The Scheme only applies to head contractor builders engaged to carry out building work funded by the Australian Government. If your project does not involve any building work whether by you or a third party, there is no requirement that an accredited builder be used.
- Housing Australia may contribute funding towards a project involving building work in several ways, including by funding non-building aspects of the project. Whether the Scheme applies to head contractor builders in these circumstances will generally depend on the degree of connection between the funding provided for non-building work and the building work undertaken as part of the project.
- Housing Australia determines this by considering the legal terms and conditions on which the funding is provided, and the broader context and circumstances in which it is provided. In most cases, the consideration of these factors and any resulting decision will be a matter of judgment, based on the specific facts and circumstances.
- If, based on these considerations, the provision of funding for non-building work activities is too remote from the carrying out of building work, the Scheme will not apply to the head contractor on the project. For example, the Scheme will not apply in the following circumstances:
- the Commonwealth funds a feasibility study for a project that would (if it went ahead) involve building work;
- the study is done prior to any decision being made to carry out building work; and
- the purpose of the study is to determine whether the project should proceed at all.