The PrefabAUS Smart Building Contract

Why this exists

Prefabricated homes are built faster and in controlled factory conditions, but for years the way they were financed held the industry back. Because a factory-built home isn't attached to the land until late in the process, lenders would not release progress payments the way they do for conventional building — leaving buyers to fund as much as 90% of the cost up front. Few households can do that, so demand stayed small no matter how good the product was.

There was a second gap, and it is the reason this portal exists: standard-form contracts already existed for conventional on-site construction, but not for prefabrication. Without one, every project was negotiated from scratch — and a lender has nothing consistent to assess.

So fixing the finance problem needed two things: evidence that prefab construction is not riskier than conventional building, and a contract a bank could lend against. This portal is the second half of that answer.

The case, in numbers

What changed

In November 2024, PrefabAUS founding director Damien Crough presented a risk analysis at the Treasurer's Investor Roundtable, showing that the controlled factory environment of prefabricated construction carries lower risk than conventional on-site building. That evidence directly influenced what happened next.

In January 2025 CommBank became the first bank to join PrefabAUS and committed to sponsoring a standard-form contract for modern methods of construction. The lending changes followed in the first quarter, launching in April 2025: customers can now access progress payments before the building is attached to the land — up to 60% of the contract price, or 80% where the manufacturer is CommBank-accredited.

CommBank's Group Executive Business Bank, Mike Vacy-Lyle, described prefabricated construction as able to play “a meaningful role in addressing Australia's housing shortage”.

What this portal does

Standardisation only helps if the contract in front of a homeowner is actually the standard one, completed correctly. This portal takes the PrefabAUS prefabricated-home contract and walks you through it:

• a guided questionnaire, validated as you go, so required particulars aren't missed
• your company details saved once and reused on every contract
• state-specific requirements handled for each jurisdiction
• a watermarked draft you can share with the owner before anything is issued
• the finished document generated onto the real PrefabAUS master contract

We're in pilot

In conjunction with the launch of the new National Modular Building Contract, prefabAUS is pleased to announce the pilot launch of the ‘Smart Building Contract Portal’. Through the Portal, members will be able to efficiently produce compliant contracts for the State or Territory in which the works are to be undertaken.

The objective of the pilot launch is to test the ‘user experience’ and make any adjustments in response to feedback. In parallel with this exercise, prefabAUS is undertaking a final ‘regulatory compliance’ audit to verify that the tool produces compliant contracts.

During the pilot, contracts are signed on paper — download the finished PDF, have it signed, then record it in the portal. Electronic signing is switched off deliberately so nothing can be mistaken for a legally binding e-signature while we're still testing. PrefabAUS members have free access throughout.

Your assistance in the ‘user experience’ pilot will be invaluable in finalising a world class convenient, efficient and reliable ‘Smart Building Contract Portal’ — use the Feedback button on any page.