Everyone talks about "modern methods of construction" like it's something new. Kersten Gentle has a different take: the timber frame and truss industry has been doing offsite prefab for decades. They're the OGs.

In this episode, Aaron sits down with Kersten, CEO of the Frame and Truss Manufacturers Association of Australia (FTMA), fresh off what he calls the most impressive industry conference he's ever attended. What follows is a conversation about how the industry actually moves forward — not through hype, but through relationships, knowledge sharing, and builders getting closer to the people who make their product.

Around 80% of every detached home in Australia has timber frames and trusses in it, produced across roughly 280 plants — almost all of them family-owned businesses. Yet most builders never visit the plant, never sit down with their manufacturer, and never discover how much cost and time they could save by doing so. Kersten makes the case for why that relationship matters more than price.

The conversation goes deep on the things builders rarely hear discussed properly: why 49% of the cost of a new home in New South Wales is government taxes and regulatory cost, why the rush to factory-built housing is failing in places like Cairns, and why local builders, local trades and local knowledge can't be replaced by an overseas investor's spreadsheet.

Kersten also opens up on Carbon Warrior — the movement she trademarked to help builders understand that a timber frame stores around eight tonnes of carbon for the life of a home, and grows back in roughly 150 seconds. It's marketing material that happens to be completely real.

And there's a powerful message for any builder who's come off the tools through injury: the timber systems design pathway, a career indoors that uses everything you already know about building.

This one will reignite the fire. Builders, get closer to your manufacturer. You'll be blown away.

WHAT WE COVER

• Why the frame and truss industry are the original masters of offsite prefab — and what governments keep getting wrong about it
• The 80% stat: how much of every Australian detached home relies on timber frames and trusses
• Why builders should visit their manufacturer's plant — and the cost savings hiding in their plans
• Service, delivery and quality over price point: what builders should actually look for in a supplier
• The 49% problem: government taxes and red tape baked into the cost of every new home
• The Cairns modular housing failure and what it teaches us about ignoring local knowledge
• Carbon Warrior: how a timber frame stores around eight tonnes of carbon for life
• The new lightweight timber framing standard taking builders from two storeys up to four
• A second-career pathway for injured builders through timber systems design
• The signature question — in Kersten's eyes, what makes a good builder

SPONSOR CALLOUTS

This episode of The Good Builder is powered by MyConstruct — the construction management software built for Australian builders. Spend less time buried in admin and more time building. Start your free 30-day trial at myconstruct.com 

Thanks also to Pay.com.au — the smarter way to pay your business expenses and earn rewards while you're at it. Head to pay.com.au/tgb for terms, use code GOOD20, and grab your 20,000 bonus points.

#TheGoodBuilder #AustralianBuilders #FrameAndTruss #FTMA #TimberConstruction #Prefabrication #ModernMethodsOfConstruction #SustainableBuilding #CarbonWarrior #TimberFrame #ConstructionAustralia #BuildingIndustry #Tradies #HomeBuilders #ConstructionPodcast

The housing conversation in this country is stuck on one word: more. More homes. More tradies. More builders. Nagy Mourad thinks we're missing the word that actually matters.

Nagy has worn nearly every hat in construction. He's a registered builder, a developer, and a trainer and assessor who spent more than a decade teaching Victorian builders toward registration. Before any of that, he ran national field and contract operations for the biggest names in Australian telecommunications, including NBN, Optus, and Telstra. He came into building the hard way. His first development stalled for three years and three builders went bankrupt on him before he picked up the tools, studied the trade, and finished the job himself.

That lived experience runs through everything Aaron and Nagy cover in this episode. They get into why technical skill on the tools does not automatically make you ready to run a business, why so many capable tradies fall short at registration, and what defect-free building actually takes day to day on site. Nagy makes the case that competency is not one-dimensional, and that the single most underrated risk on any job is one many builders never name out loud: water.

