Checking a builder’s QBCC licence is free, quick, and it is the first thing worth doing before you accept a quote for work on your house at Coolum Beach, Noosa or anywhere else in Queensland. Building work valued over $3,300 must be carried out by a licensed contractor and be accompanied by a relevant contract, while plumbing and electrical work needs a licensed person no matter what it costs, according to the Queensland Building and Construction Commission. Here is how to find the licence number, run the search, and read what comes back.
Why does a QBCC licence matter before you sign anything?
A licence is what makes the rest of the consumer protections work. Home warranty insurance cannot be taken out on work done by an unlicensed contractor, so an unlicensed job leaves you with no statutory cover for non-completion or defects (QBCC). Licensing also brings the contractor inside the QBCC’s complaints and directions-to-rectify system. If the person quoting your extension is not licensed for that class of work, none of that is available to you.
How do I find a builder’s QBCC licence number?
The licence number should appear on the quote, the contract, tax invoices, letterhead, the company website and site signage. If you cannot see it, ask outright — a licensed contractor will give it to you without hesitation.
Two points that trip people up on the Sunshine Coast. First, most building companies trade under a business name that differs from the licensed entity, so search the company name (usually the Pty Ltd) as well as the trading name. Second, the company and the individual are separate licences. A company must have a nominee who is a director, secretary or employee holding a contractor or nominee supervisor licence in the same class, and that nominee’s name is displayed on the QBCC’s online licence search (QBCC). Seeing two numbers is normal, not a red flag.
How do I search the QBCC licence register step by step?
- Go to the QBCC licensee register, which the QBCC describes as the place to “check the history of your builder”.
- Search by licence number if you have it, or by individual or company name if you do not.
- If you are still shortlisting, use Find a Local Contractor instead, which lists licensed contractors by trade and area.
- Match the record to the exact entity that will sign your contract. A licence held by a different company in the group does not cover the entity you are contracting with.
- Read the licence class, status and any conditions, then check the QBCC’s separate registers for suspended licences, cancelled licences and excluded individuals if anything looks unclear.
- Ring the QBCC on 139 333 if a field does not make sense. That is what the number is for.
How do I read the QBCC licence search result?
| Field | What it means | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Licensee name | The legal person or company holding the licence | An exact match with the party named on your contract |
| Licence number | The unique QBCC identifier | The same number the builder gave you on the quote |
| Licence class | The scope of work permitted | A class that actually covers your job (see below) |
| Status | Whether the licence is currently in force | Active, not suspended, cancelled or expired |
| Conditions | Restrictions imposed on the licence | Any limit that would exclude your type of work |
| Company nominee | The individual supervising the company’s technical work | A named nominee holding a licence in the same class |
Treat a suspended, cancelled or expired status as a full stop, not a technicality. The QBCC publishes standalone registers for suspended and cancelled licences and for excluded individuals, who are barred from holding a QBCC trade licence.
Which QBCC licence classes matter for houses on the Sunshine Coast?
For a detached house, extension, deck or pool surround, the class you will usually see is Builder — Low Rise. That covers Class 1 and Class 10 buildings — houses, garages, carports, sheds, retaining walls, swimming pools — plus Class 2 to 9 buildings with a gross floor area of not more than 2,000m², excluding Type A and Type B construction (QBCC). Builder — Medium Rise and Builder — Open extend that scope further.
The QBCC also issues restricted builder classes limited to kitchen, bathroom and laundry work, shopfitting, structural landscaping or special structures, alongside individual trade contractor licences and nominee supervisor and site supervisor licences (QBCC). A restricted class is not a lesser builder — it is a different scope. Check that the class matches the job you are asking for.
What does a QBCC licence guarantee, and what does it not?
To hold a contractor licence, an applicant has to satisfy the QBCC on technical qualifications, managerial qualifications, experience, minimum financial requirements including net tangible assets and current ratio, and the fit and proper person test, with professional indemnity insurance required for some classes (QBCC). That is a meaningful floor, particularly the financial side.
What it does not tell you is whether the builder is right for your project. A licence says nothing about whether they have built on a steep Coolum block before, whether they can detail a pole home for coastal exposure, how they manage subcontractors, or how they communicate when something goes wrong. Use the licence as a gate, then judge the rest on completed projects you can inspect, references you actually ring, and a contract you have read.
What is the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme and when must the premium be paid?
Most residential building work in Queensland valued at more than $3,300 including materials, labour and GST requires home warranty insurance (QBCC). The licensed contractor collects the premium from you and pays it to the QBCC on your behalf, before the earlier of work starting or within 10 business days of the contract being signed (QBCC).
Cover runs for 6 years and 6 months from the first of the premium being paid, the contract being agreed or work starting, and the scheme covers up to $200,000 each for non-completion, fire and storm damage to incomplete work, and defects and subsidence after completion, with $5,000 within that limit for accommodation, removal and storage. Optional additional cover lifts the total to $300,000 and the ancillary cap to $10,000 (QBCC). Claim deadlines are tight. For a non-structural defect you must first become aware of it within 6 months after the day the work is substantially complete and lodge the claim within 7 months of that same day. For a structural defect you must first become aware of it within the 6 years and 6 months of cover and lodge the claim within 3 months after the day you first become aware (QBCC). You can confirm cover has been taken out using the QBCC’s insurance search by property.
What else should I check before signing a building contract?
Deposits are capped: 20% for work up to $3,300, 10% from $3,301 to $19,999 and 5% at $20,000 or more, with up to 20% allowed where more than half the contract value is custom fabrication or off-site work (QBCC). All contracts for building work valued over $3,300 must include advice about your cooling-off rights (QBCC). Remember too that a licence is separate from approvals — planning assessment for your block still runs through Sunshine Coast Council, or through Noosa Shire Council under the Noosa Plan 2020 if you are in the Noosa Shire.
A quick checklist before you hire
- Licence number obtained from the quote or asked for directly.
- Record found on the QBCC licensee register and matched to the contracting entity.
- Status active; nothing on the suspended, cancelled or excluded individual registers.
- Licence class and any conditions cover the work you are asking for.
- Company nominee named and licensed in the same class.
- Written contract, deposit within the legal cap, cooling-off advice included.
- Home warranty premium collected and paid before work starts.
- Completed projects inspected and references contacted.
If you want to see how this applies to a specific job, our guide to renovation builders on the Sunshine Coast covers the contract and approval steps in more detail. For the record, Roebuck Concepts holds QBCC company licence 15280811 and director Tom Roebuck holds individual QBCC licence 15015060 — both are searchable on the register above.