How to Choose the Right Builder in Australia: 10 Essential Questions

Verify Their Licence First

Every builder in Australia doing residential work above certain thresholds must hold a builder's licence from the state regulator. Check this online before asking anything else: NSW Fair Trading, Victorian Building Authority, QBCC, Building and Energy WA. An unlicensed builder cannot legally issue a compliance certificate — and you lose all statutory protections.

10 Questions to Ask Every Builder

• 1 Can I have your builder's licence number? (Verify it online)
• 2 Do you carry public liability and workers compensation insurance?
• 3 Can you provide 3 references from projects similar to mine in the last 12 months?
• 4 Who is the nominated supervisor on this project?
• 5 How many projects are you running concurrently?
• 6 What is your availability — when can you start?
• 7 What's included in your contract price and what are provisional sums?
• 8 Who supplies materials — you or me?
• 9 What is your defect liability period and how do you handle defect claims?
• 10 Are you members of HIA or Master Builders Association?

Red Flags to Walk Away From

• 1 Can't provide a licence number or insurance certificate
• 2 Asks for a very large deposit (>20%) upfront
• 3 Pressure to sign quickly before you've had time to review the quote
• 4 Quote is significantly below all other quotes (too cheap = something missing or corners to be cut)
• 5 Poor communication during the quote process
• 6 Negative reviews or complaints on QBCC, Fair Trading, or Google that aren't addressed professionally

Check Their Financial Stability

Builder insolvency is unfortunately common in Australia. Red flags of financial difficulty: asking for unusually large progress payments, changing payment terms mid-project, suppliers contacting you directly for payment, or staff turnover. You can do a company search via ASIC to check for any notices of financial difficulty.