INSIGHT · COST & QUOTING

WA's training levy now starts above $100,000.
The CTF ties it to the start date.

19 October 2026

Western Australia's Construction Training Fund (CTF) levy is 0.2% of the value of construction work. From 1 July 2026, the levy regulations exclude work valued at $100,000 or less, up from $20,000 or less. The CTF states that the threshold that applies depends on when construction commences, as defined in section 3(2) of the 1990 Act: work commencing before 1 July 2026 keeps the $20,000 threshold, and work commencing on or after it takes the $100,000 threshold. For permit approval, the CTF's guidance says local governments may use the permit application date in its place.

A trainee in safety glasses working at a bench in a woodwork shop

Analysed 19 October 2026 · Building and Construction Industry Training Fund and Levy Collection Amendment Regulations 2026 (SL 2026/45, published 15 April 2026) · Building and Construction Industry Training Fund and Levy Collection Regulations 1991, as at 1 July 2026 and as at 28 May 2026 · the Fund and Levy Collection Act 1990, as at 1 January 2026 · Building and Construction Industry Training Levy Act 1990, reprint as at 10 September 2004 · Construction Training Fund pages last modified 4 June, 1 July and 25 August 2026 · all read 19 October 2026.

Key takeaways

One number moved; the rate did not: The Amendment Regulations 2026 replace "$20 000" with "$100 000" in regulation 3(1)(a), which excludes low-value work from the levy, with effect from 1 July 2026. The rate is set by section 5 of the Training Levy Act 1990 at 0.2% of the value of construction work, and the CTF states it is not changing.
The CTF: the start of work decides, not the quote: The CTF states: "If construction commences before 1 July 2026, the $20,000 threshold applies. If construction commences on or after 1 July 2026, the $100,000 threshold applies." The Amendment Regulations contain no transitional provision of their own; the CTF points to the Act's definition of when work commences.
Permits can run on a stand-in date: For permit approval during the transition, the CTF's guidance to local governments says they may treat the building permit application date as the commencement date, and applications received before 1 July 2026 may still be assessed against the $20,000 threshold.
A refund turns on proof of the start date: Where levy was paid on work valued at $100,000 or less that commences on or after 1 July 2026, the CTF states the payer may be eligible for a refund and must provide evidence of the construction commencement date.
We would store the commencement date as evidence: A system-design recommendation: each WA job record carries the estimated value and its basis, the permit application date, the levy receipt, and the date construction commenced with the document that shows it. For work within the Act's definition of construction work, regulation 9 requires the project owner to keep the commencement date for 5 years, subject to any written exemption from the Board; keeping it for excluded work is our recommendation.

The change, instrument by instrument

Two Acts and one set of Regulations carry the levy. Only one figure in one regulation changed on 1 July 2026, but where it sits decides how a job is tested against it.

The Regulation's words are "$100 000 or less", and CTF pages describe the levy as applying to work "over $100,000" or "more than $100,000". Two CTF pages list as outside the levy construction work with a total estimated value of "less than $100,000".

Instrument	What it states	Version read
Building and Construction Industry Training Levy Act 1990, s 5 and s 6	"The rate of levy is 0.2% of the value of construction work, or such other percentage as is prescribed." The project owner is liable to pay the levy	Reprint as at 10 September 2004, shown as current
Fund and Levy Collection Regulations 1991, reg 3(1)(a), before	Excludes from construction work "work the value of which is $20 000 or less"	Version as at 28 May 2026, in force to 30 June 2026
Fund and Levy Collection Regulations 1991, reg 3(1)(a), after	Excludes "work the value of which is $100 000 or less"	Version as at 1 July 2026, current
Amendment Regulations 2026 (SL 2026/45), r 2 and r 4	Regulations 1 and 2 on publication (15 April 2026); the rest on 1 July 2026. Regulation 4 deletes "$20 000" and inserts "$100 000"	As made, published 15 April 2026
Fund and Levy Collection Act 1990, s 21(1) and Schedule 2	The project owner pays the levy before commencing the work, on a value estimated under Schedule 2: the contract price including GST where it covers goods, labour, services, fees, overheads and profit, otherwise the sum of those components including GST	As at 1 January 2026, current

Which date decides

The CTF's guidance names its legal basis: "The applicable levy threshold depends on the date construction commences, as defined under section 3(2) of the Building and Construction Industry Training Fund and Levy Collection Act 1990." That subsection gives a different trigger depending on whether the work needs a permit.

None of these triggers is the quote date, the contract date, the permit application date or the date the levy was paid. Each is an event on site.

Where a permit is required: Section 3(2)(a): construction work is regarded as commencing "when any work the subject, or that is required to be the subject, of a permit commences". A permit here is a building or demolition permit under the Building Act 2011.
Where no permit is required: Section 3(2)(b): for work carried out under a contract executed after the Act came into operation, "when any of that construction work commences".
Otherwise, as prescribed: Section 3(2)(d) leaves the rest to the Regulations, and regulation 4 states construction work commences "when any of the construction work is commenced on the building or construction site".

