Demo. Tradies Bureau is running as a public demo, with made-up businesses to try and no sign-up. See it as an electrician, a plumber or a builder.
Tradies Bureau
All guide articles
Guide home
User Guide
FAQ
Trade Guides

Builders: what applies and how to set up

What a builder in Victoria has to hold, how to set the app up for one, and a walk through the builder demo.

What applies to a builder

Start with what every business in the trade holds. Each question you answer yes to adds its own branch. This tree is drawn from the same rules the Compliance Checker and your compliance map use, so it changes when a rule does.

StartYou're a builder in Victoria

Every business in the trade

Insurance

  • Public Liability InsuranceNot required by law for this trade, but builders and most customers ask for it, commonly $10m to $20m.

Training and tickets

  • White CardConstruction induction card. Good practice on home jobs, and mandatory on commercial sites. Doesn't expire, but must be redone after 2+ years out of construction work. In Victoria the course must be done face to face.

Deadlines and business obligations

  • Written notice of a notifiable incidentBy lawTracked on its own screenNotify WorkSafe straight away, preserve the site, and send written notice within 48 hours.

I contract directly with home owners for jobs over $10,000

If yes, add

Registrations

  • Domestic Builder (Unlimited) Registration (BPC)By lawNeeded for domestic building work over $10,000 for home owners. A company is registered separately, with at least one director registered in their own name.
Contracts18 rules, tracked on each contract
  • Variation: builder signsBy lawOn each contractA variation starts with a written request and quote, signed by the builder.
  • RFI responseOn each contractAnswer a request for information within the time your contract sets, or a reasonable time where it's silent.
  • Practical completion certificateBy lawOn each contractThe certificate that the work is practically complete. It releases retention, starts the defects period and opens the way to the final claim.
  • Final documentation handoverBy lawOn each contractHand over the as-built drawings, warranties and manuals when the job finishes.
  • Building permit issuedBy lawOn each contractRecord the building permit for the work once it's issued.
  • Mandatory inspection at each stageBy lawOn each contractTell the building surveyor as soon as each inspection stage on the permit is reached: footings, reinforced concrete, frame, any other stage the permit names, and final.
  • Payment schedule responseBy lawOn each contractWhen a payment claim comes in, answer it with a payment schedule within 10 business days.
  • Payment madeBy lawOn each contractPay a claim within 10 business days of it, or within the contract's own payment term where it sets one, up to 20 business days.
  • Extension of time (EOT) noticeOn each contractGive notice of a delay within the period your contract sets.
  • Subcontractor compliance cascadeBy lawOn each contractBefore a subcontractor starts on the contract, check their licence or registration and their insurance are current.
  • Defects schedule & rectificationBy lawOn each contractList the defects at practical completion and fix them during the defects period your contract sets.
  • Dispute: conciliation before VCATBy lawOn each contractIf a dispute is raised, conciliation has to be tried before an application to VCAT.
  • Variation: client approvesBy lawOn each contractThe client approves the variation in writing, after the builder has signed it.
  • Statutory limitation (long-stop) trackerBy lawOn each contractA reminder, not a task: building claims can generally be brought for up to 10 years from the occupancy permit or certificate of final inspection.
  • Contract execution & classificationBy lawOn each contractBoth parties sign the contract and the kind of contract is recorded. Every later rule on the contract follows from that.
  • Cooling-off periodBy lawOn each contractThe owner can withdraw within 5 business days of getting a signed copy. Applies to domestic building contracts over $10,000.
  • Builder registration & insurance verificationBy lawOn each contractWhen the contract is signed, check the builder's registration and insurance are current on the Building and Plumbing Commission's register.
  • Home warranty insurance (First Resort Scheme)By lawOn each contractOn contracts signed from 1 July 2026 for work over $20,000, pay the First Resort Home Warranty premium to the Building and Plumbing Commission within 10 business days of signing, or before work starts if that's sooner.

Deadlines and business obligations

  • Minimum financial requirements for domestic buildersBy lawTracked on its own screenFrom 1 July 2026 the BPC sets your Maximum Construction Capacity, and your adjusted net tangible assets must be at least 5% of your uncompleted domestic work.

Set up under Contract Admin → Projects

I contract for commercial work that needs a building permit

If yes, add

Registrations

  • Commercial Builder Registration (BPC)By lawUnlimited, or limited to one of 11 classes of commercial building work.
Contracts16 rules, tracked on each contract
  • Variation: builder signsBy lawOn each contractA variation starts with a written request and quote, signed by the builder.
  • RFI responseOn each contractAnswer a request for information within the time your contract sets, or a reasonable time where it's silent.
  • Practical completion certificateBy lawOn each contractThe certificate that the work is practically complete. It releases retention, starts the defects period and opens the way to the final claim.
  • Final documentation handoverBy lawOn each contractHand over the as-built drawings, warranties and manuals when the job finishes.
  • Building permit issuedBy lawOn each contractRecord the building permit for the work once it's issued.
  • Mandatory inspection at each stageBy lawOn each contractTell the building surveyor as soon as each inspection stage on the permit is reached: footings, reinforced concrete, frame, any other stage the permit names, and final.
  • Payment schedule responseBy lawOn each contractWhen a payment claim comes in, answer it with a payment schedule within 10 business days.
  • Payment madeBy lawOn each contractPay a claim within 10 business days of it, or within the contract's own payment term where it sets one, up to 20 business days.
  • Extension of time (EOT) noticeOn each contractGive notice of a delay within the period your contract sets.
  • Subcontractor compliance cascadeBy lawOn each contractBefore a subcontractor starts on the contract, check their licence or registration and their insurance are current.
  • Defects schedule & rectificationBy lawOn each contractList the defects at practical completion and fix them during the defects period your contract sets.
  • Dispute: conciliation before VCATBy lawOn each contractIf a dispute is raised, conciliation has to be tried before an application to VCAT.
  • Variation: client approvesBy lawOn each contractThe client approves the variation in writing, after the builder has signed it.
  • Statutory limitation (long-stop) trackerBy lawOn each contractA reminder, not a task: building claims can generally be brought for up to 10 years from the occupancy permit or certificate of final inspection.
  • Contract execution & classificationBy lawOn each contractBoth parties sign the contract and the kind of contract is recorded. Every later rule on the contract follows from that.
  • Builder registration & insurance verificationBy lawOn each contractWhen the contract is signed, check the builder's registration and insurance are current on the Building and Plumbing Commission's register.

