An HIA building contract and a Master Builders Queensland building contract are both standard-form residential contracts written to satisfy the same law: Schedule 1B of the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991. Because that schedule fixes the deposit caps, the cooling-off period, the progress payment rules, the statutory warranties and the variation procedure, those parts of the two contracts do the same job whichever one you sign. The real differences sit in the clauses each association drafts itself — liquidated or delay damages, the defects liability period, price rise provisions, dispute resolution and termination — and in who can obtain the contract at all. QBCC puts it plainly in its guide for owners and contractors:
“While each of these contracts will satisfy the minimum requirements of the legislation, it is important to note that they will vary in detail and in the apportionment of risk and responsibility between the homeowner and contractor.”
So the useful question is not which brand of contract is better. It is which discretionary clauses your builder’s contract has filled in, and whether they sit fairly for the job in front of you.
Why you get one contract and not the other
The contract you are handed usually follows your builder’s membership, not your project. Master Builders Queensland states that its residential domestic building contracts are available exclusively to members in eDocs, and that its contracts are free there for eligible members. HIA runs its contracts through HIA Contracts Online, which HIA describes as a subscription-based online tool to create, review, store and send contracts.
Neither is compulsory. QBCC is explicit that Schedule 1B does not require contractors to use QBCC contracts or any particular contract — the obligation is that whatever contract is used fully complies with the legislation. QBCC also publishes its own new home construction, level 1 and level 2 renovation contracts as downloads it calls “our free contracts”, which makes them a useful benchmark: you can read a complete Queensland residential contract, schedule and general conditions included, before you sign anything.
Clause-by-clause: HIA vs Master Builders Queensland residential contracts
This table separates what the law locks down — identical in an HIA contract, a Master Builders contract or a QBCC template — from what the drafter chooses. Because the HIA and Master Builders texts sit behind a subscription and a membership, the right-hand columns use QBCC’s published Level 2 renovation, extension and repair contract to show what a discretionary clause looks like once it is filled in.
| Clause area | Fixed by law (identical in both) | Drafted by the association (where they differ) | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract level | QBCC states you need a written contract for domestic building work priced over $3,300 including labour, materials and GST, with level 1 covering $3,301–$19,999 and level 2 covering $20,000 and over | Nothing — the level follows the price | The contract is the right level for the price |
| Deposit | Section 33 of Schedule 1B caps the deposit at 10% of the contract price for level 1 and 5% for level 2, with a 20% exception where the value of off-site work is more than 50% of the contract price | Nothing — the cap cannot be drafted around | The deposit against the cap for your level |
| Progress payments | Section 34(1) requires each claim to be directly related to progress of the work on site and proportionate to (or less than) the value of the work covered by the claim. QBCC adds that after the deposit, no progress payment may be demanded or taken until work has actually commenced on site | The number of stages, their names and the amount claimed at each | The stages match a sequence you can inspect |
| Cooling-off | Sections 35–38: five business days, commencing the day after you receive a signed copy of the entire contract plus, at $20,000 or more, the QBCC Consumer Building Guide. On withdrawal the contractor’s entitlement is usually $100 plus out-of-pocket expenses reasonably incurred | Only the wording of the notice | The conspicuous cooling-off notice is present |
| Statutory warranties | Sections 19–26 imply new and suitable materials, compliance with all relevant laws and with the plans and specifications, work carried out with reasonable care and skill and with reasonable diligence, a home suitable for occupation, and PC and PS allowances calculated with reasonable care and skill. They must be stated in the contract at $20,000 or more | Nothing of substance | They are printed, not just cross-referenced |
| Warranty period | QBCC states six years for a breach resulting in a structural defect and one year in any other case, plus a further six months if the breach becomes apparent in the last six months of that period | Nothing | The date the contracted work was completed — QBCC says the period runs from there |
| Variations | Sections 40–41: in writing, agreed by the owner in writing before the variation work starts, and no payment required before that work is started. QBCC says the copy must reach you before the earlier of the variation work starting or five business days from the day both parties agreed | The form used and how variation pricing is calculated | Which variation form is issued, and its pricing method |
| Extensions of time | Section 42 allows an extension only for a delay beyond the contractor’s reasonable control and not reasonably foreseeable, a delay caused by the owner, or an agreed variation — claimed in writing within 10 business days and approved by you in writing | Which delay events are listed, and whether delay costs are payable on top. HIA told members on 18 September 2025 it was making changes to the delay damages clause in its major domestic building contracts | Whether a daily delay cost is payable by you |
| Liquidated damages | Not dealt with in the legislation | Entirely association-drafted. QBCC notes some of the more commonly used contracts — including those produced by QBCC, Master Builders and HIA — carry a default of $50 per calendar day, subject to change, where the schedule item is left blank | A genuine daily figure is written in. QBCC warns that a blank, or “NIL”, “N/A” or an inadequate amount, may prove very costly to you |
| Defects liability period | Not statutory | Association-drafted. QBCC says it is commonly 12 months from the date of practical completion; its own Level 2 contract (Condition 29) requires defects notified within 12 months to be rectified within 20 business days of the notice, subject to reasonable access | The length and the rectification window |
