Short answer
Check the licence first — builders need a licence for some work and not other work. Then check that the business is who it says it is: of the 4,960 Australian builders in this directory, only 11.4% publish an ABN you can confirm, and 5.2% list a phone number that contradicts the one on their own website.
Builders handle extensions, renovations, new builds, structural work and project management. This is what to check before you let one into your house, and what the evidence says about the trade as a whole.
Builders are licensed for some work and not others
Building work above a dollar threshold requires a licensed or registered builder, and the threshold differs by state. Domestic building insurance is usually mandatory above a second, higher threshold — that insurance is what protects you if the builder does not finish.
There is no national licence register in Australia — each state and territory runs its own. The regulator for your state is listed at the bottom of this guide, and checking a number takes about a minute.
What 4,960 Australian builders actually publish
We check every business in this directory the same way, and publish the result whether it flatters the trade or not. For builders:
| What we checked | Builders | All trades |
|---|---|---|
| Publish an ABN we could confirm | 11.4% | 12.9% |
| Listed phone matches their own website | 45.1% | 44.3% |
| Listed phone contradicts their own website | 5.2% | 5.5% |
| Website responded when we checked | 75.5% | 70.8% |
| Corroborated by two or more sources | 98.9% | 95% |
| Median number of Google reviews | 8 | 18 |
What goes wrong with builders
- Domestic building insurance not taken out, leaving you unprotected if the job stops
- A large deposit requested up front, above what the state allows
- The licence held by a company that is not the one on your contract
What to ask before the work starts
- What is your builder licence or registration number?
- Will this job be covered by domestic building insurance, and who is the insurer?
- What is the maximum deposit you can legally ask for in this state?
A builder who answers all three of those without hesitating is telling you something useful. One who is vague about a licence number is telling you something too.
The median matters more than the average
The median builder in this directory has 8 Google reviews. That is the number to hold in your head when you see a perfect five-star rating: five stars from four reviews and 4.6 from three hundred are not comparable, and the second is almost always the safer hire.
It is also why the ranking here weights review volume more heavily than review score. A business cannot buy its position, and a handful of glowing reviews does not move it far.
Where the builders are
Melbourne (254), Brisbane (217), Sydney (212), Perth (202), Gold Coast (129), Adelaide (118). A shortlist for your own area is more useful than a national ranking — the best builder in the country is no help if they are four states away.
Where to check a licence, by state
There is no national register. Search the licence number with the regulator for the state where the work is happening.
- NSWNSW Fair Tradingbuilders, electricians, plumbers and specialist trades
- VICVictorian Building Authority, and Energy Safe Victoria for electricalbuilding practitioners and plumbers; electricians are Energy Safe Victoria
- QLDQueensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC)building and most trade contractor licences
- WABuilding and Energybuilders, electricians, plumbers and gas fitters
- SAConsumer and Business Servicesbuilding work contractors and supervisors
- TASConsumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS)building and occupational licences
- ACTAccess Canberraconstruction occupations licensing
- NTNT Government building practitioner registrationbuilding practitioners and electrical workers
Common questions
- Do builders need a licence in Australia?
- Sometimes. Building work above a dollar threshold requires a licensed or registered builder, and the threshold differs by state. Domestic building insurance is usually mandatory above a second, higher threshold — that insurance is what protects you if the builder does not finish.
- How do I check a builder's licence?
- There is no national register. Each state and territory has its own regulator — NSW Fair Trading, the Victorian Building Authority and Energy Safe Victoria, QBCC in Queensland, Building and Energy in WA, Consumer and Business Services in SA, CBOS in Tasmania, Access Canberra in the ACT, and the NT Government. Search the licence number the business gives you on the regulator for the state the work is happening in.
- What percentage of Australian builders have a verifiable ABN?
- 11.4% of the 4,960 builders in this directory publish an ABN we could confirm against the national register, against 12.9% across all trades.
- How many reviews should a builder have?
- The median builder here has 8. Treat a five-star rating from a handful of reviews with more caution than a slightly lower rating from hundreds.
Compare builders near you
4,960 builders, ranked on the evidence described above rather than on advertising.
Read next
- How to check an Australian tradie's licenceThere is no national licence register in Australia. Here is the regulator for every state and territory, what each one c…
- What an ABN tells you about a tradie — and what it doesn'tAn ABN is free, public and takes a minute to check — and only 12.9% of 20,703 Australian trade businesses publish one. H…
- When a tradie's phone number doesn't match their own website1,139 Australian trade businesses list a phone number that contradicts the one on their own website. Sometimes it is a s…