Contracts and deposits for joinery work

The lines, state by state

Each row is a selection of the amounts the state’s own pages name, so check your state’s linked page before you sign. South Australia’s advice is in the lists further down.

NSW

• over $5,000 a written contract, or where the price is unknown, a reasonable market cost of labour and materials above that amount. Before the contract, you must be given the Consumer Building Guide.

QLD

• over $3,300 the contractor needs a QBCC licence, and the contract has to tell you about your cooling-off right.
• deposit the most a contractor may ask for depends on the value of the work; the QBCC’s contracts page has the amounts.

VIC

• $10,000 or more the BPC says you must have a written contract with a registered builder, a major domestic building contract. Consumer Affairs Victoria words it as work involving more than one trade and worth more than $10,000.

WA

• $7,500 to $500,000 the Home Building Contracts Act 1991 applies to fixed price home building contracts in this range. The contract must be written, dated and signed by both parties; a spoken agreement does not meet the Act.
• over $20,000 the builder must take out home indemnity insurance and give you a certificate before starting work or asking for any payment, including a deposit.
• 6.5% the most a contract covered by the Act can set as a deposit before work starts.

TAS

• $20,000 or more the state’s consumer guide is written for contracts of this size, and says the Act deals with disputes about building work worth $20,000 or more; contracts should be written, dated and signed by both parties, and every residential building work contract has a cooling-off period of at least five business days.

ACT

• insurance building work on houses and apartment buildings of three storeys and below must be covered by residential building work insurance. The minimum insured amount rose from $85,000 to $200,000 on 1 January 2025.
• $10,000 the most that can currently be claimed under that cover for a deposit, so the ACT suggests keeping stage payments at or near the claimable maximums.

NT

• over $25,000 work on one of the listed buildings, such as a house or attached units (renovations count only where the floor area is increased), is prescribed, and you must sign a contract with your builder for it. For other work, the NT says a written contract may still help if you need to review the builder’s work later.

Cooling off, and what can end it

Cooling-off periods carry conditions that are easy to miss. In Tasmania, for contracts of $20,000 or more, the owner can withdraw within the period without a significant financial penalty, but getting legal advice before signing ends that right to withdraw.

Paying as the work goes

• NSW“Don’t pay any money without a written contract.”
• WAOnce work has started, each progress payment may only be for work actually done or materials already supplied.
• SAPaying anything else upfront is risky; once work starts, pay only for completed work when you receive an invoice.
• ACTApart from the deposit, pay for a stage only after it is completed, which protects you if the builder goes into administration or does not finish.

Before you sign

• Get more than one written quote, as NSW suggests; Consumer Affairs Victoria says at least three, on the same detailed description of the job, and warns that the cheapest may leave out some items or the materials and finishes you want.
• In WA, the builder must give you the ‘Notice for the Home Owner’, which summarises the Act, before you sign.
• In South Australia, CBS suggests verifying an indemnity certificate yourself, as it has recently found forged certificates.
• Access Canberra suggests asking to see a certificate of currency for public liability insurance.