TAS Builder Licence Check: What to Check Before You Sign

A Tasmanian builder licence check confirms whether a builder currently holds a Building Services Provider licence with Consumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS), and in what category. You can run it yourself, free, through the CBOS "Search licensed occupations" tool. It takes a few minutes and it is the right first step before you sign anything or pay a deposit.

Important: A “no result” search in Tasmania is not the same as confirming someone has never held a licence. The CBOS public search displays current licence holders.

Tasmania's system has a few features that genuinely differ from other states, and they matter more here than they would elsewhere. The public register shows current licence holders only, so a search that finds nothing is not as clear-cut as it sounds. Deposit limits are legislated and tiered, not a flat percentage. And home warranty insurance sits in an unusual position: a mandatory scheme has been law since 2023, but it still has not started, and no insurer has been appointed.

None of this means Tasmania is unregulated. It means the protections work differently to what a homeowner might expect from following NSW or Victorian guidance, and a Tasmania-specific check matters.

Want to check more than the licence? Run a TrustSignal Builder Report before you sign.

How to search the Tasmanian builder licence register

The official search is run by CBOS, a division of the Department of Justice. Go to the CBOS website and use the 'Search for a licensed occupation' tool. It covers five categories - | Electrical, Plumbing, Gas Fitting and Automotive Gas Fitting | Building Services Provider | Motor Vehicle Trader | Security and Investigation | Conveyancer |

For a builder, search under Building Services Provider.

Open the search tool and select Building Services Provider. Search by the licensee's name or licence number.
Check the name and entity type shown. Confirm whether the result is for an individual, a company (body corporate), or a partnership.
Check the licence sub-class. Tasmania's main residential builder licence sits under Builder - General Construction, which is divided into Domestic, Low Rise, Medium Rise and Open sub-classes. This is the single most important field to check against your project, covered in detail below.
Check that the licence is current. A current licence is what the public search is built to show you.
Note what the result does not tell you. This is where Tasmania differs from states like NSW. Read on before you treat a result, or a lack of one, as a final answer.

The limitation that matters most: "current holders only"

CBOS describes its own register plainly: it "will only display the details of current licence holders." In practice, that means expired, suspended and cancelled licences simply do not appear in the public search.

This makes a "no result" search genuinely ambiguous in Tasmania, in a way it is not in NSW or Victoria. A name that returns nothing could mean the person or company has never held a building licence. It could also mean they held one that has since expired, been suspended, or been cancelled, including for disciplinary reasons. The public search cannot tell you which.

If your search returns nothing for a builder who is actively quoting on residential work, do not assume the simplest explanation. Ask the builder directly, in writing, for their current licence number, and treat a vague or delayed answer as a reason to look further before paying anything.

Historical licence information, including past suspensions or cancellations, is not published online. It generally requires a formal application under the Right to Information Act 2009. That is not a same-day, free check, so most homeowners will not realistically use it before signing. This is a genuine gap in Tasmania's public transparency, worth knowing about rather than assuming away.

Builder licence categories in Tasmania, and matching the category to your project

Tasmania licenses builders under the Occupational Licensing Act 2005, with categories set out in the Occupational Licensing (Building Services Work) Determination 2021. The builder category has three classes: Builder - General Construction, Fire Protection Services Builder, and Demolisher. For most residential construction, the relevant class is Builder - General Construction, which is divided into four sub-classes by scale and type of work:

Domestic: Covers Class 1 and Class 10 residential work and limited Class 2 work. This is the licence to look for on a standard new house or major renovation.
Low Rise: Extends beyond standard domestic work into specified lower-rise building classes.
Medium Rise: Covers broader multi-storey work, subject to limits.
Open: The broadest category, covering all building classes without the same size restrictions.

Always check the sub-class against the actual building classification and scale of your project. A Domestic-only licence does not cover Medium Rise or Open-scale work.

Separately, CBOS also licenses Building Services Designers, Building Designers, Building Surveyors and Engineers. These are different licence types again, relevant to who designed or certified the work rather than who is building it. A licence in one of these categories is not a substitute for a Builder licence if the person is the one contracting to build your home.

When a licensed builder is legally required, regardless of price

Tasmania's Building Act 2016 sorts building work into four risk categories, and this framework runs alongside, not instead of, the licensing rules:

Category 1: Low-risk work an owner may carry out without a licensed builder.
Category 2: Low-risk work that must be done by a licensed builder.
Category 3 (notifiable work): Medium-risk work requiring a licensed designer's drawings, relevant reports, and sign-off by a building surveyor, carried out by a licensed builder.
Category 4 (permit work): High-risk work requiring everything in Category 3 plus a building permit from council, carried out by a licensed builder.