| Dispute resolution | Not statutory | Association-drafted. QBCC’s Level 2 contract (Condition 25) requires a written notice of dispute, then 10 business days, then a QBCC-administered dispute process before either party starts court or tribunal proceedings | Whether your contract has an equivalent step |
| Interest on late payment | Not statutory | Association-drafted. QBCC’s Level 2 contract (Schedule Item 11) sets six per cent per annum above the Reserve Bank of Australia cash rate target at the date the payment is due | The rate and when payment falls due |
| Building approval | Not statutory | A schedule item. In QBCC’s Level 2 contract (Schedule Item 13), if no party is named the contractor is responsible | The responsible party is named, not blank |
| Excavation and foundations | Section 31(2) requires the contractor to obtain any foundations data necessary for the work before entering the contract | Who pays for extra excavation and foundations beyond what could reasonably be established from that data is a schedule item — Item 14 in QBCC’s Level 2 contract | Who carries that risk on your block |
| Home warranty premium | Under the QBCC Act, the contractor must collect the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme premium from you and pay it to QBCC within 10 business days after the contract date or before work starts, whichever is earlier | Nothing | Your notice of cover arrives before work begins, as QBCC says it should |
Where the two contracts actually part ways
A pattern shows up in that table. Everything a homeowner instinctively worries about — deposit, payment schedule, warranties — is already settled by statute. The discretionary clauses are the ones nobody reads, and they are where money moves.
Delay and liquidated damages. The legislation does not deal with liquidated damages, so the clause is pure drafting. Both families carry a schedule item for a daily amount, and QBCC warns that a default of $50 per calendar day applies in several commonly used contracts if it is left blank. QBCC stresses the figure should be your genuine estimate at the time of signing of the extra costs or losses you will incur per day — it gives extra rent and storage costs, lost rent on an investment property, and additional interest charges and fees payable to a financier as its examples — not a token number. Read the extension of time and delay clauses alongside it, and ask directly whether your contract also lets the builder claim delay costs from you. HIA’s September 2025 member alert on its delay damages clause is a reminder that these provisions get revised independently of each other, so you cannot assume two contracts read alike.
Defects liability. Twelve months from practical completion is the common position QBCC describes, but the length, the notice mechanics and how long the builder has to return are drafted terms. That period is separate from the statutory warranty period and separate again from your Queensland Home Warranty Scheme cover, which QBCC puts at six years six months from the earliest of the premium being paid, the contract being entered or work commencing — three clocks that get confused constantly, and we untangle them in defects liability and warranty in Queensland.
Price certainty. Neither association’s contract makes a price fixed on its own. Prime cost items, provisional sums and any rise-and-fall provision decide whether your contract sum holds, and QBCC warns that contracts with a high proportion of the price covered by allowances — it uses 30% or more as the example — carry added risk for owners. Master Builders also publishes a residential Cost Plus Contract, and QBCC is blunt about that format: reports to the Commission over many years suggest final costs are often considerably more than owners anticipated, sometimes 50–100% greater than their expectation, and protection for non-completion under the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme is generally not available where cost plus or construction management contracts are used. More in fixed price building contracts in Queensland.
The Master Builders Queensland residential range
Master Builders publishes a public description of what each of its residential contracts is for, so you can check your builder reached for the right one. The documents themselves sit in eDocs, available exclusively to members.
| Master Builders contract | Intended use, as Master Builders describes it | Contract price |
|---|---|---|
| Simple Works Contract | A one-page contract for dealing direct with a client for residential building work | Less than $3,300 incl GST |
| Minor Works Contract – Level 1 – Residential | Small residential renovation projects such as renovation or alteration works, or a new shed | Less than $20,000 incl GST |
| Basic Works Contract | Work performed on a detached dwelling including a duplex, or renovation, alteration, extension or repair of a home; avoids changing the contract part way through on projects close to the $20,000 threshold | Level 2, up to $80,000 incl GST |
| Residential Building Contract – Level 2 | Erection or construction of a detached dwelling including a duplex; a construct-only contract | $20,000 incl GST or more |
| Residential Renovation Contract – Level 2 | Large residential renovation or alteration works; allows for owners to remain in residence during the project, and also covers the contractor having full possession of the site | $20,000 incl GST or more |
| Pool Building Contract – Level 2 | Construction of a swimming pool or spa when contracting directly with a residential owner | $20,000 incl GST or more |
| Cost Plus Contract – Level 2 (Residential) | Listed by Master Builders as available in eDocs only. Schedule 1B defines a cost plus contract as one where the amount the contractor is to receive cannot be accurately calculated when the contract is entered into | Level 2 |
| Trade Contract – Level 2 | A trade contractor undertaking a specific trade — Master Builders gives bricklaying, landscaping, concreting and plumbing as examples — contracting directly with a residential owner rather than with a builder | Level 2 |
On a Sunshine Coast renovation, one line worth reading closely is the Residential Renovation Contract’s handling of possession. Whether you stay in the house while work runs changes site access, staging, security and programme, and it belongs in the contract rather than in a conversation on site.
