Housing Industry Association

HIA is Australia's peak national body for residential construction, with around 60,000 members responsible for over 80% of new homes and renovations built in Australia each year.

How they got started

HIA traces its origins to a chance meeting in Melbourne in 1945 between two local builders, Bill Hunt and Perce Newton, who recognised the need for collective representation amid post-war material shortages and rationing. On 26 November 1945, 45 people attended an inaugural meeting and formed the Builders and Allied Trades Association (BATA). BATA was incorporated in 1950, and following a national push led by Victorian President David Thomson and CEO Cyril Bennett, the organisation was reconstituted as HIA in June 1965.

What they stand for

HIA's stated mission is to act as a unified voice for the residential building sector, deliver high-quality services cost-effectively, and uphold exemplary industry standards through responsible self-regulation. Policy positions focus on housing affordability and supply, sensible building regulation, workforce and apprenticeship pipelines, and workplace safety. HIA regularly publishes economic forecasts and submissions to government on planning, taxation and the National Construction Code.

How they help the industry

• HIA Contracts Online: widely used suite of residential building contracts, variations and related documents tailored to each state and territory
• Training (RTO 1091): apprenticeships, builder licensing courses and CPD via HIA's registered training organisation
• Insurance and business services: construction works, home warranty, tools and tradies cover, plus marketing, HR and legal support
• Safety compliance: including SafeScan and other workplace health and safety tools
• Awards: the HIA Australian Housing Awards, GreenSmart Awards, and People & Business Awards

Notable initiatives

HIA GreenSmart is billed as Australia's first sustainable building program for the residential sector, with a two-day GreenSmart Professional training course, project accreditation across energy, water, resource efficiency and waste, and the national GreenSmart Awards. HIA also publishes member-facing asbestos guidance noting that homes built between 1950 and 1990 are likely to contain asbestos materials (with asbestos in fibro-cement phased out by 1987 and some products remaining until 2003), and explicitly steers builders toward licensed removalists and state codes of practice for safe removal.

Why it matters for asbestos professionals

Most Australian homes built before 1990 contain some asbestos, and HIA represents the builders, renovators and trades most likely to encounter it on site. HIA's renovation guidance steers members toward licensed removalists and state codes of practice, making the association's network a natural referral pipeline for accredited asbestos surveyors, removalists and hygienists who service the residential renovation market.