In Tasmania, you should not rely on contract price alone to decide whether a licensed builder is required. The category of building work matters. Some low-risk work can be owner or competent-person work, but notifiable and permit work generally require the involvement of appropriately licensed building practitioners. Check the CBOS category of work before assuming a small job is exempt.

Owner-builder permits are not a substitute for a Builder licence

An Owner Builder Permit lets a private individual build or manage work on their own property, capped at two Class 1a (residential) projects in any ten-year period, which can include up to two new homes. It cannot be used to contract for or build on someone else's property as a business, and it is not issued for commercial work.

If a business presenting itself as a builder can only show you an Owner Builder Permit rather than a current Builder licence, that is a mismatch worth querying directly before you go further.

Entity matching: who actually holds the licence

A Tasmanian Building Services Provider licence can be held by an individual, a body corporate (company), or a partnership. Company and partnership licences must each have a nominated manager, the qualified individual responsible for the licensed work. If that person leaves, the business has 60 days to register a replacement before the licence is put at risk.

Work through this before you sign:

Check whether the licence is held by a person or an entity. If your contract is with "ABC Builders Pty Ltd" but the licence search only returns a result for an individual's personal name, that is a mismatch requiring clarification. Ask who holds the company's licence and whether that is the entity signing your contract.
Cross-check the ABN and ACN. Tasmania's licence search does not show the same depth of ABN/ACN cross-reference detail as some other states' registers. Use ABN Lookup and an ASIC company search alongside the CBOS search to confirm the contracting entity matches the licensed one.
Ask about the nominated manager for company or partnership licences. A business that has lost its nominated manager and not replaced one within 60 days may have a licence at risk before that risk is visible anywhere publicly.

Home warranty insurance in Tasmania: legislated, but not yet operating

This is the part of a Tasmanian builder check that catches the most homeowners out, because the answer is genuinely unusual and easy to get wrong in either direction.

The short version: Tasmania passed legislation in 2023 to introduce a mandatory, last-resort home warranty insurance scheme. As at CBOS's Financial Assistance Package page updated 28 April 2026, Tasmania's permanent home warranty insurance model was still described as being developed. In Parliament on 26 March 2026, the Minister confirmed the government was still working through the insurer tender process. The practical position is: Tasmania has legislated for a mandatory last-resort scheme, but it is not yet operating for homeowners.

Here is how that happened, in order:

Tasmania's old compulsory scheme, under the Housing Indemnity Act 1992, was repealed when the Residential Building Work Contracts and Dispute Resolution Act 2016 came into force.
In September 2023, Tasmanian Parliament passed legislation for a new mandatory last-resort scheme, designed to cover loss of deposit, non-completion and defects, triggered if a builder dies, disappears or becomes insolvent, on contracts of $20,000 or more, with a six-year warranty period.
A tender to find an insurer to run the scheme opened in August 2024 and closed in October 2024.
More than a year and a half later, no insurer has been appointed and the scheme has not commenced.

Asked directly about this in Parliament on 26 March 2026, the Minister for Small Business, Trade and Consumer Affairs confirmed: "that legislation was passed some years ago and the government is still working its way through that tender process," adding that the existing interim support "remains in place" in the meantime.

So the accurate position is neither extreme. It is not correct to say Tasmania has no home warranty insurance law, because it does. It is equally not correct to say Tasmania has home warranty insurance, because no homeowner can currently buy or claim against this scheme. The right way to describe it: legislated, but not yet operational.

What actually exists right now: the Financial Assistance Package

While the legislated scheme sits unactivated, the Tasmanian Government runs an interim Financial Assistance Package, in place since 1 July 2021, for homeowners whose builder dies, disappears or becomes insolvent. It is administered by CBOS and is explicitly described as a temporary measure while the permanent scheme is developed.

If your build is incomplete: you can claim up to 20% of the contract price, capped at $200,000.
If you have only paid a deposit and work has not started: you can claim up to 5% of the contract price, matching the statutory deposit cap described below.
Claims line: CBOS, 1300 654 499.

It is worth being clear-eyed about what this is and is not. It only covers builder death, disappearance or insolvency, not defective work generally. It only applies to failures from 1 July 2021 onward. And its caps are meaningfully smaller than equivalent last-resort schemes in larger states. This is the real, current safety net for a Tasmanian homeowner if a builder fails, not a placeholder description of something better that already exists.

If you are partway through deciding whether to proceed with a Tasmanian build, it is reasonable to ask your builder directly whether they are aware of the scheme's status, and to check the CBOS Financial Assistance Package page for the current position before you sign, since this is an actively debated policy area that could change.

