The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has outlined six key recommendations to the Queensland Productivity Commission’s inquiry into the construction industry, urging reforms in land use planning, taxation, regulation, and workforce management.
In its submission to the draft report Opportunities to Improve the Productivity of the Construction Industry, ICA stressed the importance of addressing both economic efficiency and disaster resilience.
ICA has called for the abolition of the 9% stamp duty tax on general insurance premiums. In 2024–25, Queenslanders paid $1.66 billion in insurance stamp duty – equivalent to $265 per resident.
The council recommended reviewing land use planning arrangements to ensure future development avoids high-risk areas, particularly those prone to flooding.
It also urged the government to adopt practical measures to enhance housing resilience, noting that natural disasters already cost Australians an average of $1,500 annually.
“Insurance prices risk, and to lower the risk we need stronger homes that are out of harm's way,” said ICA CEO Andrew Hall (pictured).
ICA has called for stronger building regulation and defect rectification, including full implementation of outstanding recommendations from the 2018 Building Confidence Report. The submission highlighted that unrectified defects could leave communities vulnerable during crises and create future insurance challenges.
It also recommended support for combustible cladding rectification programs, similar to those already established in New South Wales and Victoria.
To strengthen disaster recovery, ICA urged support for automatic recognition of interstate trades. This would allow a more responsive workforce to be deployed after extreme weather events, ensuring quicker repairs and faster recovery for affected communities.
“As the most disaster-prone state in Australia, it’s essential the Queensland government take the severity and frequency of natural disasters into account when undertaking its inquiry into the productivity of the construction industry,” Hall said.
“The Insurance Council and its members look forward to ongoing engagement with the Queensland government and welcomes its review to support a more prosperous and productive building industry in Queensland.”
ICA’s proposals underline how policy shifts flow through to client affordability and lending risk.
Scrapping insurance stamp duty would ease household budgets, while stronger land use and building standards could prevent borrowers being saddled with uninsurable or high-risk homes. Faster post-disaster workforce deployment would also cut construction delays, reducing settlement and valuation risks in the new-build market.
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