They also work through NCC 2025, the Victorian rollout, the difference between a compliant home and a quality one, and the proposed changes to Minimum Financial Requirements and what they could mean for small builders. Throughout, Nagy keeps returning to one idea. Building is a journey with very different stages, and the thinking that gets you to one stage will not carry you to the next.

This is a calm, practical, and genuinely educational conversation for anyone serious about lifting their standards and future-proofing their business.

What We Cover

• How three bankrupt builders and a stalled development turned Nagy into a builder, developer, and trainer
• Why technical competency and business competency are two different skill sets, and why most tradies underestimate the second
• The real reasons capable people fall short at builder registration, and how to prepare properly
• What defect-free building actually looks like, starting before you break ground
• Why water is the number one risk on any project, and why it demands respect everywhere
• NCC 2025, the Victorian rollout, and condensation management
• The difference between a compliant home and a quality home
• Proposed changes to Minimum Financial Requirements and the balance between protecting consumers and keeping small builders viable
• Nagy's take on what genuinely makes a good builder

A Word From Our Sponsors

This episode is powered by MyConstruct, the construction management software built for Australian builders. Quotes, variations, scheduling, client communication, and compliance documents all in one place. Start your free 30-day trial at myconstruct.com

This episode is also supported by Pay.com.au. Pay your trades, suppliers, ATO, and rent on your existing credit cards, free up your cash flow, and earn points while you do it. Head to pay.com.au/tgb for terms and use the code GOOD20 to get 20,000 bonus points.

Connect With Nagy

Find Nagy through Beehive Homes Constructions, his Builder Registration Training service, and across Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nagymourad/ 

His YouTube channel is Build Like An Egyptian: https://www.youtube.com/@BuildlikeanEgyptian

Most builders don't lose their marketing because they're bad at it. They lose it because they get busy.

In this episode, Az sits down with Drew, Sean and the team at Increase Construction in the TGB studio for an unscripted, real-world conversation about the problem nearly every builder runs into. You land a few good jobs, you feel sorted, so you quietly stop putting yourself out there. Three months later the work dries up and you're left wondering where the next lead is coming from.

We talk about why marketing is the first thing to fall over when you're on the tools, why "I'll get to it later" turns into a month of silence, and what consistency actually looks like when you don't have time to sit at a desk. We also get into the bigger shift happening in construction marketing right now, including how automation and AI are starting to take the manual load off builders who can't justify a full-time videographer or marketer.

It's a candid look at a problem that costs builders real money, and a practical conversation about how to stop the cycle.

WHAT WE COVER

• Why builders kill their marketing the moment they get busy, and the lull that follows
• The real cost of going quiet for a few months
• Why marketing on the couch on a Sunday night isn't a system
• How the "I missed a week" trap snowballs into a month of nothing
• Where automation and AI are starting to help builders stay consistent
• Why social media is still one of the most cost-effective ways for a local builder to get a lead

SPONSOR CALLOUTS

This episode of The Daily Dose is powered by MyConstruct, the construction management software built for Australian builders. Spend less time chasing paperwork and more time on the tools. Start your free 30-day trial at myconstruct.com

This episode is also brought to you by Pay.com.au. Pay your trades, suppliers and almost any business expense by card, even where cards aren't normally accepted, and earn points while you're at it. Sign up and you'll get 20,000 bonus points. Head to pay.com.au/tgb for terms and conditions and use the code GOOD20.

#TheGoodBuilder #TheDailyDose #ConstructionMarketing #BuilderMarketing #AustralianBuilders #Tradies #MarketingForBuilders #ConstructionIndustry #BuilderBusiness #LeadGeneration

Happy Friday, and what a week. One of the biggest we have had here at The Good Builder.

In this Friday wrap, Aaron runs through everything that happened inside TGB and out in the industry. We announced our Advisory Board, with MyConstruct and AVIA Homes the first two at the table and more names coming soon. We headed up to Twin Waters for the FTMA conference. And the next quarterly report is underway: the State of Builder Marketing, dropping in June.

