This report presents the key findings and recommendations from the ARC Linkage Project Constructing Building Integrity: Raising Standards through Professionalism. This executive summary outlines the key findings and main recommendations, explaining how strengthening and better leveraging professional standards in the industry can contribute to improved quality building outcomes.

The research project addresses the need to enhance public trust within the Australian residential apartment sector and respond to escalating concerns about major defects and the quality of multistorey (4+ or higher) apartment buildings, as outlined in the Building Confidence Report (‘Shergold Weir Report’). Building industry professionals practice in a complex environment, highlighted by the fact that their involvement spans numerous interconnected phases, including planning, design, procurement, tendering, construction and management. This provides the relevant context to explore the ‘public trust’ problem through the lens of professions and their professionalism.