Builder in liquidation: the Northern Territory
This page covers what is specific to the Northern Territory. The steps to take first, and where to get help, are on the main page and apply wherever you are.
The Northern Territory operates a fidelity fund arrangement for prescribed residential building work, administered through the NT building regulator.
A certificate, not a policy
The Territory does not issue an insurance policy. It issues a fidelity fund certificate, from Fidelity Fund NT, which the NT Government describes as similar to home warranty cover elsewhere. The distinction matters when you go looking through your contract file for something called a policy.
Distance is a practical problem here
Finding a builder willing to take over an unfinished house is harder in the Territory than anywhere else, simply because there are fewer of them and the travel is real. Start that conversation earlier than you would elsewhere.
The scheme
Residential building work in the Northern Territory is covered by a fidelity fund certificate, issued by Fidelity Fund NT rather than an insurance policy.
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. the NT Building Practitioners Board is the authority on how it applies in your case.
the Northern Territory: the numbers
- Scheme
- a fidelity fund certificate, not an insurance policy. Fidelity Fund NT is currently the only provider
- What triggers cover
- the builder becomes bankrupt, dies, disappears, or has their registration cancelled by the Building Practitioners Board
- What it covers
- the cost of moving to a new builder to finish the work; non-structural defects in the first year after completion; structural defects for six years after completion
- Required on
- prescribed residential building work — and from 30 March 2026 the value that triggers a certificate rose from $12,000 to $25,000
- Time to claim
- from 30 March 2026, within 90 days of either becoming aware of a defect or a trigger event occurring
- Which certificates the 2026 changes apply to
- only certificates issued after 30 March 2026
- Not covered
- prefabricated houses, commercial or transportable buildings, and government contracts
Read from NT Government 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 the Northern Territory cover
Is there home warranty insurance in the Northern Territory?
Not as insurance. The Territory issues a fidelity fund certificate instead, from Fidelity Fund NT, which the NT Government describes as similar to home warranty insurance cover in other states. It replaced the Home Building Certification Fund on 1 January 2013.
When can I claim on an NT fidelity fund certificate?
If the builder becomes bankrupt, dies, disappears, or has their registration cancelled by the Building Practitioners Board. If none of those has happened, you cannot make a fidelity fund claim.
How long do I have to claim in the NT?
For certificates issued after 30 March 2026, within 90 days of either becoming aware of a defect or a trigger event occurring. The 2026 changes apply only to certificates issued after that date, because applying them retrospectively would alter the liability attached to certificates already on foot.
What does an NT fidelity fund certificate cover?
The costs of transitioning to a new builder to complete the work, rectifying non-structural defects in the first year after completion, and rectifying structural defects for six years after completion.