Then it is into three headlines that matter for builders right now.

Powered by MyConstruct and Pay.com.au.

What we cover:

• The Good Builder Advisory Board — why we built it, who is already on board, and why it is not just the biggest names but the mum and dad businesses that make up most of the industry
• The FTMA conference at Twin Waters — what came out of a thought-provoking few days with the Frame and Truss Manufacturers Association, plus a heads up on upcoming pods with CEO Kirsten Gentle and Christine Briggs
• Guest pod previews — Rod from Frampton Builders and Clean Rooms on precision pricing and process, and Luke Cotterell from Prime Build Recruitment on why industry experience matters
• The next quarterly report — a preview of the State of Builder Marketing, digging into what actually wins work right now and where marketing spend is being wasted
• Lunch and learns — a new idea for the community, and a question for you: would you come along?
• AVID locks in a major Clyde South site — what a developer consolidating greenfield land in Melbourne's south-east signals for the long-term pipeline
• The 2028 trust tax change — a minimum 30 per cent tax on discretionary trust distributions, who it affects, and why now is the time to talk to your accountant
• NSW flood buyback land gets a new future — over 1,000 parcels across the Northern Rivers and Central West being repurposed, and the work that follows for regional builders

Read the full articles at thegoodbuilder.com.au.

Try MyConstruct free for 30 days at myconstruct.com.

Earn rewards on your bills and banking at pay.com.au/tgb and get 20,000 bonus points with code GOOD20.

Phillip Livingston is a trades coordinator at Vitaleese, a Melbourne-based home modification specialist working across aged care, NDIS, and private clients. They're a VBA-licensed builder, a registered NDIS provider, and an approved supplier under the State-wide Equipment Program.

In other words, they sit right at the intersection of building work, compliance, and the people on the other end of it.

This is a sector most builders never get exposed to. And after this conversation, you'll understand why that needs to change.

One in six Australians are now over 65. Within a decade, the over-85 cohort is set to grow by around 67%, pushing past one million people. The demand for accessible, livable homes isn't coming. It's here.

Phillip shares what it actually looks like to walk into someone's home — a home they've lived in for 50 or 60 years, raised their family in, built their memories in — and modify it so they can stay there. He talks about the privilege of doing that work, the duty of care that comes with it, and the cowboys who treat vulnerable people as a quick buck.

We get into the grab rail story that ended with a client's face on the floor. The ramp that was beautifully built and completely unfit for purpose. The Rose Bush that's been there for 40 years and why it matters more than the regulation. And the mindset shift that, if every builder adopted it, would lift the whole industry.

Phillip approached us to have this conversation. He wanted to talk about how it's done properly. That tells you everything you need to know about the bloke.

What We Cover

• The home modification sector and why it's growing faster than the people in it
• Duty of care, Australian standards, and why shortcuts hurt real people
• Working with occupational therapists, case managers, and NDIS frameworks
• The trust-building process — why the cup of tea matters as much as the install
• How Vitaleese earns the right to deliver work in someone's most personal space
• The cowboy problem and the clients who've been burnt twice — financially and physically
• What every residential builder can learn from this sector

Sponsors

This episode is powered by MyConstruct — construction management software built for Australian builders. Free 30-day trial at myconstruct.com.

And by Pay.com.au — head to pay.com.au/tgb and use promo code GOOD20 for 20,000 bonus points. Terms apply.

Connect with Vitaleese

Philip Livingston, Trades Coordinator, Vital Ease — Melbourne, Victoria - https://vitalease.com.au/about-us/

Emily Pollard from Nesta Builder Brokers flips the script this week and puts Aaron in the hot seat. The brief: how does a young, blunt, female broker market a business in an industry built on display home theatre and base-price advertising — without turning into the thing she's trying to fix?

