Australia Pre-Contract Builder Checklist

A national checklist for vetting a builder or tradie before you shortlist, and again before you sign, covering every state and territory. Each check shows what a TrustSignal Builder Report already supplies, and what you still need to do yourself.

Most homeowners spend months choosing a builder. Very few spend even a few hours checking the background of the business they are about to pay. The gap matters: construction accounts for roughly one in four corporate external administrations in Australia, more than any other industry. The average new home costs around $493,000 to build. A background check before you sign is not excessive caution. It is proportionate to the commitment you are making.

For a deeper look at why the structural risk in residential construction is higher than most homeowners realise, see Residential construction in Australia: economic importance, scale and structural reality.

Section 1: Eligibility and Risk

These are the background checks you run before you invite anyone to quote, confirming the builder is legally entitled to contract with you, and screening for financial or regulatory signals in the people and company behind the licence. Most are free. All of them are covered in a TrustSignal Builder Report.

Running these checks before you shortlist means you are not investing time in quoting, design meetings, and relationship-building with a builder whose background you have not yet looked at.

1. Licence current, correct class, no conditions/warnings

(In TrustSignal report)

A current licence confirms the builder is authorised to carry out the type of work you are asking them to do. It does not confirm financial stability, dispute history, or anything about the business behind the name. But without it, the builder cannot lawfully contract with you in most states, and the home warranty insurance that protects your deposit will not be in place.

Check: state licensing authority for where your project is located. See the state-by-state licence check guide for each register and what to look for.

2. Home warranty insurance eligibility / financial capacity

(In TrustSignal report)

The mechanism varies by state, but the question is the same: can this builder actually get cover for your project size, or pass the financial checks that stand in for it? Eligibility thresholds, what triggers a claim, and how much the scheme covers all differ by jurisdiction. A builder can hold a valid licence but be ineligible for cover on your specific project. Confirm this early with the builder and, where needed, directly with the relevant state insurer or regulator.

Victoria is a useful example of why the mechanism itself is shifting. From 1 July 2026, the old Domestic Building Insurance eligibility assessment was replaced by ongoing Minimum Financial Requirements and a Maximum Construction Capacity, administered by the Building and Plumbing Commission. Existing builders were transitioned from their old DBI eligibility limits into the new framework. It is no longer a single "eligibility tier" the way it once was.

Note: scheme information below reflects general guidance, not project-specific confirmation. Ask the builder and verify with the state insurer or regulator before you commit.

Reference: State Licensing and Home Warranty Insurance

• NSW: NSW Fair Trading / Building Commission NSW; licence search via Verify NSW. Home Building Compensation cover required over $20,000. Verify at SIRA or through icare, which administers the fund.
• QLD: QBCC. Queensland Home Warranty Scheme cover required for most insurable residential work over $3,300. Verify at qbcc.qld.gov.au.
• VIC: Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC), formerly the VBA. Home Warranty generally applies to eligible domestic building work over $20,000 for contracts signed on or after 1 July 2026; older contracts may remain covered by the former Domestic Building Insurance scheme (the earlier $16,000 threshold is relevant only to that transitional cover). Verify cover through the BPC.
• WA: Building and Energy, within the Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety (LGIRS), formerly DEMIRS. Home Indemnity Insurance generally required for applicable work between $20,000 and $500,000. Verify with the insurer or via wa.gov.au.
• SA: Consumer and Business Services. Building Indemnity Insurance generally required for domestic building work of $20,000 or more where development approval is required (raised from $12,000 on 10 November 2025; the policy limit is now $250,000). Confirm the policy with the insurer.
• TAS: CBOS. No compulsory home warranty scheme currently; Tasmania is the only state without one. A future scheme is being developed but had not commenced as of mid-2026. Verify current arrangements at cbos.tas.gov.au.
• ACT: Access Canberra. Residential Building Work Insurance, or an approved fidelity fund certificate, required for applicable residential work over $12,000. Verify at accesscanberra.act.gov.au.
• NT: Building Practitioners Board, via Fidelity Fund NT. A Fidelity Fund Certificate is required for prescribed residential building work, including new homes and qualifying additions or extensions, over $25,000, since a 30 March 2026 reform raised the threshold from $12,000. It is not limited to owner-builders. Verify at fidelityfundnt.com.au or nt.gov.au.

Note: Home warranty schemes are not comprehensive building insurance. Cover, claim triggers, exclusions, limits and timeframes differ materially by state, so check the terms that apply to your project before you rely on them.

