The Good Builder Podcast

The Good Builder
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This week in home building news! Catch up with Az and a colourful array of guests, to hear about who's killing it, who's innovating, and who's getting into strife in the world of new home construction.

  1. 1d ago

    The Daily Dose #350 | Protect Your Energy. And Give Off the Right One.

    Does the energy feel a bit off at the moment? There’s a lot weighing on people. Cost of living, government decisions, what’s happening in our communities, pressure in business and the constant stream of things coming at us every time we pick up our phones. For this public holiday Monday solo, Az steps outside the usual building conversation to talk about something we can control: the energy we carry into our businesses, homes and communities. Because while it’s important to protect your own energy, it’s just as important to think about the energy you’re giving everyone else. Look out for your mates. Check in on people. Give someone the benefit of the doubt. As Ben Lee put it: we’re all in this together.

  2. 4d ago

    The Daily Dose #349 | Before the Contract: How Canibuild and Stylemaster Are Rethinking Preconstruction

    What happens before a client signs a building contract could be one of the biggest opportunities for builders to improve their business. Site feasibility, zoning, overlays, setbacks, siting, quoting and working out what can actually be built on a block have traditionally meant manual checks, multiple systems and plenty of back-and-forth between sales, estimating and construction. In this episode of The Good Builder Podcast, Az sits down with Mark Garner from Canibuild and Megan Burraston, Sales Manager at Stylemaster Homes, to look at what happens when you start changing that process. Megan brings the builder’s perspective, sharing what the process looked like inside Stylemaster before Canibuild, what changed when the technology reached the sales team, and how having better information earlier can affect the customer conversation. Mark takes us behind the technology: what happens when a builder enters an address, what information can be surfaced about a site, where digital feasibility ends and formal planning begins, and where AI could take preconstruction next. They also tackle a question that matters beyond the big builders. If you're building 20, 30 or 40 homes a year, where should you start if you want to make preconstruction more efficient? In this episode: What the traditional site-feasibility process actually involvesWhere manual preconstruction creates hidden costs for buildersHow Stylemaster Homes changed its early sales and feasibility processWhat Canibuild does when a builder enters a property addressThe line between digital feasibility and formal planning and approvalsWhy faster answers can change the customer experienceGetting sales teams to actually adopt new technologyWhere AI could realistically improve planning, permitting and site assessmentWhat technology shouldn't replaceWhere smaller and mid-sized builders can startWhat Mark and Megan believe makes a good builderA practical conversation about something that happens long before construction starts, but can have consequences right through the building business. #TheGoodBuilder #Canibuild #StylemasterHomes #AustralianBuilders #ResidentialConstruction #Preconstruction #ConstructionTechnology #BuildingTechnology #SiteFeasibility #AIinConstruction #BuildingBusiness #PropTech

  3. 6d ago

    The Daily Dose #348 | What Actually Makes a Good Builder? Mitch Thompson on People, Standards and Building a Business That Lasts

    What does being a good builder actually look like when you strip away the systems, processes and business jargon? In this episode of The Good Builder Podcast, Az sits down with Mitch Thompson from Vista Built in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges for a conversation about building better homes, better teams and a building business you actually want to be part of. Mitch has deliberately taken Vista Built down the high-performance and healthy-home path, working across new homes, renovations and extensions. But some of the most interesting lessons in this conversation have very little to do with what happens on the tools. Mitch talks about why he’s prepared to knock back the wrong projects, how Vista Built can price five jobs rather than 50, why long-term relationships with trades matter, and why apprentices shouldn’t simply be viewed as cheap labour. He also explains why good culture comes before systems and processes, and why Australia’s minimum building standard should be exactly that: the minimum. It’s a refreshingly practical conversation with a builder who isn’t trying to become the biggest. He’s focused on doing good work, with good people, for clients who value the same things. In this episode: Why Vista Built has chosen to specialise in high-performance and healthier homesWhy Mitch treats minimum building standards as a starting pointThe business case for being selective about clients and projectsHow Vista Built has built a strong pipeline through reputation and word of mouthWhy culture and good people come before systems and processesThe importance of paying and looking after trades and suppliersWhy builders should think differently about apprentices and the next generationWhat Mitch thinks the current market could mean for good operatorsWhy he has no ambition to become one of Australia’s biggest buildersAnd ultimately, what Mitch believes makes a good builderThis one gets right to the heart of why The Good Builder exists: putting the spotlight on builders doing good work and sharing the lessons that can make the wider industry better. #TheGoodBuilder #AustralianBuilders #ResidentialConstruction #BuildingIndustry #ConstructionAustralia #BuildingBusiness #HighPerformanceHomes #HealthyHomes #PassiveHouse #ConstructionLeadership #Apprentices #Builders