Four dates that can
straddle 1 July 2026.

A job priced in May, permitted in June and started in August passes through four dated events, and the levy rules attach to them differently.

An illustration of the arithmetic, our calculation: 0.2% of $90,000 is $180. A value of $90,000 is above the $20,000 threshold and below the $100,000 threshold. Under the CTF's guidance, the commencement date changes which of the two thresholds a value is compared with; the full facts of the work, including the Regulation's other exclusions, determine whether levy is payable.

Event	What the Act or the CTF states	Record that shows it
Permit application lodged	CTF guidance: local governments may treat the application date as the commencement date for permit approval; applications received before 1 July 2026 may be assessed against the $20,000 threshold	Application receipt with its date
Levy paid	Act s 21(1)(a): before commencing work that needs a permit. The CTF states that under s 20(1)(j) of the Building Act 2011 permit authorities must ensure the applicable levy is paid before approving a permit	Levy receipt, amount and estimated value used
Construction commences	Decides the threshold, per the CTF; also starts the penalty period in s 24 if levy is unpaid	Evidence of the commencement date
Construction completes	Act s 21(1)(c): the project owner notifies the Board where the value varies by an additional $25,000 or more from the estimate, after the prescribed inflation adjustment. Act s 22: where the Board is satisfied the value varies by $25,000 or more, it refunds an overpayment or the project owner pays the shortfall	Final value and any adjustment

Refunds, audits and the penalty clock

The transition has a refund path in one direction and a penalty in the other, and both are tested against the same date.

Refund on proof of commencement: The CTF states: "If you paid the levy but commenced construction after 1 July 2026, you can request for a refund through the CTF Levy Portal or contact us. You must provide evidence of the construction commencement date."
Audits during the transition: The CTF's guidance to local governments states: "CTF will conduct audits during the transition period to verify levy payments." It does not publish an end date for the transition period.
A penalty that runs from commencement: Section 24(3) makes a project owner who commences work before paying the levy liable to a penalty, at a prescribed rate on the unpaid levy, for the period from the day the work commenced to the day the levy is paid. Regulation 8 prescribes the rate per annum as "100% of the unpaid levy".
Reconciliation at completion: Section 21(1)(c) requires the project owner to notify the Board where the value on completion varies by an additional $25,000 or more from the estimate, after the prescribed inflation adjustment.

The record the Regulations
already ask for.

For construction work as the Act defines it, which excludes work within regulation 3, regulation 9 of the 1991 Regulations requires the project owner to keep, for 5 years from the commencement of the work and subject to any written exemption from the Board: a copy of all forms submitted to or received from the Board or a collection agency relating to payment or refund of levy; the date on which the construction work commenced; the value of the construction work; its site address; and brief details of the type of work. The penalty stated is $1,000.

The Act defines the project owner as the person required to hold a permit for the work and, where no permit is needed and the State is not involved, the person for whose direct benefit the work exists or, if that person engaged another to carry out all of the work, the person engaged. The CTF states the levy applies whether or not a building permit is required.

Before 1 July 2026 the commencement date mattered for the penalty and the 5-year clock. From 1 July 2026 it also decides, on the CTF's reading, which of the two thresholds a job's value is compared with. A quote that carries the levy as a line item rests on a date the quote cannot yet know.

What we would put in a system

Where agents help here is narrow. A compliance agent can read a permit, a levy receipt and a site diary, extract the dates and the value, flag a job valued at $100,000 or less where levy was paid and the recorded commencement date is on or after 1 July 2026, and draft the refund request for a person to check and send. No agent decides when construction commenced, whether the levy applies, or whether a refund is due. Those are matters for the CTF, the permit authority and your advisers.

Field	Why it is load-bearing
Estimated value, its basis and whether it includes GST	Schedule 2 values the work at the contract price including GST, or the sum of its components including GST; that number is tested against the threshold.
Permit application date and permit authority	During the transition a local government may use it as the commencement date for permit approval.
Levy payment date, amount and receipt reference	Shows the levy was paid before commencement and supports any refund request; for construction work, regulation 9 requires the forms to be kept.
Date construction commenced, and the document that shows it	Decides the threshold on the CTF's reading, starts the s 24 penalty period and the 5-year retention period.
Completion value and any refund or adjustment	An additional $25,000 or more triggers notification under s 21(1)(c), after the prescribed inflation adjustment. Section 22 separately provides for a refund or further payment where the Board is satisfied the value varies by $25,000 or more.

Questions worth asking
of your own job records

For a WA builder who holds the permit: which jobs valued at $100,000 or less paid the levy and commenced on or after 1 July 2026?

The CTF states those payers may be eligible for a refund on evidence of the commencement date. The query needs three stored fields: value, levy receipt and commencement date. General information as read on 19 October 2026, not legal or tax advice.