3. Entity and ABN match the licence

(In TrustSignal report)

The contract must be with the entity that holds the licence, not just a trading name. A builder operating as "Coastal Homes" may be contracting through a different company entirely, one whose licence status and financial history you have not checked. The ABN on your quote and the name on the licence should point to the same legal entity. Check: Australian Business Register (ABN Lookup).

4. ASIC company status and director history

(In TrustSignal report)

A company search through ASIC reveals whether the builder's company is currently under external administration, in receivership, or deregistered. It also shows who the directors are and which other companies they have directed. This matters because a director with a history of companies that have failed, even under different names, is a different risk profile from one with a clean record. Check: ASIC Connect or a company extract.

For a detailed walkthrough of what company records reveal and how to read them, see How to check a builder's financial background.

5. Personal insolvency check on the director

(In TrustSignal report)

A company search does not show whether the individual behind the business has a personal insolvency history. A director who has been bankrupt may have licence conditions you are not aware of. The AFSA National Personal Insolvency Index is searchable by name and returns any personal insolvency record going back to 1928. Check: AFSA National Personal Insolvency Index.

6. ASIC Banned and Disqualified Register

(In TrustSignal report)

A person on this register is legally disqualified from managing a corporation. A building company effectively controlled by a disqualified director may be in breach of the Corporations Act, and your contract with that company carries additional legal risk. This check takes two minutes and costs nothing. Check: ASIC Banned and Disqualified Register.

7. Published tribunal decisions (NCAT/VCAT/QCAT/etc.)

(In TrustSignal report)

Tribunal decisions reveal resolved disputes involving defective work, incomplete projects, and contract breaches. A single decision is not necessarily disqualifying but a pattern of disputes, or a decision involving large amounts or serious defects, is worth understanding before you sign. Note: only a selection of tribunal decisions are published, so a clean result means no published decisions, not that no disputes have occurred. Check: state tribunal case law search.

8. Director affiliations to other insolvent entities

(In TrustSignal report)

Construction phoenix activity involves closing a company with outstanding debts and reopening a new entity to continue the same work. ASIC and the ATO both identify construction as a sector with elevated phoenix risk. A director connected to multiple previously liquidated companies warrants a direct question before you proceed. Check: cross-reference ASIC director history across entities.

For more on how to detect phoenix-like patterns before you sign, see Phoenix activity in building and construction.

9. Length of time in business

(In TrustSignal report)

A newly incorporated company with little trading history presents a different risk from one with ten years of continuous operation. Length of time in business does not predict financial difficulty, but it is context worth having before you commit. Check: business registration date and ABN history.

10. Insolvency actions against the builder's company

(In TrustSignal report)

The ASIC Published Notices register records formal insolvency-related notices including creditor winding-up applications, voluntary administration appointments, and liquidation orders. A creditor's winding-up application can be published on the register before the court determines it or before a company's financial difficulties become widely reported. This is a material signal worth checking. Check: ASIC Published Notices.

For context on what insolvency signals look like before they become public knowledge, see Builder insolvency warning signs.

11. Regulatory actions from registers (Work Safety, ACCC, Fair Trading)

(In TrustSignal report)

Enforcement actions, safety breaches, and formal consumer complaints sit in separate registers from the licence. A builder with a current licence can have active regulatory proceedings that the licence register does not show. Check: Safe Work Australia or your state work health and safety regulator, the ACCC, and your state's Fair Trading or building regulator register.

12. Supplier and financier bill-paying history

(In TrustSignal report)

Commercial credit data shows whether a builder pays suppliers and financiers on time. Slower payment to creditors is a leading indicator of cash flow pressure and can precede insolvency by months. This data is not available through public registers and forms part of TrustSignal's commercial data coverage.

For more on what commercial credit data shows and where the gaps are, see What a builder credit report reveals that public registers don't.

13. Established supply arrangements

(In TrustSignal report)

Stable, longstanding supplier relationships reduce the risk of material delays and cash-flow disruption mid-build. A TrustSignal report shows known supplier links. Confirm they cover your project's materials before you sign.

Section 2: Manual Document Verification

Once you have shortlisted a builder and a contract is on the table, these are the documents and terms you need to physically check yourself before you sign anything. These checks cannot be done for you: they require the actual documents.

14. References from projects completed in the last 2 years

A builder who cannot produce contactable references from recent completed projects is a concern. Testimonials on a website are not sufficient. Make the calls yourself. Ask specifically about quality, communication, how variations were handled, and whether the project finished on time and on budget.

