MARCH 2026

Housing and construction remain a key focus for governments around Australia. Housing Australia launched its third and largest funding round in January 2026, aiming to deliver more than 21,000 new social and affordable homes. The Commonwealth Government has also pledged $54 million in the 2025–26 Budget to boost the adoption of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), while state governments continue to invest in new housing and explore policy reforms to accelerate planning, approvals and delivery.

Building 4.0 CRC is well‑placed to contribute practical, evidence‑based solutions—helping bridge government ambition with industry capability and research insight to make construction faster, more productive and more sustainable.

Generating new knowledge
Two new projects investigate how MMC can be applied in practice to support vulnerable communities:

• Project #116 is developing affordable social housing tailored for young people transitioning out of state care.
• Project #118 aims to streamline building design and delivery, and to reform regulations to support high‑quality, rapidly deployable homes.

Another project (#113) explores options for removing and reusing pine resin from timber processing plants, contributing to a more circular, lower‑waste building materials economy. Three former PhD students were also awarded $10,000 each in seed funding to advance and potentially commercialise work emerging from their doctoral research.

Promoting translation and adoption within industry
Three new reports outline pathways to support technology adoption and stronger research–industry collaboration:

• Project #29 examined the use of artificial intelligence and augmented reality to improve safety on high‑rise construction sites.
• Project #38 investigated opportunities to accelerate offsite and digital construction in Victoria.
• Project #56 explored practical ways to encourage more effective collaboration between researchers and industry.

Presentations and workshops with industry partners, building practitioners and educators continue to build awareness of new technologies, products and processes—helping create the momentum needed to shift practice at scale.

Advocating to improve the authorising environment
A recent submission to the Commonwealth Treasury recommended amendments to the National Construction Code to reduce complexity, shorten delays and boost productivity while maintaining safety and quality. Two new podcast episodes explore proposed reforms to California’s housing system aimed at supporting construction innovation, and highlight similar opportunities for Australia. A third interrogates the 'Big Factory' idea as a solution to the housing shortage, and compares it with the 'Ecosystem' approach.

This is just some of what we've done already in 2026 and you can read more below. It's a constructive start to another year of working with industry, research and government partners to drive a more productive, sustainable and innovative building sector.

NEW PODCASTS

In a 2-part series, Prof. Mathew Aitchison explores proposed reforms to the Californian housing system to support construction innovation and reduce barriers that prevent promising methods from achieving scale and increasing housing production. 

California has been at the centre of attempts to address housing supply issues in the United States. There's a sense of 'if it works in California, perhaps it could work in other places as well'.

In Part I, he speaks with Californian State Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, chair of the Select Committee on Housing Construction Innovation for the Californian State Assembly, who is leading housing reform from the government side.

In Part II, he speaks with Tyler Pullen, Assistant Director of Building Innovation at Terner Labs (University of California Berkeley), one of the key researchers on the White Paper prepared for the government. The paper – Potential Pathways to Scale Innovation Construction Methods in California – outlines 40 potential policy actions to reform California's housing system. 

NEW PROJECTS

Project #116 MMC Pathways for Youth Housing Delivery

Young people transitioning out of state care are one of the most vulnerable groups needing housing – risking homelessness, social isolation, and poor health and wellbeing outcomes. This project explores using Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) to create affordable social housing that incorporates youth-centred design principles.

Partners are Uniting NSW.ACT and Monash University. 

NEW REPORTS

The Commonwealth Government is consulting on modernising the National Construction Code to streamline complexity, reduce delays and support productivity, while maintaining safety and quality. 

Building 4.0 CRC has submitted a response, focusing on practical reform:

• a genuinely unified national code
• proportionate, tiered compliance pathways
• digital and AI-enabled usability
• clearer recognition of repeatable and industrialised building systems. 

BUILDING THE FUTURE: PhD INNOVATORS

Congratulations to the winners of the Building 4.0 CRC PhD Innovation Grant:

• Dr Richard Nero (University of Melbourne) – investigating high-performance engineered wood products and composite timber systems
• Dr Sara Rashidian (QUT) – integrating BIM, Integrated Project Delivery and Lean Construction to enhance collaboration among construction stakeholders
• Dr Peyman Jafary (University of Melbourne) – using AI and BIM to improve property valuation.

Selected from a competitive field drawn from the 45 candidates and alumni of the Building 4.0 CRC PhD program, our expert jury found Richard’s, Sara’s and Peyman’s proposals demonstrated potential commercialisation outcomes and translation for industry adoption.

Our 3 winners each receive $10,000 in seed funding to further develop the work from their doctoral studies, aiming to improve the sustainability, industrialisation and digitalisation of the construction sector.

Thank you to our esteemed jury – Jan Bingley (Building 4.0 CRC Board Member), Bryon Price (A.G. Coombs), Dr Chris Landorf (Building 4.0 CRC Milestone Manager) and Prof. Chris Knapp (Building 4.0 CRC Research Manager) – as well as Taronga Group, the CRC Executive and Board and PhD supervisors.

We will share the outcomes from Richard’s, Sara’s and Peyman’s work more broadly in 2027.

RECENT EVENTS

Prof. Mathew Aitchison hosted a Canadian–Australian Housing Roundtable on the sidelines of the Industrialized Construction Forum (ICF) at Stanford University in February 2026. It was an opportunity to discuss housing innovation in Canada and Australia, and explore ideas for future engagements. Around 12 people attended the half-day workshop in person, with another 40 online, representing government agencies, builders, architects, planners and universities.

• Insight Sharing session at the Bond Built Environment Student Association, providing an overview of Modern Methods of Construction and the implecations for education providers tasked with developing the building and construction workforce of the future
• Webinar for the Australian Institute of Architects on Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), as part of the AIA's Continuing Professional Development program
• Workshop for the NSW Government Institute of Applied Technology Construction on MMC and Australia's evolving regulatory landscape for building and construction.  

ELEVATOR INITIATIVE PROFILES

The Elevator Initiative engages with small and medium enterprises that are passionate about transforming Australia’s building sector. This year, we're profiling some of our members. 

Fast Slow

Fast Slow is an Australian construction technology initiative developing the FAST SLOW house, a high-performance prefabricated system that home builders can quickly assemble. It allows FAST infill with SLOW natural building materials like hempcrete, hempclay, straw and rammed earth, to deliver more sustainable and affordable housing.

A collaboration between University of Newcastle researchers and industry partner MudTec, Fast Slow aims to make natural building materials easier to use and more accessible. These materials offer a low carbon footprint, foster community building, and enhance personal and planetary wellbeing.

Fast Slow is building its Alpha Prototype at Narara Ecovillage (in NSW), to demonstrate the system’s potential for rapid assembly combined with sustainable, natural infill materials. Recent milestones—such as the Alpha Prototype house achieving a 9.8 Star rating on BASIX and securing a Construction Certificate—highlight Fast Slow’s viability.

As a Building 4.0 CRC Elevator Initiative member, Fast Slow exhibited at the 2024 Showcase at Monash University.