For an estimator: does each WA quote state which levy threshold it assumed, and on what start date?

Between $20,000 and $100,000, the levy of 0.2% turns on the date work commences, which a quote issued before 1 July 2026 could not know. General information as read on 19 October 2026, not legal or tax advice.

For a developer or building group: can you produce commencement evidence for each WA job?

For construction work within the Act's definition, regulation 9 requires the project owner to keep the date it commenced for 5 years from commencement, subject to any written Board exemption. Under the CTF's guidance, the same date also decides which threshold a job is compared with. A site diary entry or an inspection record can only be produced for a job if it was filed against that job. General information as read on 19 October 2026, not legal or tax advice.

Questions people ask
about the WA construction training levy

What is the CTF levy threshold in WA from 1 July 2026?

From 1 July 2026, regulation 3(1)(a) of the Building and Construction Industry Training Fund and Levy Collection Regulations 1991 excludes work valued at $100,000 or less from the levy, replacing $20,000 or less. The Construction Training Fund describes this as the levy applying to construction work valued at over $100,000 for work commencing on or after 1 July 2026, as read on 19 October 2026.

Is the WA construction training levy still 0.2%?

Yes, as read on 19 October 2026. Section 5 of the Building and Construction Industry Training Levy Act 1990 sets the rate at 0.2% of the value of construction work, or another prescribed percentage, and the Construction Training Fund states the rate is not changing with the threshold.

Which CTF levy threshold applies if construction started before 1 July 2026?

The Construction Training Fund states that if construction commences before 1 July 2026 the $20,000 threshold applies, and on or after that date the $100,000 threshold applies. It bases this on section 3(2) of the 1990 Act, under which permitted work commences when any work covered by the permit commences. General information, not legal advice.

Can I get a refund of the CTF levy for a job under $100,000?

The Construction Training Fund states that a levy paid for work valued at $100,000 or less that commences on or after 1 July 2026 may be eligible for a refund. The request is made through the CTF Levy Portal or by contacting the CTF, with evidence of the construction commencement date, as read on 19 October 2026.

Does the WA training levy value include GST?

Schedule 2 of the 1990 Act values the work at the contract price including GST, where that price covers goods, labour, services, fees, overheads and profit, or otherwise at the sum of those components including GST. The Construction Training Fund's guide states the levy is 0.2% of the value of construction work including GST.

What this analysis
does and does not show.

Evidence note

What it shows: The instrument that moved the WA Construction Training Fund levy threshold, its commencement, the versions of the regulation before and after, the Act's definition of when construction work commences, and the Construction Training Fund's published transition guidance on permits and refunds, as read on 19 October 2026.
Key facts quoted: Rate 0.2% (Training Levy Act 1990 s 5); reg 3(1)(a) "$20 000 or less" to 30 June 2026 and "$100 000 or less" from 1 July 2026 (SL 2026/45 r 2(b), r 4); threshold by commencement date per CTF, s 3(2); permit application date as stand-in per CTF guidance; refund on evidence of commencement; s 24 penalty at 100% per annum of unpaid levy (reg 8); records for construction work kept 5 years (reg 9).

WA only. The levy is a Western Australian scheme; other states' training or portable leave levies are not covered.
The rule that the commencement date decides the threshold is the CTF's statement. The Amendment Regulations contain no transitional provision, and we found no court or tribunal decision on the point.
The local government practice of using the permit application date is CTF guidance, worded as "may". We did not survey how individual permit authorities applied it.
Two CTF pages word the exclusion as "less than $100,000" while the Regulation says "$100 000 or less". We quote both and do not resolve the difference.
The Training Levy Act 1990 is read from its reprint as at 10 September 2004, which the WA register lists as the current version.
Nothing here is legal or tax advice, and it does not determine when any work commenced, whether the levy applies to it, or whether a refund is due.

Bring us one WA job that started near 1 July 2026.

Send us the permit, the levy receipt and whatever records when work began on site. We will show you which threshold the CTF's published rule points to for that start date, and whether your records hold the dates a refund request or an audit would ask for.

This article is general information about published Western Australian legislation and Construction Training Fund guidance. It is not legal or tax advice and it does not determine whether the levy applies to any work, when work commenced or whether a refund is due. It covers Western Australia only. All provisions and pages are as read on 19 October 2026 at the versions listed in the sources.

Send us the job · Quoting

Sources

Suggested citation: Building and Construction Industry Training Fund and Levy Collection Regulations 1991 (WA) reg 3(1)(a) as amended by SL 2026/45, Building and Construction Industry Training Fund and Levy Collection Act 1990 (WA) ss 3(2), 21, 22, 24 and Schedule 2, and Building and Construction Industry Training Levy Act 1990 (WA) s 5, with Construction Training Fund levy pages, as read 19 October 2026. Derived figures: the $180 levy on a $90,000 job is our calculation (0.2% of $90,000), shown as an illustration only.

WA's training levy now starts above $100,000. The CTF ties it to the start date.