Deposit and progress payment limits in Tasmania

Tasmania's deposit cap is set in law, under section 41 of the Residential Building Work Contracts and Dispute Resolution Act 2016, and it is tiered by contract value, not a flat figure:

5% of the contract price for contracts of $20,000 or more. This is the figure that applies to almost every standard new build or major renovation.
10% of the contract price for contracts under $20,000.
20% of the contract price where more than half the contract value is off-site prefabricated work, such as a kit home or modular construction.

A request for a deposit above the relevant tier, with no explanation tying it to the prefabrication exception, is worth a direct question before you agree to it.

Progress payments are also restricted: under section 42, a payment must be "directly related to the progress of the performance at the building site." A builder cannot legally ask for payment ahead of the work actually completed on site. Breaching either rule carries a penalty of up to 800 penalty units for a body corporate or 300 penalty units for an individual.

For residential building work at or above the statutory threshold, the contract must be signed, and the builder must give the owner a copy within five business days, with the Residential Building Consumer Guide attached unless it has already been provided. A five-business-day cooling-off period also applies after you receive the signed contract and Consumer Guide. Statutory warranties cover due care and skill, suitable materials, and compliance with the agreed plans and the National Construction Code, enforceable for six years from practical completion.

None of this appears on a licence search. It is a separate, contract-level protection worth checking against your own paperwork once you have a quote or draft contract in hand.

What a Tasmanian licence check covers, and what it leaves unchecked

A standard CBOS licence search covers:

Whether the builder currently holds a Building Services Provider licence
The licence sub-class (Domestic, Low Rise, Medium Rise or Open)
Whether the licence is held by an individual, a body corporate or a partnership
Current licensee name, matched against the entity on your contract

What the search leaves unchecked, or simply does not show:

Expired, suspended or cancelled licences, which do not appear at all on the public search
Disciplinary history or findings against a licensee
Whether home warranty insurance applies to your project, since the legislated scheme is not yet operating
Financial stability, insolvency indicators, or director history
Court and TASCAT dispute history. Tasmania's residential building dispute pathway is different from some larger states. CBOS provides a statutory mediation pathway, and if mediation is unsuccessful, a party may apply to TASCAT for a formal hearing and decision. This is not the same as having an easily searchable public database of builder disciplinary history
Workers compensation or public liability insurance certificates, which are not separately verifiable through a government portal and need to be requested directly from the builder

A current licence confirms a builder appears authorised to take on the work. It does not confirm financial soundness or a clean dispute history, and in Tasmania specifically, it cannot confirm whether a "no result" search means the builder was never licensed or simply no longer is.

A licence check is only one part of builder due diligence. TrustSignal helps you check the broader risk picture before you sign.

For a state-by-state look at how licence checks work across Australia, see How to Check a Builder Licence in Australia Before You Sign. Building outside Tasmania? See our equivalent guides for NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA, ACT and NT.

Red flags before signing with a Tasmanian builder

None of the following automatically means a builder is a poor choice. Each one is a prompt to ask a direct question and get a clear, written answer before you sign or pay a deposit:

No result on the CBOS search for a builder actively quoting work, with no clear licence number provided when you ask
The licence sub-class does not match the scale of your project, such as a Domestic-only licence for a multi-storey or commercial-adjacent build
A deposit requested above 5% on a contract of $20,000 or more, with no explanation tying it to the prefabrication exception
A progress payment requested ahead of work actually completed on site
No written contract, or no Residential Building Consumer Guide provided, for work over $20,000
A company or partnership licence with no current nominated manager
The entity named on your contract does not match the entity behind the licence
The builder cannot produce a current certificate of currency for workers compensation or public liability insurance on request
An Owner Builder Permit shown where a commercial contracting relationship is being proposed
Pressure to sign or pay quickly, with limited time to check any of the above

How TrustSignal helps

Checking a licence, entity details, insurance certificates, dispute history and financial signals separately means working across several government systems that are not linked to each other, and in Tasmania's case, some of that history simply is not published online at all.

TrustSignal's Builder Report brings licence, company, director, court, tribunal, insolvency and credit-risk signals together in plain English, so Tasmanian homeowners can make a more informed decision before signing.

You can see what this looks like in our sample report, check pricing, or go straight to trustsignal.com.au/search to check a builder.

For a structured checklist that walks through every step before signing, see The Builder Licence Check Checklist.

Check the builder, the company and the wider risk signals before you commit. Run a TrustSignal Builder Report before you sign.

TAS builder licence check FAQs

How do I check a builder licence in Tasmania?