It's a working session disguised as a podcast. Emily wants to "set fire to display home marketing" but won't shit on builders to do it. Aaron unpacks why that instinct is right, and why most marketing advice given to builders and brokers is quietly broken.

What they get into:

• Why fear-based marketing brings in the most anxious customers you'll ever deal with
• The 1,000-lead experiment that taught Aaron what cheap hooks actually cost you
• Why education beats hype — and how to make boring topics (soil tests, PC items, variations) the thing people actually want to read
• The problem with "builders are fucked, come through me" positioning, and what to do instead
• Why brands aren't as powerful as the people behind them
• Organic social vs paid: where small builders should actually spend their time
• Consistency, resilience, and the cringe of putting yourself out there

If you're a builder, broker, or supplier trying to work out how to market yourself without sounding like everyone else in the feed — this one's for you.

Emily's back next Monday too.

Sponsors

This episode is proudly brought to you by MyConstruct — construction management software built for Australian builders, by Australian builders. Jobs, clients, quotes, and contracts all in one place. Get your free 30-day trial at myconstruct.com.

Also supported by Pay.com.au — get rewarded on all of your business payments. Sign up at pay.com.au/tgb and use the code GOOD20 to receive 20,000 bonus points. Terms and conditions apply, available on the site.

The 26-27 federal budget has landed, and there's plenty in it that builders, tradies, and construction businesses will feel on the ground before they ever read about it in a forecast.

This one isn't a normal budget. It's shaped by the global oil shock from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which has disrupted fuel supply chains, pushed up fertiliser costs, and added inflationary pressure to almost every line in a builder's invoice.

In this episode, Az breaks down the budget calmly, clearly, and from a builder's point of view. Here's what's covered:

Housing

• The new $2 billion local infrastructure fund for water, power, sewerage, and roads to support up to 65,000 new homes
• The pro-housing supply reforms states have to commit to in order to access the funding
• Negative gearing limited to new builds only from 1 July 2027
• The capital gains tax discount replaced with an inflation-based discount

Small business tax

• The $20,000 instant asset write-off made permanent
• Loss carryback reintroduced from 26-27, with up to 85,000 companies expected to benefit
• The new $1,000 instant tax deduction for workers' work-related expenses

Fuel relief

• Fuel excise halved for three months from 1 April (52.6 cents down to 20.6 cents per litre)
• Heavy vehicle road user charge reduced to zero for the same period
• $1 billion in interest-free loans for manufacturing and logistics businesses
• The longer-term $14.8 billion fuel resilience package

Productivity and skills

• All Australian standards referenced in legislation now free to access (saving around $1,600 per small business per year)
• A commitment to remove barriers to modern methods of housing construction
• $85.2 million to accelerate skill assessments for migrant trade workers

Az also walks through what this all actually means for housing affordability, and ends with three practical questions every builder should be asking inside their business this week.

Over the coming days, TGB will be breaking down each of these measures in more detail at thegoodbuilder.com.au.

Sponsors

This episode is proudly brought to you by MyConstruct — construction management software built for Australian builders, by Australian builders. Jobs, clients, quotes, and contracts all in one place. Get your free 30-day trial at myconstruct.com.

Also supported by Pay.com.au — get rewarded on all of your business payments. Sign up at pay.com.au/tgb and use the code GOOD20 to receive 20,000 bonus points. Terms and conditions apply, available on the site.

#TheGoodBuilder #TheDailyDose #AustralianBuilders #FederalBudget #ConstructionIndustry #Tradies #HousingPolicy #SmallBusinessTax #FuelExcise #NegativeGearing #InstantAssetWriteOff #BuildersAustralia #ResidentialConstruction #TradieLife #ConstructionNews #HousingAffordability #BuildingIndustry #AustralianTradies #ConstructionBusiness #BudgetBreakdown

Every now and then a guest walks onto the pod and you walk away genuinely fired up about the future of this industry.

