the tools.
“With around one in five small businesses in our sector utilising a trust, the proposed changes will slow down building work and as our recent submission outlines ill-considered tax policies have the potential to make it too costly for businesses to undertake productivity-enhancing capital expenditure.
“The risk is that these changes will make the productivity challenge identified by the RBA worse,” said Ms Wawn.
Media contact: Dylan Hafey, Adviser, Media & Government Relations
0497 330 064 | dylan.hafey@masterbuilders.com.au