The Friday Intelligence Briefing
Plain · Sourced · Every FridayTrimmed mean inflation rose 1.0% in the September quarter. Economists say the Reserve Bank's August forecasts implied about 0.8%. The four major banks now forecast a cash rate rise, and the RBA will announce its decision on Tuesday 3 November.
By BuilderHQ, Melbourne
A programme covers the build from site start to handover, with the start and finish of each stage and the key milestones marked.
BuilderHQ now prepares construction programmes for builders and contractors. They sit alongside the cost estimate and the cost optimisation, which deal with cost and budget.
The Feature shows the three reports together on one sample project.
This week from the BuilderHQ team
The Reserve Bank announces its cash rate decision at 2.30pm on Tuesday 3 November, Melbourne Cup Day. Victoria's caretaker period is expected to begin at 6pm the same day.
Wednesday's inflation figures were higher than the RBA expected in August, and the four major banks now forecast a rate rise. Market Watch sets out the figures, including slower growth in new dwelling prices.
In Victoria, uncovered driveways and uncovered car parking areas now count towards the minimum garden area requirement.
The Building and Plumbing Commission has prosecuted an unregistered person found through a Facebook advertisement. He was fined $80,000 over a renovation he was not registered to carry out.
BuilderHQ now prepares construction programmes alongside its cost estimates and cost optimisation reports. The Feature explains how the three reports relate.
The BuilderHQ Team
Three developments this week.
01 · The Rate
4.85%
the cash rate forecast by the four major banks if the RBA raises it by 25 basis points on 3 November
The cash rate is 4.60%
The ABS released the September inflation figures on Wednesday 28 October. Prices rose 1.3% in the September quarter. On the monthly measure, prices were 4.3% higher over the 12 months to September.
The Reserve Bank closely monitors trimmed mean inflation, which removes the largest price rises and falls in each period. It rose 1.0% in the quarter. Economists say the RBA's August forecasts implied about 0.8%.
On the same day, Governor Michele Bullock told a Senate committee: "Inflation will therefore likely be higher than was our base case in August."
CBA and NAB changed their forecasts to a rate rise, and Westpac and ANZ were already forecasting one. All four now forecast that the cash rate will rise from 4.60% to 4.85% on Tuesday 3 November. Market pricing on 28 October implied a probability of about 85%.
Fuel and electricity made the largest contributions to the rise. Fuel prices rose 9.4% in September.
New dwelling price growth eased. Prices for new homes rose 4.7% over the year to September, down from 5.4% in August, and were unchanged in September. The ABS says some project home builders raised base prices, while others increased discounts and promotional offers in response to slowing new demand.
The forecast figure is economists' reading of the RBA's August forecasts.
| Series | Quarterly change |
|---|---|
| Implied by the RBA's August forecasts | 0.8% |
| Actual | 1.0% |
September month: 0.0%
| Series | Annual change |
|---|---|
| August | 5.4% |
| September | 4.7% |
A forecast, not a decision. The RBA announces its decision at 2.30pm on 3 November.
| Series | Cash rate |
|---|---|
| current | 4.60% |
| forecast after Tuesday 3 November | 4.85% |
What this means for you
If a construction loan is about to be finalised, ask the lender how a rate change on 3 November would affect repayments.
Some clients may delay or reduce scope if borrowing costs rise. Consider preparing a staged or simplified design option.
Where clients rely on finance, confirm whether a rate change would affect their borrowing position before contracts are signed.
Contact clients with pending pre-approvals or variable-rate construction loans, and model repayments at 4.85%.
Fuel prices rose 9.4% in September. Review whether call-out fees and quotation validity periods reflect current fuel and input costs.
Source: ABS, Consumer Price Index, Australia, September 2026 (released 28 October 2026) · Reserve Bank of Australia, Governor's opening statement, 28 October 2026 · CommBank and Westpac economics notes, 28 October 2026 · forecast estimate and market pricing via ABC News, 28 October 2026.
02 · The Garden
28 Oct
the date uncovered driveways and uncovered car parking areas began counting towards Victoria's minimum garden area
Applies in all Victorian planning schemes
Residential lots of 400 sqm or more in the General Residential Zone and the Neighbourhood Residential Zone must set aside a minimum share of the lot as garden area. The required share increases with lot size.
