ACA says NCIF changes will fail without action on intimidation

Construction reform has a chance to reset the sector, but the Australian Constructors Association says lasting change will fail unless people responsible for unlawful behaviour lose influence.

The warning followed the release on 28 August 2026 of the National Construction Industry Forum Draft Charter and Construction Standards discussion paper.

ACA chief executive Peter Colacino said the paper showed governments, industry and unions were working together on reforms aimed at culture, productivity and performance across the construction sector.

“The release of the NCIF Draft Charter and Construction Standards discussion paper shows that industry, governments and unions are making progress on the reforms needed to strengthen the construction sector,” Colacino said.

Colacino urged everyone with a stake in the industry to join the consultation process and help shape changes to productivity, culture and project outcomes.

However, he argued that reform would remain out of reach if people linked to criminal elements, intimidation and unlawful conduct kept operating within the industry.

“These changes won’t stick if the old guard responsible for introducing criminal elements into the industry continue to threaten, intimidate and harass those championing reform,” Colacino said.

Colacino also called for immediate attention to what he described as the continuing protection and influence of individuals inside the construction sector.

Consultation targets demarcation and coercion

The consultation should focus on long-running problems that still damage productivity and workplace culture, according to Colacino.

Those issues include demarcation disputes, lawlessness between unions, and the misuse of workplace health and safety processes for industrial leverage.

Psychosocial harm caused by coercion, bullying and intimidation on worksites also needs attention, Colacino said.

According to the ACA chief, those behaviours increase costs, cut productivity and make the sector less attractive to the people employers need to recruit and retain.

Meanwhile, Colacino pushed for a single standard across the industry and said productivity must return to the centre of the industrial relations system.

Everyone on every worksite should face the same standards of behaviour, ethics and lawfulness, he said.

The Australian Constructors Association is the national voice of the construction industry and represents leading contractors across horizontal, vertical and new energy construction.

Its members deliver more than 90% of Australia’s major infrastructure projects, according to the association.

The ACA did not name the individuals it believes should be removed from positions of influence, and it did not give a timetable for the consultation.