This guide covers the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC). We’ll tell you who they are, how they can help in your build and how the QBCC Licence holds builders accountable. First, let’s see who’s involved:
Who are the QBCC?
In 1991, the QBCC was created by the Queensland Government to regulate our building industry. All building businesses in Queensland have to pay for their licence. If any mistakes happen during a build, the QBCC figures out who is responsible and decides how they must fix their mistake. Three parties make up the QBCC as follows:
- The Queensland Building and Construction Board.
- The commissioner and the organisational unit under the control of the commissioner.
- The Services Trades Council.
What do the QBCC Do?
Together, these folks…
- give advice and information to regulate good building standards for new buildings.
- maintain old building standards for safety and longevity.
- help fix defective building work.
In a practical sense, if a builder decides to treat a client unfairly (or the other way around), the QBCC will ensure that justice is served. Here are some examples of what they might do during a build:
Directions to Rectify Defective Work
These directions are how the QBCC tell a building company that it needs to repair bad workmanship. This could also mean a builder needs to repair damage caused to good workmanship (like repairing a new wall scratched by a ladder).
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Infringement Notices
Just like in court, if a builder commits an offence, the QBCC can give them a fine. This can be more than $30,000, even for a first offence. Builders who receive an infringement notice have to pay within 28 days or decide to go to court.
Demerit Points and Disqualifications
Similar to a driver’s licence, each offence costs a builder between 2-10 demerit points on their QBCC Licence. There is a full list of offences here: www.qbcc.qld.gov.au.
If a builder gets 30 demerit points in 3 years, they are banned for 3 years.
Exclusions and Bans
If a director, secretary or influential person in a building company faces insolvency (goes bankrupt), they become an excluded person. This also means their building company becomes an excluded company. If a business is excluded twice, they are permanently excluded.
Exclusion means someone is not allowed to hold a contractor’s, nominee supervisor’s or site supervisor’s licence, or run a licensed company because of insolvency.
A building company can also be banned if a director, secretary or influential person conducts Tier 1 defective work. This refers to really bad work that is dangerous, destructive or makes someone unable to live in their home. If a business is banned twice, they are banned permanently.
Information about personal exclusions and bans is removed from a builder’s licence history either after 10 years, or when the director, secretary, influential person or nominee stops working for their building company.
How to Check a Builder’s QBCC Licence
In the images below, we have used Metricon Homes as an example. Each builder’s licence history is different, so your builder’s PDF document will look different too.
STEP 1
- Open your web browser and go to www.onlineservices.qbcc.qld.gov.au.
- Now click “Search for QBCC Licensee”.
STEP 2
- Where it says Surname/Company Name, enter the building company’s name. Alternatively, you can enter the builder’s specific licence number if you have it.
STEP 3
- Click search. You should see one or more blue links appear with the builder’s name and licence number.
- If you see one link, click it.
- If you see more than one link, click the first one you see with the builder’s name and licence number.
STEP 4
- You should see a page similar to the one below. On it, click “Licensee’s Full History”.
- A PDF document should open.
STEP 5
- On the first page of the PDF document, find a subheading called “Disciplinary Record”. Scroll so you can see it.
- Under “Has the licensee had any of the following”, you’ll see a list of disciplinary situations marked with “YES” or “NO”.
- If ALL disciplinary situations are marked “NO”, they have no disciplinary record! Proceed to STEP 7.
- If you find a disciplinary situation marked “YES”, proceed to STEP 6.
STEP 6
- For disciplinary situations marked “Yes”, scroll through the PDF until you find a subheading with the same name (you can also press CTRL F to search for each situation in the document).
- Once you have found the subheading with the same name as the disciplinary situation, you will see more information about it.
- Take note of what happened, when it happened and what the builder had to do to fix their mistake.
STEP 7
- Before you close all the documents, there is one thing left!
- Under “Record of Residential Construction Work”, take note of how many houses your building company has built each year under “Number of Jobs”.
- If they’re building more each year, they might be busy, and your home might take longer to build.
- If they’re building less each year, they might be at risk of insolvency (how are they paying the bills?).
- Also take note of how much money they have coming in under “Value” (does their revenue look healthy?).
- You’re now finished! Remember to keep your notes in a safe place.
Summary
Checking a builder’s QBCC Licence is a great way of finding any issues they have caused in past builds. It’s a great idea to ask a building broker about any past disciplinary situations you find. A broker will help you understand what happened with the building company. They will also tell you if the issue is common or whether it’s a “red flag”.
Building a new home can be risky. Not to mention the stress! Buildi is here to support you every step of the way. Our free consultation is the first step towards your new home.
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