What questions should we ask a
builder before we sign?

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

The licence (questions 1–3)

1. What's your QBCC licence number, and what class is it? Then look it up yourself on the QBCC's online licence search. How is here.
2. Who holds the licence — the company, or a person? And is that person the one running your job?
3. Has the licence ever been suspended, or had conditions on it? The register shows history. Ask anyway, and see whether the answer matches.

“Before committing, check the contractor's licence and history via the QBCC Online Licence Search or by calling the QBCC.” If you engage an unlicensed contractor, your work may not be covered under the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme.

Queensland Building and Construction Commission, Consumer Building Guide, version 3, effective July 2023. First item on the regulator's own checklist.

The contract (4–7)

4. Is this a fixed price contract, cost-plus, or construction management? The QBCC warns against the second two in plain words. Why is here.
5. Which standard contract is it, and can we have a copy to read before we sign? The guide says not to sign before you've received the full contract, plans and specifications.
6. What are the allowances and provisional sums, and why is each one there? The guide: keep allowances to a minimum, because the final cost often exceeds the estimate. Ask what proportion of the price they are.
7. What happens if we want to change something after signing? The right answer: a written variation, agreed by you before the work starts, stating the change to the price and any delay. That's the law, not a courtesy.

The money (8–10)

8. What's the deposit? For a contract of $20,000 or more the maximum before work starts on site is 5%, or up to 20% only where more than half the work is done off site. A builder asking for more is asking for something the law doesn't allow.
9. What are the progress payments tied to? The guide says claims must be directly related to work progress on site and proportionate to it — you shouldn't pay 50% until at least half the work is done.
10. When is the final payment due, and what's a “defects document”? You're not required to pay the final payment until the work is complete under the contract, with at most minor defects listed in a defects document compiled at the handover inspection.

The time (11–13)

11. What's the date for practical completion, and how is it set? The contract must state it, or how it's calculated. The builder must also give you a commencement notice within 10 business days of starting on site, stating the start date and the completion date.
12. What can move the completion date? Extensions of time for the reasons the Act allows — delays you cause, variations, more rain than could reasonably be expected — each claimed in writing for you to consider.
13. Are there liquidated damages if you're late? The guide says to consider what amount is appropriate and make sure it's recorded in the contract. Many contracts leave it blank.

The people (14–15)

14. Who will we be talking to in month four, and how do we reach them? Not the salesperson. The person who'll be on your site and on the end of your phone when the frame is up and a question can't wait.
15. Can we speak to a family you built for last year? Not a testimonial page. A phone number, with their permission.

If you ask us, the answer to fourteen is Nathan, and the answer to fifteen is yes.

Common questions

Sources: Queensland Building and Construction Commission, Consumer Building Guide (version 3, effective July 2023) and Deposits and progress payments (reviewed 27 June 2025); Schedule 1B, Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991. Read 17 September 2026. Thresholds and rules change; check the QBCC's current pages. This is a plain-English guide, not legal advice.