Your questions answered · Dealing with a builder

How do progress inspections and
certifiers work in Queensland?

Somewhere between the plans and the keys, a person you've probably never met signs off your house five times. That's the building certifier, and the stages they inspect are set by regulation, not by the builder. Here's who they are, what they look at, and the paperwork you're entitled to along the way.

Nathan Brain, carpenter and builder at Sabre 17 September 2026 5 min read

A certifier in a white shirt and hard hat seen from behind, checking a timber frame with a clipboard, the roof trusses above — Illustration in the style of Sabre's story frames, not a photograph of a real person.

The short answer

A building certifier is a licensed private professional (licensed by the QBCC) who issues the building approval for your house and inspects it at the stages the regulation makes mandatory. For a new detached house those stages are: excavation (after digging, before concrete), footings (formwork and steel in place, before the pour), slab (same, for the slab), frame, and final, where the certifier checks the outstanding items and collects the certificates for things like termite protection, wet-area waterproofing, glazing, smoke alarms and energy efficiency.

The certifier can be engaged by you or, more commonly, by your builder. Either way, the builder must give you copies of any certificates of inspection as soon as practicable after receiving them, and you can ask the certifier in writing for inspection documents, which they must provide within five business days.

The certifier is the independent check that the house you're paying for is being built to the approved plans and the code. It isn't a quality inspection of the finishes. That's your handover walk.

Part of a bigger picture: the whole checklist for choosing a builder in Queensland.

Who is the certifier, and who engages them?

Since private certification came in, most house approvals in Queensland are issued by private building certifiers rather than council. The certifier assesses your plans against the Building Code of Australia and the Queensland Development Code, issues the building approval, carries out the mandatory inspections, and issues the final certificate.

“Building approvals and inspections are the responsibility of a building certifier who may be engaged by you or, more commonly, your builder. Mandatory building inspections may be required at certain stages of construction.” You can check a certifier's licence via the QBCC's online licence search.
Queensland Building and Construction Commission, Consumer Building Guide, version 3, effective July 2023. The certifier is licensed and searchable, like the builder.

What are the mandatory stages?

The Building Regulation sets them for a single detached house (a class 1a building):

Excavation — after the foundation material is excavated and before concrete for the footings or slab.
Footings — if the house has footings, after the formwork and reinforcement are placed and before the concrete is poured.
Slab — if the house has a slab, after the formwork and reinforcement are placed and before the pour.
Frame — the structural frame, before it's covered.
Final — outstanding items, and the collection of certificates such as termite protection, wet-area membranes, glazing, smoke alarms and energy efficiency.

On a highset on posts, the “footings” and “frame” stages cover the posts, bearers and floor frame in the same way. The principle is the same: the structure is checked before it's hidden.

What does each stage actually check?

Excavation, footings and slab: that the ground and the footings match the engineer's design for the soil class, the reinforcement is the right size in the right place, the membrane and termite management are in, and the levels are right. Why the soil class matters is here.
Frame: that the timber or steel frame matches the approved plans and the engineer's details: sizes, bracing, tie-downs for wind, lintels over openings. This is the one that decides whether the house stands up in a storm.
Final: that the house is complete to the approval, and that the required certificates exist from the trades who did that work. When the final certificate issues, the house can be lawfully occupied.

A builder can't lawfully pour a slab or cover a frame until the stage has been inspected and passed. That sequence is what protects you.

What paperwork are you entitled to?

Copies of certificates of inspection, from the builder, as soon as practicable after they receive them from the certifier.
Inspection documentation from the certifier, on written request, within five business days.
Additional inspections. If your builder engaged the certifier, you can still ask, via a notice to the builder, for the certifier to perform additional certifying functions at your expense.
The final certificate at the end, which you'll want for your own records and for any future sale.

The practical use: a progress payment claim for the frame should come with a frame inspection certificate. If it doesn't, ask.

What the certifier doesn't do

The certifier checks compliance with the approval and the code. They don't check whether the paint is even, the tiles are straight or the door handles are the ones you chose. That's the handover inspection you do with the builder, and the defects document that comes out of it. If you want an independent eye on quality, a private building inspector at lock-up or before handover is a separate service you engage yourself.

Common questions

Can we choose our own certifier?

Yes. The guide says the certifier may be engaged by you or by the builder. Most families let the builder engage one they work with regularly; if you'd rather engage your own, say so before the approval is lodged.

Does council inspect anything?

Council issues planning approvals where a development application is needed, and may be involved with plumbing and drainage inspections. The building inspections at the stages above are the certifier's.

What if a stage fails?

The certifier issues a notice of what has to be fixed, the builder fixes it, and the stage is re-inspected. It's normal and it's the system working. Ask to see the paperwork either way.

Who engages Sabre's certifier?

Ask Nathan. He'll tell you who they are, and the inspection certificates will come to you as they're issued, with the progress claims they support.

Sources: Queensland Building and Construction Commission, Consumer Building Guide (version 3, effective July 2023, on building approvals and inspections under the Building Act 1975); Queensland Building Regulation 2021 and the Department of Housing's Guidelines for inspection of class 1a and 10 buildings and structures (mandatory stages). Read 17 September 2026. This is a plain-English guide, not legal advice.