Choosing a builder decides what you pay, how long you live in a construction zone, and whether the house still looks right in ten years. Queensland gives you real protection here, but only if you use it.
How do you check a builder’s licence in Queensland?
Building work valued over $3,300 needs a QBCC licence, and plumbing or drainage, gas fitting, chemical termite management, fire protection and building design need one at any value, according to the Queensland Building and Construction Commission, which warns that using an unlicensed contractor brings an increased likelihood of defective and unfinished work and may also void your access to Queensland Home Warranty Insurance.
Search the QBCC register yourself rather than trusting a business card. Company and individual licences are separate records, so ask for both: Roebuck Concepts holds company licence 15280811, and Tom Roebuck holds individual licence 15015060. Then check the class covers your work.
What insurance should a Queensland builder have?
- Queensland Home Warranty Scheme cover. The QBCC states that most residential building work in Queensland valued at more than $3,300, including materials, labour and GST, must be insured under the scheme, that the contractor pays the premium based on the insurable value of the work, and that a policy covers a maximum of $200,000 each for the conditions covered, with optional additional cover available. The QBCC also states the contractor collects the premium from you at deposit stage and submits it to the QBCC, and that the cover protects you if the contractor abandons the project or leaves defects unrepaired. Ask for confirmation the premium has been paid before work starts.
- Public liability. The QBCC states your contractor must hold public liability insurance, and that you could be required under the contract to take out public liability insurance yourself, especially before work starts. Read that clause rather than assuming it does not apply to you.
- Contract works insurance. The QBCC states the contractor is responsible for this cover, that it applies throughout the construction period until handover, and that it covers the site and materials against theft, vandalism, fire and storm. On the Coast a storm can arrive while your roof is open, so confirm the policy is current before the roof comes off.
What is the difference between a custom builder and a project builder?
A project or volume builder sells designs from a range: pick a plan, choose from set inclusion packages, and the price is keen because the same house gets built many times over. On a flat, regular block that works well.
A custom builder starts with your site and your brief instead. That is the right model when the block is steep, narrow, heavily vegetated, flood or bushfire affected, under a character or scenic amenity overlay, or when you are extending an existing house, which describes much of the Noosa hinterland and the strip between Coolum and Peregian. The Grandview Drive Extension at Coolum Beach was a pole home extended in every direction; no catalogue plan absorbs that. See also our guide to renovation builders on the Sunshine Coast.
How do you read a builder’s quote, and what is commonly excluded?
The QBCC’s advice is not to base your decision solely on the lowest price, and to take the time to evaluate each quote for quality, service and scope of work. It also warns that if you accept a quote below fair market value and later need to claim under the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme, the compensation you receive may be reduced. Most of the gap between quotes hides in the exclusions, so read those before the total.
Commonly excluded: soil testing and contour survey, carting excess soil off site, rock excavation, service connections, driveway and landscaping, council and certifier fees, scaffolding, demolition, asbestos removal, painting, floor coverings and window furnishings. The QBCC states your builder must provide a soil test and contour survey, unless you have already obtained them, to justify earthworks and footings costs, and it tells you to check the quote or contract to confirm who is responsible for removing excess soil, or spoil, from the site, as this can be an expensive addition. Issue one written scope to every builder and make each list its exclusions in writing.
What are provisional sums and prime cost items?
Prime cost items are allowances for products you have not chosen yet. The QBCC gives fixtures and fittings such as tiling, kitchen appliances and bathroom fittings as its examples. Provisional sums are allowances for contracted work that cannot be priced accurately at signing, and the QBCC gives rock or termite removal as its examples. On a Level 2 contract, the QBCC states that any such allowances will be calculated with reasonable care and skill.
Both are where a comparison falls apart. If one builder’s tile allowance is realistic and another’s is nominal, the second quote is not cheaper: it has moved the cost to a decision you make once you are committed. Get the full allowance schedule in writing and price a few of the items yourself before you sign.
What contracts are used for residential building work in Queensland?
A written contract is required for domestic building work priced over $3,300 including labour, materials and GST. For renovations, extensions, improvements and routine repairs, the QBCC sets two levels: Level 1 from $3,301 to $19,999, and Level 2 at $20,000 and over. On a Level 2 contract you must be given the QBCC consumer building guide to read before you sign, a fully signed copy of the entire contract within five business days after entering it, and a commencement notice within ten business days of work starting on site, stating the start date and the date for practical completion.
If you are building a whole house or duplex rather than renovating, the QBCC recommends its new home construction contract instead of the renovation forms, and Master Builders Queensland and the HIA also publish standard residential contracts. Treat cost plus contracts carefully: the QBCC states that final costs under a cost plus contract are often considerably higher, at 50 to 100 per cent greater than owners anticipated, and that non-completion protection under the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme is not available on one.