Lewis Italiano is one of those guests.

He's a carpenter from WA, still finishing his apprenticeship, and already has a resume most blokes twice his age don't come close to. Gold at the regional and national WorldSkills competitions. A Medallion for Excellence representing Australia on the international stage in Lyon. Training stints through China, Japan and France. Master Builders Apprentice of the Year for 2025. WA Training Awards winner. And in between all that, he's standing up in front of high school students and parents talking about why the trades are one of the most future-proof career paths in the country.

This is the first apprentice we've ever had on The Good Builder, and Az sat down with Lewis to unpack the mindset, the work ethic, and the standards behind a story that everyone in the industry should be paying attention to.

We get into where it all started on the family dairy farm, why woodwork class in year 11 changed everything, and the realities of starting an apprenticeship on $350 a week. Lewis breaks down what WorldSkills actually is, what it's like representing your country against 1,600 competitors from 60 nations, and why he believes Australia is still on the back foot when it comes to celebrating the craft.

We also talk about the stigma parents still carry around the trades, why mindset matters more than money in the early years, and what builders and supervisors can do to attract and keep the next generation of apprentices on their teams.

If you're a builder looking for the kind of apprentice you actually want on your crew, this is what one looks like.

If you're a young person sitting on the fence about which path to take, listen to this one twice.

What We Cover

• Growing up on a dairy farm and where Lewis's work ethic actually came from
• Falling in love with the craft through high school woodwork
• The reality of apprentice wages and why mindset beats money in the early years
• What WorldSkills is, how you get there, and what it's like competing internationally
• Representing Australia in Lyon, France against 1,600 competitors from 60 countries
• Winning Master Builders Apprentice of the Year 2025 and what it actually meant
• Speaking at Parliament House and why advocacy matters for the future of the trades
• The stigma parents still hold around the trades and how to shift it
• Why AI won't be replacing tradies any time soon
• What makes a good apprentice and what builders should look for in their next hire
• Lewis's plans to take on a second trade, build his own home, and keep mentoring the next generation

Sponsor Callouts

This episode of The Good Builder is powered by MyConstruct — the all-in-one construction management platform built for Australian builders. Quote, schedule, manage, and communicate with your clients from one place. Head to myconstruct.com and get your 30-day FREE trial.

We're also proudly partnered with Pay.com.au — the smarter way for builders to pay suppliers, subcontractors, and the ATO using your existing credit card. Earn points on every payment, improve your cash flow, and use the code GOOD20 for 20,000 bonus points when you sign up. Terms apply at pay.com.au/tgb.

#TheGoodBuilder #TheDailyDose #AustralianBuilders #Apprenticeship #WorldSkills #ApprenticeOfTheYear #Tradies #ConstructionAustralia #CarpentryLife #FutureOfTrades #MasterBuilders #LewisItaliano

Aaron is back with Emily Pollard from Nesta Builder Brokers for another Monday breakdown, and this week they dig into something Aaron has been watching in the Google search data for the past 12 months. The Australian housing market is splitting in two. On one end, more buyers are looking at modular, prefab, tiny homes and alternative builds. On the other, the luxury custom market is busier than ever. And right in the middle, the everyday buyer is getting squeezed.

Aaron and Emily unpack what is actually driving the search data, where the project home builder fits now that million dollar builds are becoming the new normal, and what builders need to think about when picking their lane. They get into granny flats and secondary dwellings, intergenerational living, the rise of cashed-up first home buyers in the under-million market, and the buyers agents pushing equity uplift promises that often do not stack up.

This is a real conversation about where the market is heading, what builders are seeing on the ground, and the gap between what the data says and what is actually happening in display villages and on building sites across Australia.