Go to the CBOS website and use the 'Search for a licensed occupation' tool, then select the Building Services Provider category. Confirm the licence sub-class, Domestic, Low Rise, Medium Rise or Open, matches your project's scale.

Does Tasmania have home warranty insurance like NSW's HBCF?

Not currently in an operating form. Tasmania passed legislation in 2023 for a mandatory last-resort home warranty insurance scheme, intended to cover loss of deposit, non-completion and defects on contracts of $20,000 or more. The insurer tender closed in October 2024, but as confirmed in the Tasmanian Parliament on 26 March 2026, no insurer has been appointed and the scheme has not commenced. In the meantime, the interim Financial Assistance Package covers builder death, disappearance or insolvency since 1 July 2021, capped at $200,000 for incomplete work or 5% of contract price for lost deposits.

Does that mean Tasmania has no protection at all if a builder fails?

No. It means the permanent, legislated scheme is not yet running. The Financial Assistance Package is real, current, and claimable today through CBOS on 1300 654 499, but it is narrower than a fully operating home warranty scheme, since it only applies to death, disappearance or insolvency, only for failures since 1 July 2021, and is capped at $200,000.

What is the maximum deposit a Tasmanian builder can ask for?

5% of the contract price for contracts of $20,000 or more, which covers almost every standard new build or major renovation. The cap rises to 10% for contracts under $20,000, and to 20% where more than half the contract value is off-site prefabricated work, such as a kit home. This is set in law under section 41 of the Residential Building Work Contracts and Dispute Resolution Act 2016.

If a builder doesn't appear on the Tasmanian licence search, does that mean they've lost their licence?

Not necessarily, and this is a genuine limitation of the Tasmanian system worth understanding. The public search shows current licence holders only. It does not flag licences that have expired, been suspended or been cancelled, and it cannot distinguish "never licensed" from "previously licensed but not anymore." Always follow up a no-result search by asking the builder directly for their current licence number, and by contacting CBOS to confirm.

Can I see a builder's disciplinary history in Tasmania?

Only to a limited extent. The Occupational Licensing Act 2005 sets out grounds for suspension or cancellation, including not being a fit and proper person, contravening the Act, or defective work, but the public search does not display historical outcomes for licences that are no longer current. CBOS provides a statutory mediation pathway, and if mediation is unsuccessful, a party may apply to TASCAT for a formal hearing and decision. TASCAT publishes monthly decision summaries, but there is no name-searchable public database specifically for builder disciplinary history. Historical licence information generally requires a Right to Information Act 2009 request.

What is the difference between a Builder – Domestic licence and an Owner Builder Permit?

A Builder – Domestic licence authorises a person or company to contract for and build residential work on behalf of clients, as a business. An Owner Builder Permit authorises a private individual to build on their own property, capped at two Class 1a projects in any ten-year period, and cannot be used to contract for or build on someone else's behalf. A business presenting itself as a commercial builder that only holds an Owner Builder Permit is a mismatch worth querying directly.

Is a licensed builder in Tasmania required to have insurance?

Yes, though not home warranty insurance, since that scheme is not yet operating. Builders are required to hold a minimum of $5 million in Public Liability Insurance and Contract Works Insurance to maintain or renew their CBOS licence. Builders with employees must also carry workers compensation insurance through a WorkSafe Tasmania-licensed insurer or as an approved self-insurer. The Occupational Licensing Act 2005 allows disciplinary action against a licensee who fails to maintain required insurance as a licence condition. Ask the builder directly for current certificates of currency for public liability, contract works and workers compensation insurance, since these are not separately checkable through a government portal in Tasmania.

Is a current licence enough before I sign?

A current licence is the right first step. It confirms the builder appears authorised to contract for the relevant building work in Tasmania. It does not confirm financial stability, insurance status, dispute history or director history, and in Tasmania, it cannot confirm whether a missing search result means the builder was never licensed or has simply lost a licence. A licence check is necessary, but it is not the full picture before you sign.

What should I do if the licence search comes back with no result for a builder who is quoting on my project?

Ask the builder directly, in writing, for their current Building Services Provider licence number, and search that number specifically. If they cannot provide one, or the number does not return a current result, treat that as a reason to pause before paying anything, and consider contacting CBOS directly to confirm.

What does a TrustSignal Builder Report check?

The TrustSignal Builder Report brings together licence status, company and ABN details, director information, court and tribunal records, insolvency indicators and credit-risk signals in one plain-English report. See a sample report or pricing.

This article is a decision aid, not legal or financial advice. Register coverage and the information shown can vary by licence type and may change over time. Tasmania's home warranty insurance scheme is legislated but not yet operational, and its status may change; always verify the current position directly with CBOS or the relevant Tasmanian regulator before signing a contract.