Short answer
A licensed timber pest inspector, usually alongside a building inspector — and often the same business offering both, which is convenient and is worth checking is actually two properly qualified inspections rather than one person ticking two boxes. Ask for the report to be to the relevant Australian standard for timber pest inspections.
When it is someone else
Calling the wrong trade costs an attendance fee to be told so. These are the cases where this problem belongs to someone other than a Pest Controller.
always, as a separate report. A pest report tells you about insects and fungal decay; a building report tells you about the structure.
What to do before anyone arrives
- Book it as early in the cooling-off or due diligence period as you can. The inspection is fast; the negotiation that follows it is not.
- Ask the agent for access to the subfloor and the roof space, and confirm the inspector will be able to get into both.
- Ask the agent directly whether there has been a previous termite treatment, and for the documentation.
- Read a sample report from the inspector before booking. The difference between a useful report and a box-ticking one is visible immediately.
What to ask when you book
- Is the report to the Australian standard for timber pest inspections, and will it state the limitations?
- Will you inspect the subfloor, the roof void and the fence lines, and what happens if access is restricted?
- Do you use a moisture meter and thermal imaging, and are those included?
- Will you talk me through the report, or do I just get a document?
- What insurance do you carry?
What changes the price
No dollar figures here: this directory holds no price data and an invented range is worse than none. What follows is what makes one of these jobs cost more than the same job next door, which is the part you can actually use when comparing quotes.
- Property size and complexity.
- Whether it is combined with a building inspection.
- Thermal imaging, which is sometimes included and sometimes a separate charge.
- Turnaround time.
What you can do yourself
Is this licensed work?
Timber pest inspection requires a pest management licence with the timber pest endorsement in most states. Building inspection is a separate competency and in some states a separate licence.
There is no national register. Search the licence number with the regulator for the state the work is happening in.
- NSWNSW Fair Tradingbuilders, electricians, plumbers and specialist trades
- VICBuilding and Plumbing Commission, 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
Licensing thresholds and certificate requirements differ by state and change with amending regulation, so this page describes the mechanism rather than quoting a figure. The regulator’s own page is the current answer.
Common questions
- Who should I hire for a pre-purchase pest inspection
- A licensed timber pest inspector, usually alongside a building inspector — and often the same business offering both, which is convenient and is worth checking is actually two properly qualified inspections rather than one person ticking two boxes. Ask for the report to be to the relevant Australian standard for timber pest inspections.
- What does a pest inspection not cover?
- It is a visual, non-invasive inspection of accessible areas, and the report will say so. Anything behind a wall lining, under a floor covering, or in a subfloor or roof space the inspector could not physically enter is outside it. Those limitations are the most important part of the report to read and the part most people skip.
- Is a combined building and pest inspection enough?
- It is standard and generally fine, provided the person doing it holds both competencies or two people attend. The thing to check is that you receive two substantive reports rather than one document with a paragraph on termites.
Find a Pest Controller near you
1,396 pest controllers in this directory, ranked on published evidence rather than on advertising.
Who to hire for
- Who to hire for termites in the houseA licensed pest manager, and do not spray, disturb or break open anything you have found first. Termites aband…
- Who to hire for a floor that feels bouncyA builder or a carpenter who does subfloor work — and if the house is on stumps, a restumping contractor. The …
- Who to hire for birds nesting in the roofA pest controller who does bird proofing, and for a protected species, one who knows the state wildlife rules.…
- Who to hire for cockroaches in the kitchenA licensed pest manager. Identification matters more here than in most pest problems: small German cockroaches…
General information about who does what, not advice about your specific job. Licensing, consumer law and council rules differ by state and change; the regulator for your state is the current source. More guides to hiring a tradesperson.