The onset of industry 4.0 is affecting all sectors of the economy and construction is no exception. The McKinsey Global Institute report (Manyika et al. 2017) identified construction as the second least digitalised industry globally. The architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) sector is responding to these pressures and the Australian industry is keen to adapt (Gajendran & Perera 2016).

In NSW, there is significant momentum to improve the quality of class 2 building construction. Aligned with the recommendations of Shergold and Weir (2018), NSW Government has pursued a number of reforms including the passage of new legislation and the establishment of the Office of the Building Commissioner led by David Chandler OAM. The Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 and the Residential Apartment Buildings (Compliance and Enforcement Powers) Act 2020 passed by NSW Parliament in June 2020 were designed to restore public confidence in the residential apartment building industry through a range of levers. Further, the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 established new requirements related to design and building documentation to strengthen accountability (Chandler 2019; NSW Legislation 2020).

This research aimed to develop a strategic framework for digitalisation of class 2 building designs and as-built drawing declarations that facilitates a feasible and effective implementation. The report examined the state of digitalisation of the class 2 building sector in NSW. It reviews the state of digitalisation of design drawing practices employed by NSW design practitioners (“designers”) and, similarly, the state of digitalisation for as-built drawings (ABD) by NSW building practitioners (“builders”).

This research sought to benchmark the state of digitalisation in class 2 building drawings throughout construction from inception through to completion. It also explored the levels of awareness, acceptance, and willingness of related organisations to undertake further digitalisation of their daily building design and construction operations to propose a framework for digitalisation of the sector.