Driveways and car parking areas were previously excluded from the calculation. Amendment VC314, in operation from Wednesday 28 October, allows uncovered driveways and uncovered car parking areas to be included.
Covered car spaces, such as garages and carports, are still excluded.
On dual occupancy and townhouse sites, the driveway is often one of the largest open areas. Some proposals that previously failed the minimum garden area requirement may now comply under the revised calculation.
The change follows last week's amendment, which made proposals for up to four homes on a lot eligible for VicSmart, Victoria's 10-business-day pathway.
| Lot size | Minimum garden area |
|---|---|
| 400 to 500 sqm | 25% |
| Above 500 to 650 sqm | 30% |
| Above 650 sqm | 35% |
An illustration of the rule, not a real site.
What this means for you
If a site previously failed the garden area requirement, recalculate it with uncovered driveway and parking areas included.
Recalculate garden area on current projects. Uncovered driveways and parking areas now count; carports and garages do not.
Some projects may be redesigned if the revised calculation changes compliance. Confirm driveway and landscaping quantities against the final drawings.
If a revised calculation allows more homes on an approved project, its valuation may change. Ask developer clients whether permits are being amended.
Hardstand and garden layouts may change on some projects. Confirm concreting and landscaping scopes against the current drawings.
Source: Planning Schemes Portal, Amendment VC314 (gazetted and in operation 28 October 2026) · Victoria Government Gazette S660, 28 October 2026 · Planning Victoria, Planning Practice Note 84, Applying the minimum garden area requirement.
03 · The Register
$80,000
fine imposed on an unregistered person who undertook a $170,000 renovation
Building and Plumbing Commission prosecution
In 2022, a couple in Loch Sport engaged a man they found through a Facebook advertisement. He told them he was registered and that the work did not need a building permit, and gave a verbal quote of $170,000 for a renovation.
He was not registered, and the home remains unliveable.
He pleaded guilty in the Sale Magistrates' Court to four charges brought by the Building and Plumbing Commission. He was fined $80,000, and no conviction was recorded.
Builder registration is an important consumer safeguard. It can be checked on the BPC register before a contract is signed or a payment is made.
What this means for you
Verify registration and insurance before signing a contract or making any payment.
Include a registration check in tender and contract recommendations.
Provide the registration number and insurance certificate at the start of each engagement.
On renovation loans, confirm the builder's registration before the first drawdown.
Check the registration of the builder engaging you. Working for an unregistered person carries risk, including the risk of non-payment.
Source: Building and Plumbing Commission, 23 October 2026 · Gippsland Times, 28 October 2026 · Consumer Affairs Victoria.
The cost estimate deals with what a project will cost, and the cost optimisation with how it can be brought to budget. The construction programme deals with timing.
A construction programme complements the cost estimate by setting out when each stage of a project is planned to start and finish. It is prepared before work starts on site.
A BuilderHQ programme covers each stage of the build, from the paperwork before site start to handover, with a start and finish date for each. The sample, for three townhouses at 42 Ashcombe Street, Reservoir, has thirteen stages and 57 weeks on site.
Every date is a working day. The programme excludes public holidays and the Christmas shutdown.
A weather allowance is added to the stages exposed to rain and heat, based on Bureau of Meteorology averages for Melbourne. In the sample, the allowance is 18 days.
At the end, the programme holds a reserve for delays that cannot be forecast, sized to the risks it lists. The sample holds 20 working days, so the target completion of 15 November 2027 becomes a completion date of 13 December 2027.
BuilderHQ prepares the programme from the project drawings, the proposed site start, the working week and site information provided by the builder. The builder issues it to the client, runs the job from it, and reissues it when a date changes.
Contractors can also request a programme for their own scope of work, such as structural framing.
The Ashcombe programme, from pre-start to handover
Three townhouses at 42 Ashcombe Street, Reservoir, from BuilderHQ's sample programme. Durations are planned working days and include the weather allowance. The reserve at the end is held for delays that cannot be forecast.
Some stages overlap, as set out in the sample. Services rough-in begins while the cladding is completed, fit-off begins in the last two weeks of fit-out, and the driveways and gardens are built alongside the fit-out. From BuilderHQ's sample programme for a hypothetical project.