  4. Sep 27

    The Daily Dose #347 | Construction Insolvencies, Rising Concrete Costs & Queensland’s $174B Pipeline

    540 construction companies entered voluntary administration on a single day in August. It sounds catastrophic. But there’s an important detail buried underneath that number. In this Monday Builder Briefing, Az from The Good Builder takes eight minutes to unpack three stories Australian residential builders should have on their radar this week. First, we look at the extraordinary spike in construction insolvencies. All 540 companies that entered voluntary administration on that day belonged to the same corporate group. Remove that event and construction’s share of company failures across July and August falls from 37.4% to 23.5%. It doesn’t mean the pressure across construction has disappeared. It does show why builders need to look beyond the headline number. We also look at concrete surcharges and levies and why the increases appearing on builders’ invoices aren’t necessarily being reflected in the headline construction cost indexes. Finally, Queensland has 617 major projects worth $173.76 billion in the pipeline through to 2030. That sounds like good news for construction, but there’s another question for residential builders: where will the people required to build it all come from? Housing doesn’t compete for labour with housing alone. Infrastructure, commercial construction and major projects need many of the same electricians, plumbers, concreters, earthworks crews, supervisors and construction professionals. In this episode: • What really happened with the 540 construction company administrations• Why the insolvency headline needs context• Concrete surcharges and the costs indexes may not capture• What builders should be watching when pricing new work• Queensland’s $173.76 billion major-project pipeline• Why infrastructure and housing compete for construction capacity• What this could mean for trades and labour availability• What’s coming next on The Good Builder Podcast We also give you a preview of some big conversations coming to the podcast, including Mitch Thompson from Vista Built, Alex from ATLi, and Ben, the latest franchisee to join Stroud Homes. More reporting, research and conversations for Australian residential builders at: thegoodbuilder.com.au News links talked about in the episode:https://thegoodbuilder.com.au/queensland-has-174-billion-of-construction-coming-where-is-it-actually-going/https://thegoodbuilder.com.au/concrete-surcharges-are-back-and-the-cost-indexes-are-not-picking-them-up/https://thegoodbuilder.com.au/540-companies-in-one-day-why-the-insolvency-numbers-will-look-worse-next-year/

  5. Sep 24

    The Daily Dose #346 | Why Australia Is Losing Bricklayers And Why More Apprentices Won’t Fix It | Andy Shaw

    Australia needs more bricklayers. But according to Andy Shaw, simply putting more apprentices into the system won’t solve the problem. Andy is the founder of Brickies Network and has spent more than 35 years in construction. He started as an apprentice bricklayer, built and ran his own bricklaying business, worked on the builder side of the industry and has spent the past five years looking closely at how bricklaying businesses operate across Australia. In this episode of The Good Builder Podcast, Andy and Az go deep into a trade that operates very differently from most others in residential construction. They unpack why bricklayers are particularly exposed to construction cycles, how per-brick pricing can hide the true cost of doing a job, why apprentices are leaving, what happens when experienced bricklayers disappear from the industry, and how changing employment and compliance requirements are reshaping the economics of running a bricklaying business. Andy also explains why skilled migration alone isn't a simple solution, why protecting yourself from non-payment matters, and why he believes the industry may be trying to solve the bricklayer shortage from the wrong end. One of the biggest ideas from the conversation is simple: before Australia can successfully train the next generation of bricklayers, it needs sustainable businesses capable of employing, training and retaining them. This is a detailed conversation about bricklaying, but many of the issues Andy raises apply much more broadly across Australian residential construction. In this episode: • Why bricklaying businesses operate differently from other trades• The economics behind per-brick pricing• Why Andy believes the industry is particularly fragile• Where apprentices are being lost• The difference between being qualified and being genuinely job-ready• The impact of employment, superannuation and compliance costs• Why good bricklaying businesses need to understand their true costs• Skilled migration and the importance of trade competency• Protecting subcontractors from non-payment• Why experienced trade business owners matter to the industry's future• What builders can do to build stronger relationships with their trades• Why Andy believes the answer is a "win-win-win" between builders, trades and the wider industry Andy also discusses Brickies Network, its work supporting residential bricklayers and its focus on helping members build profitable, sustainable and compliant businesses. The Good Builder PodcastReal conversations about the issues affecting Australian residential builders, trades and the people shaping the future of the industry. Proudly supported by MyConstruct. Get your 30-day trail at myconstruct.com with CODE: GOODBUILDER #TheGoodBuilder #Bricklaying #Bricklayers #AustralianConstruction #ResidentialConstruction #HomeBuilders #ConstructionIndustry #Apprenticeships #Tradies #BuildingIndustry

    The Daily Dose #346 | Why Australia Is Losing Bricklayers And Why More Apprentices Won’t Fix It | Andy Shaw

