Major Projects Update – A new Code for Queensland Government-funded projects?

Contractors preparing to tender for work on Queensland Government-funded projects may soon have to demonstrate how they comply with a new procurement code intended to protect the project from unplanned stoppages caused by inadequate management of the workforce.

CFMEU Inquiry

On 1 August 2025 the Queensland Government established the Commission of Inquiry into the CFMEU and Misconduct in the Construction Industry chaired by Stuart Wood KC (Wood Commission of Inquiry), with a focus on the activities of the CFMEU, whether it has misused its industrial might to impact infrastructure, residential, commercial, industrial and civil major projects in Queensland adversely, and what response the Queensland Government should put in place to protect its investment in major projects.

The Wood Commission of Inquiry's final report, due at this stage by 31 July 2026, must include its recommendations, if any, about changes to any law or policy.

Discussion paper

The Wood Commission of Inquiry has just released a discussion paper inviting comment on the reintroduction of a procurement code, supported by implementation guidelines, under the Queensland Procurement Policy 2026 which adopts a much lighter regulatory touch than the predecessor Best Practice Industry Conditions that the then newly-elected State Government suspended in November 2024.

Hinting at possible content and approach, the discussion paper points to the October 2025 recommendations of the Queensland Productivity Commission (QPC) in its Opportunities to Improve Productivity of the Construction Industry Final Report, which include, as Recommendation 6:

A revised code of practice

Government should provide a clear market signal — via a code of practice — to industry on expectations in relation to site conduct and productivity for entities that choose to tender for Queensland Government-funded construction work.  

The starting point for the code could be the current Building and Construction Code of Practice 2000, which is currently administered by OIR. The revised code should be supported by consultation with key stakeholders, including industry, unions and government, but include requirements that:

• contractors preclude any unnecessary productivity limiting clauses in their EBAs
• contractors do not include EBA provisions that pass-through conditions to subcontractors (that is, jump up clauses)
• right of entry provisions prevent the misuse of workplace health and safety procedures.  

The Code should focus on productivity matters and not be used to achieve other objectives, duplicate other policy and regulation or mandate specific clauses or quotas.

Consideration should be given to whether the Code should initially be provided as guidance. Enforcement of the Code could be introduced sometime in early 2027, when most building and construction EBAs are due for renegotiation, and the outcomes of the Wood Commission of Inquiry into the CFMEU and Misconduct in the Construction Industry … are known.

Enforcement of a code of practice

If the Code is made a mandatory requirement for Queensland Government projects, any enforcement mechanisms should be low cost to industry. A ‘negative licensing’ approach should be considered, where building and construction contractors can be excluded from tendering for Queensland Government projects, once material evidence of non-compliance is discovered and verified. Firms should not be required to demonstrate compliance with the Code during procurement, tendering or prequalification processes.

An opening up of procurement?

If adopted, the approach set out in the last sentence of the QPC's recommendation may reduce the cost of tendering dramatically, at least in the short term, and open up procurement to a wider range of participants, unburdened by the cost of establishing compliance mechanisms for a job they may not win.

Removing the need to demonstrate compliance as part of the procurement process would also represent a significant departure from procurement codes of the past.

In its Opportunities to improve productivity of the construction industry: The Queensland Government's response to the Queensland Productivity Commission's final report, the Queensland Government says:

The Government supports in principle the development of a new whole-of-government code, including to make clear processes for notifying if unlawful industrial action is taken. The development of a new whole-of-government code and subsequent enforcement will be subject to the outcomes of the Wood Commission of Inquiry.

The stated approach focuses on notification, and potentially on the efficacy of a plan to combat future unlawful industrial action through an effective response, without having to demonstrate how that process already works, in practice, as a condition of tendering for Queensland Government-funded work.  While subtle, the distinction may, if adopted, give a wider range of contractors an opportunity to access major project work.

What should contractors do now?

The Wood Commission of Inquiry is seeking feedback on the discussion paper, addressing:

1. The desirability of Queensland having a building and construction code.
2. The key elements that should be included / excluded from such a code.
3. The benefits of using a code relative to other mechanisms such as legislation or regulation.
4. The costs and/or benefits of specific parts of existing or previous construction codes.
5. The timing of implementation of such a code.
6. The mechanisms and costs of implementation and enforcement of such a code.
7. What is needed to make a Code work effectively if it were introduced into Queensland?

If you would like to discuss how we can help prepare or tailor a submission to the Wood Commission of Inquiry, please contact Partners Andrew Cardell-Ree or Andrew Kelly.

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