Is there a cooling-off period on a Queensland building contract?
Yes. The QBCC states it runs five business days, starting the day after you receive a signed copy of the entire contract including any plans and specifications, plus the consumer building guide on contracts over $20,000. If you withdraw, the contractor may keep $100 plus an amount equal to any out-of-pocket expenses reasonably incurred before you withdrew. The QBCC states you have no cooling-off right if you received formal legal advice from a practising lawyer about the contract before signing, or told the contractor you had, or if you and the contractor had a previous contract on substantially the same terms for the same services and site.
How much deposit can a Queensland builder ask for?
The QBCC states the maximum deposit is 10 per cent of the contract price on a Level 1 contract and 5 per cent on a Level 2 contract. The one exception it sets out is a deposit of up to 20 per cent in limited circumstances where substantial customised building work or prefabrication is performed away from the building site and that work represents more than 50 per cent of the total contract price. Outside that, a builder asking for substantially more is asking for something the legislation does not allow.
Progress payments follow the work, not the calendar. The QBCC states that a contractor cannot claim more than 50 per cent of the contract price, including the deposit, until at least 50 per cent of the work on site has been completed. Tie stages to milestones you can see: base, frame, enclosed, fixing, practical completion. Never pay for a stage you have not inspected.
How should variations be handled?
In writing, every time. The QBCC requires the contractor to put a variation in writing and you to agree to it in writing, setting out the change, the date the variation was requested, the estimated delay if any, and the price change or how it will be calculated. You must be given a copy before the variation work starts or within five business days of agreement, and the QBCC states a contractor cannot require payment for a variation before the variation work is started. The QBCC calls poorly recorded variations one of the most common causes of serious building disputes.
How do you check a builder’s past work and talk to past clients?
Photographs are marketing. Ask for addresses of finished projects and drive past, looking at what ages badly: fascia and gutter lines, render cracking, deck edges, how the roof meets the wall. Ask to see a job like yours in complexity, and ask to walk an active site.
When you ring past clients, do not ask whether they were happy. Ask what went wrong and how the builder handled it, whether the final figure matched the contract, whether they were warned early about bad news, and whether they would use the same builder again.
Independent recognition helps too. Roebuck Concepts won three 2025 Master Builders Queensland Sunshine Coast Housing and Construction Awards for the Grandview project at Coolum Beach: Home Renovation/Remodelling Project over $1 million, Best Residential Swimming Pool, and Best Use of Innovation.
What are the warning signs when choosing a builder?
- No licence number on the quote, or one that does not match the QBCC register.
- A deposit above the legal cap, or pressure to pay cash.
- A quote well below the others. The QBCC warns that if you accept a quote below fair market value and then need to claim under the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme, your compensation may be reduced.
- Big earthworks or footings figures with no soil test or contour survey behind them. The QBCC states your builder must provide both, unless you already have them, to justify those costs.
- Reluctance to use a standard written contract, or pressure to sign today.
- Verbal variations, or unwillingness to price a change before doing it.
- No confirmation that the home warranty premium has been paid, no referees, and no site you may visit.
Questions to ask a builder before you sign
- What is your QBCC licence number and class, and do you hold a company and an individual licence?
- Will you personally supervise my job, and how many jobs will you run at once?
- Which contract will we use, and can I read it before signing day?
- What is the deposit, and how are the progress payment stages defined?
- What is excluded from this quote? Please list the exclusions in writing.
- What are the prime cost and provisional sum allowances, and what will each buy?
- When will the Queensland Home Warranty premium be paid to the QBCC, and can I see confirmation of cover?
- Who holds the contract works and public liability policies, and what are the limits?
- Which council governs my block, and what approvals will this project need?
- How do you price and document variations, and how quickly will I receive them?
- What is the program, and what does the contract allow as an extension of time?
- Can I have three referees from jobs like mine, and can I visit a current site?
- What happens at practical completion, and how do you handle defects afterwards?
Who approves the work, Sunshine Coast Council or Noosa Shire Council?
Noosa-area suburbs sit under Noosa Shire Council and its own scheme, the Noosa Plan 2020, while the rest of the Coast sits under Sunshine Coast Council. The two treat height, setbacks, site cover, vegetation and character differently, so an assumption that is routine in one can trigger a development application in the other. Ask which council your block falls under before you get attached to a design.
Tom Roebuck has more than twenty years in residential construction, and Roebuck Concepts is a member of Master Builders Queensland, working across the Sunshine Coast and Noosa Shire from Unit 1/18 Lomandra Place, Coolum Beach. To put these questions to a licensed builder, call 0477 333 386 or email tom@roebuckconcepts.com.au.