National Industry Skill Shortage Initiative Welcomed
The announcement today by Minister for Education, Science and Training, The Hon. Dr Brendan Nelson, to encourage industry to take on more apprentices is welcomed by the building industry, according to Master Builders Australia, the peak body for the building and construction industry. More information >>

Housing costs a national catastrophe says leading builder
‘The Australia that HIA founding father Randal Dossetor helped to build is fading into memory. In its place is emerging a society where housing affordability is becoming the privilege of the few, rather than the reasonable expectation of the many’, says Bob Day AO, managing director of Home Australia Pty Ltd. ‘This has profound, and I would argue catastrophic, implications for our nation.’ More information >>

Hia Australian Housing Award Winners Announced
The big winner at the Housing Industry Association (HIA) annual Australian
Housing Awards, held in Sydney on Saturday, 3 April, was Victoria’s GK & KM
Trease. More information >>

Business expectations remain flat for the quarter ahead
Business expectations remain flat for the quarter ahead, as the outlook for profits and sales stay at 12 month lows, a new survey has revealed. More information >>

Business hit with 50 per cent stamp duty rate hike
The property investment industry is in a tailspin of disbelief following news that a new 2.25 per cent stamp duty on the sale of business-related property is to be introduced in NSW. More information >>

Stamp Duty Waived For First Home Owners
The NSW government has eradicated stamp duty for first homebuyers. For first homebuyers any home costing up to $500,000 will be free of stamp duty. First homebuyers can benefit up to $25,000 when the stamp duty is combined with the $7000 first homebuyers grant. All contracts signed as of midnight on April 3rd will be eligible for the stamp duty relief. (SMH 07/04/04)

Making Building Regulations As Easy As ABC
Australia’s peak building industry body, the Housing Industry Association (HIA) has produced a definitive Guide to the Building Code of Australia’s Housing Provisions. More information >>