The construction programme joins the two reports launched this month: the cost estimate in Issue 013 and the cost optimisation in Issue 014. Each addresses one question. All three samples are for the same project, so the figures can be read together.
Architects and designers use the estimate and the optimisation while the design can still change. The programme is a separate report, and the cost estimate does not include one.
Cost, budget and time, on one project
Time · Construction programme
Each stage with its dates, the interruptions allowed for and a reserve for delays that cannot be forecast.
Sample programme BHQ-EX-2026-CP
Open the sample programmeCost · Cost estimate
Low, Most Likely and High totals, with each trade priced and the allowances listed.
Sample estimate BHQ-EX-2026, figures include GST
How the estimate works, Issue 013Budget · Cost optimisation
Options that could bring the project back to budget, each with its estimated saving and trade-off.
Sample optimisation BHQ-EX-2026-CO, figures include GST
How the optimisation works, Issue 014The estimate and the cost optimisation establish the expected cost and budget position before tender, so builders price a defined design and scope. The programme follows once a builder is engaged, using the same drawings, before work starts on site. Homeowners can ask their builder for a programme before construction begins.
From drawings to site start
Drawings
Plans, elevations and the client's budget.
Estimate
Prepared by BuilderHQ
Low, Most Likely and High totals, with each trade priced.
Optimisation
Prepared by BuilderHQ
Each option with its estimated saving, and BuilderHQ's recommendation.
Tender
Builders price the design the client has selected.
Programme
Prepared by BuilderHQ
Each stage from site start to handover, with its dates.
Inside the reports
Sample report · 12 pages
Sample report · 17 pages
Sample report · 17 pages
BuilderHQ's team prepares all three reports from the drawings. Design practices and builders can request a cost estimate or a cost optimisation. Builders and contractors can request a construction programme through their dashboards.
A construction programme is a planning document, not a guaranteed completion date. Its dates assume the stated site start, the permit and a site ready as planned, and it is reissued when dates change. A cost estimate is not a quote or a tender. None of the three reports is a quantity surveyor's cost plan, and none redesigns the project.
Source: BuilderHQ sample construction programme BHQ-EX-2026-CP, October 2026 · sample cost estimate BHQ-EX-2026, September 2026 · sample cost optimisation BHQ-EX-2026-CO, October 2026.
On 27 October the ACT Government confirmed that its Missing Middle Housing Reforms are in place. Decisions on small subdivisions and block consolidations are now made in 30 to 45 working days, down from 60. A granny flat on a single dwelling block no longer needs a Crown lease variation, although a development application is still required. A Canberra House Pattern Book of pre-approved designs is being prepared.
Under the Workplace Legislation Amendment (Accident Compensation and Other Matters) Act 2026, assented on 1 October, the maximum penalty for reckless endangerment at work rises to 10,000 penalty units or 10 years' imprisonment for an individual, and 50,000 penalty units for a company. At the 2026-27 penalty unit value of $209.10, that is about $2.09 million and $10.46 million. The change will start on a date to be proclaimed, no later than 10 September 2027.
Labor has committed to 25,600 homes reserved for first home buyers for a period after completion. The Greens propose abolishing stamp duty for owner-occupiers on homes up to $1.1 million, and building 88,000 public homes. The Coalition has committed to repealing the ban on gas connections in new homes, and the ABC reports it would scrap the activity centres plan.
These are election commitments, not current law.
The new deposit and progress payment regulations were made on 27 October and start on 31 March 2027. From that date, the deposit cap is 10% for most contracts, and 15% or 20% for contract types with work done off site. Until then, the current 5% cap on contracts of $20,000 or more continues to apply.
This edition used data and reporting from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Reserve Bank of Australia, CommBank, Westpac, the Victorian Government, the Building and Plumbing Commission, Consumer Affairs Victoria, the ACT Government, the Parliament of Victoria, the Gippsland Times, the ABC, Victorian Labor, the Victorian Greens and The Nationals Victoria. The Build Brief is compiled by BuilderHQ, Melbourne.
Reply with a short answer. Responses help shape future editions.
Reply to the teamInflation rose more than the RBA expected ahead of its 3 November decision, uncovered driveways now count as garden area in Victoria, and BuilderHQ construction programmes. This week's Build Brief.
The Build Brief is compiled by BuilderHQ, Melbourne. Read past editions at builderhq.com.au/build-brief.
