Builder in liquidation: New South Wales
This page covers what is specific to New South Wales. The steps to take first, and where to get help, are on the main page and apply wherever you are.
New South Wales splits the job between two organisations, and knowing which one to call saves a week.
Two bodies, two jobs
NSW Fair Trading licenses builders and handles licensing and conduct issues. The statutory insurance scheme for residential building work is the Home Building Compensation Fund, administered by icare — a separate body. A claim goes to the scheme, not to Fair Trading, and not to the administrator of the collapsed company.
Two of the deadlines below run from an event you might not notice at the time. The clock on incomplete work starts on the day work stopped — not the day the administrator was appointed, and not the day you were told. Write that date down now, before the paperwork blurs it.
Why this is coming up so often in NSW
In 2024–25, external administrators lodged 1,128 initial reports for construction companies in New South Wales — more than any other industry in the state (ASIC Insolvency Statistics, Series 3.1). You are not an unlucky outlier, the process is well trodden, and the people at the regulator have seen your situation many times.
The scheme
Residential building work in New South Wales is covered by the Home Building Compensation Fund, administered by icare, separately from the regulator.
Cover is not automatic and it is not unlimited. There are thresholds, time limits and exclusions, and a claim is made against the policy for your contract — not against us, and not against the administrator. NSW Fair Trading is the authority on how it applies in your case.
New South Wales: the numbers
- Scheme
- Home Building Compensation Fund (HBCF), administered by icare
- Required on
- residential building work valued at more than $20,000
- What triggers cover
- the builder becomes insolvent, dies, disappears, or has their licence suspended for failing to comply with an NCAT or court money order
- Maximum
- $340,000 per dwelling, covering all claims under the policy combined
- Incomplete work sub-limit
- 20% of the contract price as varied
- Deadline — incomplete work
- within 12 months of the date work stopped or failed to start
- Deadline — major defects
- within six years of the completion date
- Deadline — other defects
- within two years of the completion date
Read from icare (Home Building Compensation Fund) on 2026-09-14. Schemes change — Victoria's changed this year and the ACT's limits changed in January 2025 — so check the source before you rely on any of it. We publish the date we read it so you can see how old this is.
Questions about New South Wales cover
Who do I claim against if my NSW builder goes into liquidation?
icare, which administers the Home Building Compensation Fund — not NSW Fair Trading, and not the administrator of the collapsed company. Fair Trading licenses the builder; icare runs the scheme.
How much can I claim under the HBCF?
$340,000 per dwelling. That is the total for the policy, covering non-completion, defective work and other costs together, with a sub-limit on incomplete building work of 20% of the contract price as varied.
How long do I have to make an HBCF claim?
For work that stopped or never started, within 12 months of that date. For completed work, within six years of completion for major defects and within two years for other defects.
Does the HBCF apply to my contract?
It is required on residential building work valued at more than $20,000, and the builder had to give you a Certificate of Insurance before starting work or taking any money, including the deposit. If you never received one, that is the first thing to raise with Fair Trading.