Set up under Contract Admin → Projects

I have staff

If yes, add

Insurance

  • WorkCoverBy lawRequired once you pay more than $7,500 a year in wages, or employ any apprentice or trainee (WorkSafe Victoria). Register within 60 days.

Staff

  • Fair Work Information StatementBy lawChecked on each person's pageGive every new employee the Fair Work Information Statement before they start, or as soon as possible after (Fair Work Ombudsman).

Set up under Onboarding → Employees

I employ apprentices

If yes, add

Each apprentice's training contract, registration and yearly progress are tracked on their own page.

Set up under Onboarding → Employees, on the apprentice's page

I engage other trades on my jobs

If yes, add

Each trade you engage is checked against that trade's own list before they start: licence, registration and insurance.

Set up under Onboarding → Subcontractors

26 things at most, 22 of them required by law

These rules are a guide to what to hold, not legal advice. Check anything you're relying on with the regulator or your adviser.

Set it up for your own business

  1. Run the Checker as a builder. Tick Builder and say whether you contract directly with home owners, and whether you do commercial work that needs a permit. Those two answers decide your registration and which contract rules apply.
  2. Add what you hold. Enter your registration, public liability and WorkCover. Under Settings, enter your maximum construction capacity and net tangible assets.
  3. Add your trades. Add each subcontractor and send them their link. They upload their own licence and insurance; you check and accept each one.
  4. Add each project and its contract. Say what kind of work it is and who the client is. The contract then tracks its own deadlines: claims, variations, inspections, delays and handover.
  5. Put packages out to quote. On a project, add a work package for a trade and invite who you like. Their quotes come back with what they hold beside the price.

See it working in the demo

The builder demo is a made-up business, Kiln & Oak Homes, with Ravi as its owner. A registered domestic builder running a new home and an extension, with the trades on each job put out to quote.

  1. Open the builder tour at /tour/builder and choose Open the builder demo. There's no sign-up and no email.
  2. Dashboard. What needs Ravi this week: Notice of a delay on the new home is due in 2 days. WorkCover renews in 18. And further up the page, the plumber's renewed licence is waiting for Ravi to check it. Until he does, it doesn't count.
  3. Contract Admin → Contracts → New home, 22 Example St. Stage claims inside the limits: The new home is a $612,000 contract through all stages. The deposit was 5%, base 10%, frame 15%. Try to claim over the limit for a stage and the app says no. And the frame claim couldn't be logged until the frame inspection was recorded.
  4. Onboarding → Subcontractors → Priya. Who's cleared to be on site: Dev the electrician is in order. Priya isn't: her plumbing licence lapsed 5 days ago, so she shows as non-compliant on the new home until her renewal is checked. Hana the waterproofer has been asked, and hasn't sent a thing.
  5. Contract Admin → Projects → 22 Example St → Waterproofing. A trade out to quote: Waterproofing for the new home is out to two trades. One quote is in, at $11,800. Each bidder's licence and insurance sits right beside their price, so nobody picks the cheapest quote blind.
  6. Contract Admin → Contracts → Rear extension, 8 Sample Ct. Finishing properly: The extension is at practical completion. The certificate of final inspection is in, but the owner doesn't have their copy yet, and the final payment waits on that. The handover list shows what's gone over and what hasn't.

Everyone trying the demo shares the one business, and it's rebuilt every night, so don't enter anything private and expect anything you add to be gone by morning. No emails or messages are sent. To see another trade, use the links in the yellow bar at the top.

Good to know

  • In the Checker, say whether you contract directly with home owners for jobs over $10,000, and whether you do commercial work that needs a permit. Your registration only joins your list when you say yes to one of them.
  • On each domestic contract, say whether it builds a new home through all stages. The limit on each stage claim depends on that answer.
  • Record each inspection as it passes. The frame claim can't be logged until the frame inspection is recorded, and the final claim waits until the owner has the occupancy permit or certificate of final inspection.
  • A contract checks each trade's main licence and insurance, and only those. Extra tickets, like a plumber's gasfitting licence, are checked on the Subcontractors screen, so look there before gas work starts.
  • White Card is good practice on home jobs and mandatory on commercial sites. Extension of time notices and RFI responses are set by your contract, not by law, so the app counts them from the periods you enter.
  • A document a trade uploads doesn't count until you've checked and accepted it. Anything waiting shows on your dashboard under Waiting for you to check.