Builder in liquidation: Queensland
This page covers what is specific to Queensland. The steps to take first, and where to get help, are on the main page and apply wherever you are.
Queensland is the simplest of the mainland states in one respect: the same body regulates builders and runs the insurance scheme.
One body, not two
The Queensland Building and Construction Commission licenses builders and administers the Home Warranty Scheme. That means one phone call, one file and one organisation that can see both your builder's licensing position and your cover — unlike New South Wales, where those sit with different organisations.
The Queensland deadline that catches people is the one for non-structural defects: you have to become aware of the defect within six months of substantial completion and lodge within seven. That is the shortest window in the country, and it runs whether or not your builder is still trading.
What to have ready
Your contract, your licence number for the builder, a record of what you have paid and against which stage, and dated photographs of the site as it stands. The QBCC will ask for all of it.
The scheme
Residential building work in Queensland is covered by the QBCC Home Warranty Scheme, administered by the QBCC itself.
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 QBCC is the authority on how it applies in your case.
Queensland: the numbers
- Scheme
- Queensland Home Warranty Scheme, run by the QBCC — the same body that licenses the builder
- Required on
- residential construction work valued at more than $3,300, including materials, labour and GST
- Maximum
- $200,000 per category of loss, rising to $300,000 if optional additional cover was taken out
- Accommodation, removal and storage
- $5,000 within that limit, or $10,000 with the optional cover
- Length of cover
- six years and six months from the earliest of paying the premium, entering the contract, or work starting
- Deadline — non-completion
- the contract must end within two years of work starting (or of the contract date if work never started), and the claim lodged within three months of the contract ending
- Deadline — structural defects
- become aware within six years six months of cover starting, and claim within three months of becoming aware
- Deadline — non-structural defects
- become aware within six months of substantial completion, and claim within seven months of it
- Cost-plus contracts
- covered for defective work only — not for non-completion
- On sale
- the cover attaches to the property and remains if the home is sold
Read from Queensland Building and Construction Commission 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 Queensland cover
Who do I contact if my Queensland builder collapses?
The QBCC. Queensland is the one state where a single body both licenses builders and administers the warranty scheme, so one call reaches the people who can see your builder’s licensing position and your cover.
How long do I have to claim on the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme?
For non-completion, the contract must end within two years of work starting — or of the contract date if work never started — and the claim must be lodged within three months of the contract ending. Structural defects run to six years and six months from when cover started, claimed within three months of you becoming aware. Non-structural defects are far tighter: you must become aware within six months of substantial completion and claim within seven.
How much does the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme pay?
A maximum of $200,000 for each category of loss — non-completion, fire or storm damage to incomplete works, and defects or subsidence after completion — rising to $300,000 where optional additional cover was bought.
Is a cost-plus contract covered in Queensland?
For defective work, yes. For non-completion, no. The QBCC’s reason is that settling a non-completion claim requires knowing the agreed price to finish the work, and a cost-plus contract has no certain final price.