Sound familiar?
Ten things builders are getting wrong, and what to do about each one.
Problem 01“This is a 2028 thing. I have got time.”
The rules commenced on 1 July 2026 and run to 30 June 2028. They are in force now. There is no phase-in and no grace period in the gazetted requirements.
If you held a Letter of Eligibility at 1 July 2026 your old limit carried across, which is why it can feel like nothing changed. It carries only until the BPC reviews you. When that review happens, you are assessed on the formulas, not on your history.
Where BuildStandard fitsWork out where you sit against the formulas now, while the review is still ahead of you rather than in front of you. The Financials module does that calculation from the numbers you enter and keeps a dated record each time you update it.
Clauses 2.1 and 8.3Problem 02“I know my turnover. That is the number, isn't it?”
No. The cap is on the Total Value of Domestic Building Work you have on foot at any point in time, not what you turn over in a year. It is the sum of the contract price of every insurable domestic building contract you have entered into, plus the market value of any speculative work where warranty cover has started.
A contract keeps counting until its Completion Date, which is the date the occupancy permit issues. A job that is finished on site but has no occupancy permit yet is still sitting in your number.
Where BuildStandard fitsMost builders can tell you their turnover but not the value of work they have on foot today. Tracking live projects alongside your financial position gives you both, so you can see the cap coming before you sign.
Clauses 7.1(a), 15 and the definition of Completion DateProblem 03“I just won two big jobs. Can I sign them?”
Only if the total value of everything you have on foot stays under your MCC once they are added. You have to stay inside the cap at all times, so the moment a new contract would take you over, you need your capacity increased first.
Increasing it means lodging a Change Application with two years of profit and loss statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements and tax returns, plus what you expect to build over the next 12 months. If the capacity you are applying for is $2m or more, all of that has to be verified by a qualified accountant, and the declaration has to be signed by every director within three months of preparation.
Where BuildStandard fitsA Change Application is a document assembly job with a signature chain on the end of it. If your financial records and corporate documents are already organised and current, you are submitting rather than starting from scratch.
Clauses 7.1(a), 16.1 and 16.2Problem 04“My balance sheet looks healthy enough.”
Your balance sheet and your ANTA are not the same thing. Assets are a closed list in the rules, and then Disallowed Assets come off. Plenty of things builders count as wealth do not count here.
Boats and recreational vehiclesUnregistered vehiclesRacehorses and greyhoundsCollectors' itemsGoodwill and intellectual propertyPersonal furnitureShares in unlisted companiesCryptoUnits in unlisted trustsSuper you cannot accessLife and income protection you cannot access
A loan out to a related entity only counts if that entity itself holds ANTA of at least zero. Listed shares count. Unlisted ones do not.
Where BuildStandard fitsThe gap between what you think you are worth and what counts towards your capacity is worth knowing before someone else works it out for you. This is a conversation to have with your accountant, and the Financials module gives you the current numbers to have it with.
Clauses 10 and 11Problem 05“My accountant does the books at year end.”
If your MCC is $2 million or more, you have to prepare internal management accounts for every quarter, finished within 30 days of the quarter ending. That is a profit and loss statement, a balance sheet, an aged debtors and creditors report and a statement of cash flows.
They also have to be capable of being verified by a qualified accountant, meaning a current CPA, CA ANZ or IPA member with a practising certificate who is independent of your business. Year-end accounts prepared months in arrears will not meet this.
Where BuildStandard fitsQuarterly is a rhythm, not an event. Keeping the records current as each quarter closes means the 30 day deadline is something you meet in passing rather than something you scramble for.
Clauses 7.1(c), 7.1(h)(ii) and the definitions of Internal Management Accounts and Qualified AccountantProblem 06“I will tell them once I know for certain.”
That is already too late. The obligation starts when you become aware you are likely to fail, and you have seven days from that point to give the BPC written notice, including details of how and why. If you have actually failed, it is seven days from the noncompliance.
You cannot report inside seven days on something you did not know had happened. That is the real risk here, and it is the reason knowing your position monthly matters more than the reporting itself.
Where BuildStandard fitsKeeping your financial position current is what makes a problem visible while the clock is still running. Finding out at year end means the seven days went past months ago.
Clause 7.1(g)Problem 07“They will give me time to pull it together.”
You get 14 days from the date of the request. Not 14 days from when your accountant gets back to you. Whatever the BPC reasonably needs to work out your ANTA and your total value of work, plus your management accounts verified by a qualified accountant, inside two weeks.
The BPC can also appoint its own independent valuer or auditor to check whether the numbers you gave it are accurate.
Where BuildStandard fitsFourteen days is comfortable if everything is already in one place and current. It is not comfortable if it is spread across email, a shared drive and your accountant's inbox.
Clauses 7.1(h) and 21.1Problem 08“I had one bad job years ago. That is behind me.”
Three things disqualify you outright, regardless of how good your numbers look:
- More than $1 million in claim payments in the past six years, whether against you or against a company you were a director of at the time the work was done.
- You or a related entity under external administration in the past three years, or a director bankrupt in the past three years.
- Any unpaid judgment debt.
Related entity is defined broadly. It picks up family members, majority shareholders, trustees and beneficiaries of your trusts, and related bodies corporate. Something that happened in a company connected to yours can land on your registration.
Where BuildStandard fitsThe Corporate module keeps your company structure, directors and related entity records in one place, so the disclosure picture is assembled rather than reconstructed under time pressure.
Clauses 7.1(d), 7.1(e), 7.1(f) and 19Problem 09“I have been registered for years. That has to count for something.”
The BPC must immediately suspend your registration if it reasonably believes you have stopped meeting the MFRs. Not may. Must. Failing to meet them is also a ground for disciplinary action under the Building Act.
The old scheme relied on a relationship with an insurer who knew you and could take commercial circumstances into account. This is a statutory test with a mandatory consequence attached to it.
Where BuildStandard fitsThe test is now measurable, which cuts both ways. If you can produce your numbers and your records on request, you are working through a checklist rather than defending a position.
Clauses 22.1 and 22.2Problem 10“My ANTA is short and there is nothing I can do about it.”
There are levers, and they are in the rules. They all take time to set up, which is the reason to look at them now rather than when you are already short.
- A guarantee. The BPC can accept a guarantee as an asset when it works out your ANTA. It has to run at least 10 years, be in the BPC's approved form, and come with a qualified accountant's statement of the guarantor's position and a solicitor's certificate confirming they got independent legal advice. A director, a trust beneficiary where you are the trustee, or a related body corporate can all guarantee.
- An extended closed group election. If you are part of a group, you can elect to meet the requirements as the group rather than as one entity. The election has to be consistent across everything and is made when you lodge.
- An MFR Agreement. If you do not comply, the BPC can agree to a written plan to get you back to compliance, which can involve a capital injection, a guarantee, or reducing the work you have on foot. It is at the BPC's sole discretion and it needs the financial information behind it.
Where BuildStandard fitsEvery one of these needs current, organised financial and corporate records to even start. Spotting the shortfall early is what gives you the time to use them.
Clauses 12, 17, 18 and 7.2