15. Project-specific evidence of cover exists (not just eligibility)

The document is called different things in different states: a Certificate of Insurance in NSW, a Notice of Cover under Victoria's new Home Warranty scheme, a Fidelity Fund Certificate in the NT. An eligibility or financial-capacity check confirms the builder can apply for cover; it does not confirm cover has actually been issued for your project. The timing also varies: NSW requires HBC cover in place before any money changes hands, while Queensland allows the builder to collect the home warranty premium as part of the deposit and remit it within a statutory timeframe, and Victoria's Home Warranty requires the premium to be paid by the earlier of ten business days after the contract is signed or work starting, after which BPC issues the Notice of Cover.

Before work starts, and before paying money where your state's law requires cover first, confirm the project-specific document exists and names your project. Do not treat a general eligibility or licence check as a substitute.

16. Public liability and workers compensation certificates, entity name matches contract

An uninsured builder means you carry personal exposure if something goes wrong on site. Confirm both policies are current, that the insured entity matches the entity named in your contract, and verify authenticity by calling the insurer directly on their publicly listed number.

17. Deposit within the legal cap

Excessive deposits are a concern and, in most states, unlawful. Paying more than the legal maximum puts money at risk before any work has begun. Caps vary by state.

Reference: State Deposit Caps

• NSW: Maximum 10% of the contract price. This applies to both "small jobs" contracts ($5,000 to $20,000) and larger contracts.
• QLD: Maximum 20% for contracts of $3,300 or less; 10% for contracts between $3,301 and $19,999; generally 5% for contracts of $20,000 or more, subject to an off-site-work exception (up to 20% where more than half the work value is performed off-site).
• VIC: 10% if the contract price is under $20,000; 5% if $20,000 or more.
• WA: Maximum 6.5%, for contracts covered by the Home Building Contracts Act 1991, generally $7,500 to $500,000.
• SA: Up to $1,000 for contracts below $20,000; 5% for contracts of $20,000 or more.
• TAS: Legislated tiers under the Residential Building Work Contracts and Dispute Resolution Act 2016: 10% for contracts between $20,000 and $50,000; 5% for contracts of $50,000 or more; up to 20% where more than half the work value is off-site.
• ACT: No general statutory percentage cap on the deposit itself. Residential Building Work Insurance covers the deposit stage up to $10,000, so it is worth aligning the deposit you pay with that figure and confirming the position with Access Canberra before you sign.
• NT: Maximum 5% for prescribed residential building work (generally projects over $25,000). Set by the Building Regulations 1993 (NT): regulation 41H caps the deposit at 5% of the total contracted price, and regulation 41HE makes it an offence for a prescribed building contractor to request or receive more.

18. Contract in writing with all mandatory inclusions

In most states, residential building contracts above a threshold must be in writing, signed by both parties, and include the names of all parties (as they appear on the licence), the licence number, scope of work, price, and statutory warranty information. A contract that does not include these elements may not be enforceable and weakens your legal position if a dispute arises.

19. Consumer Building Guide provided before signing

Most states require the builder to provide an approved consumer information document before you sign. If it was not provided, that is a compliance concern worth raising before you execute the contract.

20. Cooling-off rights and time limits understood

Most residential building contracts include a short legal window to rescind after signing. Understand what that window covers, how long it lasts, and what your obligations are if you exercise it.

21. Statutory warranties: what is covered, what is not, for how long

Implied statutory warranties attach to residential building work regardless of what the contract says. They cover workmanship, materials, fitness for occupation, and completion within a reasonable time. Understand what your state's statutory warranty regime covers and for how long, because these protections pass to subsequent owners of the property.

22. Variation procedure confirmed in writing

Undocumented variations are the most common cause of residential building disputes in Australia. Confirm the written approval process before signing: what authorisation is required before a variation proceeds, how the cost is calculated, and what happens if you and the builder disagree.

23. Final cross-check: entity name matches licence, ABN, and insurance records

The legal entity named in the contract should match the entity on the licence register, the ABN, and the project-specific evidence of cover (Certificate of Insurance, Notice of Cover or Fidelity Fund Certificate, depending on the state). Mismatches between any of these are worth resolving in writing before you sign. A TrustSignal report gives you the licence and ABN data to check the contract against.

Before you sign or pay a deposit, run a TrustSignal Builder Report. It covers all 13 background checks in Section 1, combining public register data with commercial information in a single plain-English report.

This checklist applies to every builder, tradie, and contractor in every Australian state and territory. It is a practical summary, not legal or financial advice.