What We Cover

• The two ends of the market that are growing, and the middle that is going quiet
• Why people are searching for modular and prefab, and why it is not always cheaper
• What now actually counts as a high end build in Australia
• Why project builders are quietly moving into the million dollar space
• The granny flat and secondary dwelling boom, and why we should stop calling them granny flats
• Intergenerational living and the cultural shift happening in Australian housing
• What the under-million first home buyer market really looks like in 2026
• The buyers agent equity uplift pitch, and why Emily is over hearing it
• Where modular fits in display villages, estate covenants, and the future of housing
• Why builders need to pick their lane and stop racing to the bottom on price

Sponsors

This episode is proudly brought to you by MyConstruct, the construction software built by Australian builders for Australian builders. If you are still running your jobs, contracts and client comms across text messages and spreadsheets, there is a better way. Head to myconstruct.com for a 30 day trial.

This episode is also supported by Pay.com.au. Pay your business expenses, earn points on everything, and use the code GOOD20 to score 20,000 bonus points when you sign up. Head to pay.com.au/tgb

Quality, on time, on budget. If that's how you sell yourself, you sound exactly like every other builder in Australia. And in a market this tight, sounding like everyone else is one of the most dangerous places you can be.

In this Friday wrap, Az covers three big stories breaking across the industry this week, then goes deep on the one thing every builder needs but most never sit down to define: their Unique Value Proposition.

He shares how UVP work drove $700 million in growth at GJ Gardner Homes, how it helped Avondale Homes hit $24 million in three years targeting a specific niche, and the five practical ways you can find yours this week.

Plus an honest look at the mental health stat we can't ignore, the NCC 2025 split that's just gone live in Victoria, and the lessons from Tom Sachs at Stroud Homes Lockyer Valley.

What We Cover

• The RBA rate move and what it could mean for builder enquiry over the coming weeks
• The Built and Bunnings modular construction deal and what it signals about affordability and speed
• NCC 2025 going live in Victoria on 1 May 2026, and why Master Builders called the timing extremely disappointing
• What Victorian builders need to action right now on lead-free plumbing and Class 2 waterproofing
• The compliance challenge for multi-state builders crossing the Vic and NSW border
• The peer-reviewed University of Melbourne research showing one construction worker still takes their own life every two days in Australia
• Why loneliness is the single strongest predictor of risk, and four practical things builders can do from the top down
• Why paying subbies on time is one of the most concrete mental health actions in your control
• Key lessons from Tom Sachs at Stroud Homes Lockyer Valley on coming through the side door of the industry
• Tom's three pillars of a good builder: leadership, knowing your numbers, then knowing how to build
• Markup versus margin and why most builders go under on the quote, not the build
• What a UVP actually is, and the brochure test that exposes whether yours is real
• Why "we care about clients" and "quality on time on budget" are commodities, not differentiators
• Three reasons UVP matters more in 2026 than ever before
• Five lenses to find your UVP: client, niche, process, proof, and personality
• The three places your UVP must live: website and socials, sales conversations, and operations
• Why UVP is a business exercise, not a marketing exercise
• Your Friday action item: don't write your UVP from your desk, mine it from your market

Support Resources Mentioned

• Mates in Construction: 1300 642 111 (free, 24/7)
• TIACS: 0488 846 988 (free phone and text counselling, Mon to Fri, 8am to 10pm)
• Lifeline: 13 11 14 (24/7)

Sponsors

This episode is proudly supported by MyConstruct — head to myconstruct.com to see how they're helping builders run better businesses.

And by Pay.com.au — pay your bills, invoices and banking through their platform and earn bonus points you can spend on travel, family, whatever you like. Head to pay.com.au/TGB and use promo code GOOD20 for 20,000 bonus points to get you started. Terms and conditions apply.

#TheGoodBuilder #DailyDose #AustralianBuilders #ResidentialConstruction #BuilderBusiness #UVP #BuilderMarketing #NCC2025 #VictorianBuilders #ConstructionMentalHealth #MatesInConstruction #TIACS #BuilderMargins #StroudHomes #MyConstruct #PayComAU