What this means on a Sunshine Coast or Noosa job
Two schedule items deserve particular attention on a job in this region.
The first is who obtains building approval. On a Noosa Shire job assessed under the Noosa Plan 2020, or a Sunshine Coast Council job under the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014, a renovation can trip into development assessment as well as building approval — character and height provisions, site cover, coastal hazard overlays. QBCC’s template puts the responsibility on the contractor where no party is named in the schedule, but that is a feature of that document rather than of the legislation, so read what your own contract says. Name the party. See building approvals on the Sunshine Coast and Noosa.
The second is excavation and foundations. Section 31(2) requires the contractor to obtain the foundations data before entering the contract, and QBCC notes that in deciding what data is appropriate the contractor must have regard to the Building Code of Australia, the need for a drainage plan, the need for engineer’s drawings and computations, and the need for information on the fall of the land. On the sloping sites around Ninderry, Marcus Beach and Coolum Beach, the item covering who pays for excavation and foundations beyond what that data could reasonably establish is one of the lines most likely to cost real money. See building on a sloping block in Queensland.
Before you sign, whichever contract it is
QBCC recommends that before owners sign a contract and commit to a particular contractor, they ask that contractor for a blank copy of the full contract documents they intend to use, then read the contract — especially the contract schedule and the general conditions — carefully in their own time. That advice is sound and it costs nothing. Ask for the blank set, check the licence number on it against the QBCC register — how to check a QBCC licence — and read the schedule items, not just the price.
Roebuck Concepts is a member of Master Builders Queensland and holds QBCC licence 15280811, working from Coolum Beach across the Sunshine Coast and Noosa Shire. In more than 20 years of residential building, the jobs that ran smoothest were not the ones on a particular association’s paper; they were the ones where every schedule item was filled in and talked through before anyone signed. You can see how we set a job up in our build process, and how to choose a builder in Queensland covers the checks worth doing first.
Frequently asked questions
Is an HIA contract better than a Master Builders contract?
Neither is better as a class. Both are drafted to satisfy the minimum requirements of Schedule 1B of the QBCC Act, so the statutory core is the same. QBCC’s guidance is that even between contracts which fully comply with the legislative requirements there will be differences in the apportionment of risk and responsibility, so judge the document in front of you rather than the logo on it.
Do I have to sign an HIA or Master Builders contract?
No. QBCC states that Schedule 1B does not require contractors to use QBCC contracts or any particular contract; the obligation is that whatever contract is used fully complies with the legislation. QBCC publishes its own level 1, level 2 and new home construction contracts free on its website. QBCC also notes that some contractors will be willing to use a range of contracts, while others may insist on a particular one, especially if they are members of an industry association that produces contracts for its members.
Can I read the contract before I commit?
Yes, and QBCC recommends it. Ask for a blank copy of the full contract documents. For a contract priced at $20,000 or more the builder must give you the QBCC Consumer Building Guide before you sign, and a fully signed copy of the entire contract, including any plans and specifications, within five business days after entering it.
How long is the cooling-off period on a Queensland building contract?
Five business days under section 35 of Schedule 1B, commencing the day after you receive a signed copy of the entire contract including any plans and specifications, plus the QBCC Consumer Building Guide for contracts priced at $20,000 or more. QBCC says any delay by the contractor in providing those documents prolongs the period within which you may withdraw. If you withdraw, QBCC says the contractor’s entitlement under section 38 is usually $100 plus an amount equal to any out-of-pocket expenses reasonably incurred before you withdrew.
What deposit can a Queensland builder ask for?
Section 33 caps the deposit at 10% of the contract price for level 1 contracts ($3,301–$19,999) and 5% for level 2 contracts ($20,000 or more). A deposit of up to 20% is allowed only where the value of off-site work is more than 50% of the contract price. QBCC also warns that after the deposit, no progress payment may be demanded or taken until work has actually commenced on site.
Does the contract change when my job needs a variation?
The contract does not change, but the variation must be documented under sections 40 and 41: presented to you in writing, agreed by you in writing before the variation work starts, with a copy given before the earlier of the work starting or five business days from the day you both agreed, and no payment required before that work is started. See building contract variations in Queensland.