  6. Sep 22

    The Daily Dose #345 | Sacked Before the Ambulance Arrived: Carrick from HazardCo on What Site Safety Really Costs

    At 23, Carrick was installing aerials when the ladder slipped out from under him. He fell two storeys onto a concrete driveway, broke vertebrae in his back and his wrist, and lost his job before the ambulance had picked him up off the ground. Six months off work. His mum washing him in the shower. Two decades on, that fall is why he does what he does. Now National Enterprise Manager at HazardCo, Carrick joins Az for what Az calls the darkest episode The Good Builder has recorded, and one of the most important. They get into: - Why the real damage of an incident is what comes after it, for families, crews and builders, sometimes for decades- Psychosocial risk, the safety category most builders haven't heard of yet, and why it's on its way to being mandated- Why leadership, not paperwork, is what actually makes a site safe- Toolbox talks done in minutes: take a photo, turn on voice to text, done- Az's own near miss, one step from a dropped crane load National Safety Month runs in October, and HazardCo will be right in the middle of it. Az's challenge to every builder listening: if you trust what we tell you, do something about your safety this month. HazardCo's details are in the links below. We work in an industry where bad luck doesn't pay off well. Everyone should go home safe at the end of the day. #thegoodbuilder #constructionindustry #australianbuilding #buildingbusiness #sitesafety #constructionsafety #hazardco #nationalsafetymonth #healthandsafety #whs #safetyleadership #buildersofaustralia

    The Daily Dose #345 | Sacked Before the Ambulance Arrived: Carrick from HazardCo on What Site Safety Really Costs

  7. Sep 20

    The Daily Dose #344 | The Pulse Trial Results Are In: Faster Fixes, Team Visibility and an Industry Benchmark

    Most builders only find out a customer is unhappy once it has already cost them. At the end of the build, in a Google review, or in the dreaded Facebook groups. And the referral goes with it. This week Az unpacks The Pulse by Australian Building Research and shares results from the builder trials that have been running quietly in the background. One short text at each stage of the build. Deposit, slab, frame, handover. Every reply lands in a live dashboard so you know exactly who to ask for a review, who to call, and what to fix. Then he gets into the three things most people don't know it does. It chases every issue until the loop is closed. Not quarterly reporting, a live workflow. A score drops, a recovery case opens, someone owns it, the outcome gets logged. Builders on the trials reported responding to issues 3.2 to 3.5 times faster.It reads your team and their workload. Communication, quality and care scores show who is driving a great experience and who needs a hand. One builder spotted a supervisor carrying too much, reallocated the work, and watched the scores lift.It benchmarks you against the industry. Every builder on the platform is measured on the same independent scale, so you can see where you sit at every stage rather than tracking against gut feel.Az also shares the strategy behind it all: the same customer experience approach he ran at GJ Gardner Homes during the Most Trusted Builder campaign. Whether you use the platform or not, the message is the same. Measure the experience, close the loop, and know how you stack up. Links below to take a look at The Pulse. View The Pulse #thegoodbuilder #constructionindustry #buildingbusiness #australianbuilding #customerexperience #homebuilders

  8. Sep 17

    The Daily Dose #343 | James Drever: How QA Build Became the Fastest Growing Builder in Queensland

    James Drever started as a chippy on the coast. Today he is CEO of QA Build, the fastest growing builder in Queensland, running more than 15 live projects across Australia with thousands of builds underneath them. In this episode, James joins Az to unpack how they did it. The philosophy is simple. See a roadblock, remove the roadblock, take control of the roadblock. When suppliers could not deliver, QA Build bought them. Their solar, electrical, air conditioning and cabinetry businesses now all sit in house, including a cabinetry operation that grew from 15 staff to more than 55, producing 60 to 70 kitchens a month with robotics on the floor. James and Az cover: - The journey from the tools to CEO, via national building manager at Gem Life- Why QA Build partnered with CSQ to launch its own trade college, and what the industry loses in 30 years if nobody captures the knowledge walking out the door- The family philosophy behind the QA name: if it is not good enough for our own, it is not good enough for our clients- Holding the quality bar above the industry standard while building at scale- Why they are putting on a race day for their trades, and what most builders get wrong about subbie relationships- James's answer to the signature question: what makes a good builder? The Good Builder is Australia's construction industry media platform. Free for the builder community. #thegoodbuilder #constructionindustry #australianbuilding

    The Daily Dose #343 | James Drever: How QA Build Became the Fastest Growing Builder in Queensland
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About

This week in home building news! Catch up with Az and a colourful array of guests, to hear about who's killing it, who's innovating, and who's getting into strife in the world of new home construction.

Information

  • Creator
    The Good Builder
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    350
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © The Good Builder
  • Show Website
    The Good Builder Podcast

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