How to check a developer and builder before you buy off the plan.

How do I check a builder's reputation before buying off the plan?

Check what the registers record, then what the buildings show. In Queensland, open the builder's QBCC full history report, then check the QBCC suspended, cancelled and excluded registers and search QCAT decisions under the company name. In NSW, check the Building Commission's register of building work orders. Then visit two finished buildings and ask owners about defects.

• QBCC full history report: the first page shows the licensee's disciplinary record, and a 'Yes' against any item means the detail is on later pages. The maximum revenue section shows the most the business can turn over in a financial year under its financial category, which cannot rise by more than 10% in a year without QBCC approval (QBCC fact sheet, effective October 2025). Set that against the size of the building you are buying into.
• QBCC lists: the suspended licences register, the cancelled licences register, the excluded individuals register (people excluded from holding a QBCC trade licence) and the adjudication decision register, which shows the results of payment disputes (QBCC, last published 27 May 2026). Search the builder, its directors and any related company.
• QCAT decisions: Queensland Judgments, published by the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for Queensland and the Supreme Court Library of Queensland, lists QCAT decisions and is searchable by case name (checked 5 November 2026). The Queensland Government says each building decision sets out what the dispute was about, what each side claimed and QCAT's final assessment (updated 30 October 2015).
• NSW: the Building Commission NSW register of building work orders lists in-force prohibition orders, building work rectification orders and stop work orders for residential apartment buildings (checked 5 November 2026). It shows only orders still in force, so a clean result today says nothing about orders already lifted.

How do I check a builder's licence in Queensland?

Search the QBCC licensee register, which the QBCC says provides a complete licence history and is more detailed than the find a local contractor search (updated 12 December 2025). The full history report shows the licensee's disciplinary record on the first page, then the licence classes held and any conditions or endorsements, and the maximum annual turnover allowed under their financial category. Check that the licence class matches the work, and check the individual and any related entities, since both hold licences (QBCC fact sheet, October 2025). Unpaid judgment debts show as demerit points on the public search (QBCC, updated 30 August 2021).

How do I check a builder in NSW?

Use the NSW Government's licence check at verify.licence.nsw.gov.au. It shows the licence type and current status, expiry dates, any cancellation or suspension under the Home Building Act 1989, conditions on the licence, public warnings, formal cautions, penalty notices and the results of any prosecution (NSW Government). For an apartment building, also search the Design and Building Practitioners public register for the builder's registration; the register does not show complaints or investigations (NSW Government, updated 6 July 2026). An iCIRT star rating from Equifax is a further signal, though only businesses that request a review and score 3 gold stars or more appear on the registry (NSW Government, updated 1 December 2023).

How do I check a builder is registered?

Search the register in the state where the building is. In Queensland builders are licensed, not registered: search the QBCC licensee register by name or licence number. In NSW, check the licence at verify.licence.nsw.gov.au and, for an apartment building, the building practitioner registration. Use the company name on your contract, not the brochure.

• Queensland: the QBCC says all licensed contractors in Queensland are listed in its licensee register, which gives a complete licence history. If you cannot find the builder there, there is a chance they are not licensed; the QBCC confirms on 139 333 (QBCC, reviewed 12 December 2025).
• NSW: the Service NSW check for building practitioners searches by name, licence number, ABN, ACN or location (Service NSW, published 17 May 2024). Builders of class 2 buildings, which includes apartment buildings, must be registered under the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (NSW Government, updated 6 July 2026).
• Other states run their own registers. Western Australia's register of builders lists active and inactive builders, with inactive ones shown with a blank address, and anyone contracting for builder work over $20,000 must be a registered building contractor (WA Building and Energy, updated 22 January 2025).
• A current licence or registration only says the builder may do the work. For discipline, disputes and orders, check the builder's reputation as well (see the first answer in this section).

How do I verify a builder's iCIRT rating?

Search the builder's name on the iCIRT register at register.icirt.com, which is free. A listed company has passed an independent assessment with at least 3 gold stars out of 5 and agreed to publish it. Check the rated date and any status note, and match the entry's name and ABN to the company on your contract.

• What the register shows: the practitioner, ABN, role and rated date, with status notes such as 'Update Pending', 'Withdrawn, Not Renewed' or 'Withdrawn, Policy Breach' after some names (iCIRT register, checked 8 November 2026).
• How old the rating is: the NSW Government says a rating is valid for 12 months (updated 1 December 2023). iCIRT says most companies update every 12 months and older ratings that have not been updated show as 'withdrawn' (iCIRT property buyer FAQs, checked 8 November 2026).
• What a missing name means: iCIRT is voluntary, and the register does not list every company assessed, only those rated 3 gold stars or more that consented to share it (iCIRT FAQs). Absence is not a black mark, and a listing is not a guarantee.
• Where it applies: iCIRT began in NSW, but a business anywhere in Australia can get a rating, and it rates developers as well as builders (iCIRT, checked 8 November 2026). Off the plan, search both names.

How do I vet a property developer in Australia?

Get the developer's legal name and ACN from the contract, then check its history, not its brochure. Search ASIC for the company and its directors, check ASIC's insolvency notices for their other companies, look the developer up on the iCIRT register, and visit two buildings it has finished. Then have a solicitor review the contract before you sign.

• ASIC: the company register shows the company's name, type, ACN, registration date and lodged documents for free; a current extract listing the officeholders costs $10. ASIC's published notices list insolvency and deregistration notices from 1 July 2012 (ASIC, checked 28 October 2026).
• The developer and the builder are usually different companies. Check the builder's licence and reputation separately (above).
• Ask the developer for the addresses of finished buildings and whether any past project ran past its sunset date. Our developer profiles record each developer's current pipeline and the council DA status of every project we list.

How do I check whether a developer is financially sound?

You cannot see their balance sheet, but you can see their history. ASIC's company register shows the company name, type, ACN, registration date and the documents lodged for free; a current company extract listing the officeholders costs $10 (ASIC). ASIC's published notices website lists insolvency and deregistration notices from 1 July 2012, and the free company alert service tracks changes to a company. Search the directors' other companies too. In 2025-26, 3,472 of the 14,153 companies entering external administration for the first time were in construction, 24.5% of the total (ASIC insolvency statistics, published 26 October 2026).

What happens if the builder goes broke before my apartment is finished?

Your deposit is held in trust in both states, so it is not the builder's money. Beyond that, cover depends on the building's height. The Queensland Home Warranty Scheme pays up to $200,000, or $300,000 with optional additional cover, for non-completion or defects (QBCC, updated 11 May 2025), but multiple-unit dwellings with more than three storeys above a car park are not covered (QBCC, updated 1 August 2024). NSW's Home Building Compensation cover stops at three storeys; taller buildings rely on the 2% strata building bond, lodged before the occupation certificate and used to fix defects found at the 15 to 18 month and 21 to 24 month inspections (NSW Government, updated 29 June 2026).

Does an iCIRT rating mean the builder is safe?

It means the business asked for an independent review and scored well on it. The NSW Government describes iCIRT as an industry-led market surveillance tool using a star-rating methodology, provided by Equifax, reviewing capability, conduct, character, capacity, capital and counterparties, with only 3 gold stars or higher appearing on the registry (updated 1 December 2023). It is a useful signal, not a guarantee, and the absence of a rating means only that the business has not sought one.