Start with the free government check
Two governments let you check this yourself, for nothing, without asking the tradesperson.
| Where | What you can check |
|---|---|
| NSW | HBC Check. NSW's own instruction: “Check that a certificate of cover is valid by contacting the insurance company shown on the certificate or by using HBC Check.” |
| QLD | Insurance search by property. QBCC: “If you own a home or are about to buy a new home, you can check to see if the property has insurance through the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme.” It shows whether cover is in force, whether a claim has been made, and any amount paid on it. |
The Queensland search has one honest limit worth knowing before you read anything into a blank result: policies expire, and QBCC warns a search may find nothing where the work “was completed more than 6 and a half years ago”. No result on an old job means the policy has run out, not that there never was one.
Sources: NSW Government, Contracts for residential building work and HBC Check; QBCC, Insurance search for a property. All read 3 September 2026.
What a certificate of currency actually is
It is a one-page statement from the insurer saying a named policy was in force on a named day. It is not the policy, and it is not a promise about what would be paid.
South Australia is the clearest place to see what one has to carry, because the form is set in law. Its statutory building indemnity insurance certificate must show:
- the certificate number
- the name of the insurer
- the name of the building owner
- a brief description of the work
- the address of the premises where the work is to be carried out
- the name of the building work contractor
- the licence number of the building work contractor
- the signature of an employee or agent of the insurer
A general public liability or contract works certificate carries the same shape plus two things the statutory form does not need: the period of cover, with a start and an end date, and the limit of indemnity, which is the most the policy will pay.
Source: Building Work Contractors Regulations 2026 (SA), version 1.9.2026, Schedule 2 Form 2, made under Building Work Contractors Act 1995 (SA) s34. Read 3 September 2026.
Five things to check on the certificate
A screenshot proves nothing and a PDF proves very little. These five take a couple of minutes and catch nearly everything.
| Check | What goes wrong if you skip it |
|---|---|
| 1. The insured name matches who is quoting you | Cover in a related company's name, or in the individual's name where the company holds the contract, is cover for somebody else |
| 2. The ABN matches the quote and the licence | Three documents, three entities, and no cover joining them up |
| 3. The dates cover your work dates | A certificate is a snapshot. A policy that lapses mid-job was current the day it was emailed |
| 4. The work described matches your job | Statutory cover names the property and the work. A certificate for another address is not yours |
| 5. The insurer confirms it | This is the only step that is actually a check. NSW says it in its own words: contact the insurance company shown on the certificate |
When cover is compulsory, by state
These are the statutory schemes that pay out if the builder dies, disappears or becomes insolvent. They are separate from public liability, and separate again from workers compensation.
| Where | The scheme | Compulsory above |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | Home Building Compensation Scheme | $20,000 — and the certificate must be given to you |
| VIC | Domestic building insurance | $16,000 — a current certificate covering the project's address |
| QLD | Queensland Home Warranty Scheme | $3,300 — the lowest threshold in the country |
| WA | Home indemnity insurance | $20,000 — in the owner's name, before any payment |
| SA | Building indemnity insurance | $20,000 — policy in force and a certificate provided |
| ACT | Residential building work insurance, or a fidelity fund certificate | $12,000 on some residential buildings |
| TAS | Not verified. No statutory scheme was found on CBOS's own consumer building pages — ask CBOS rather than assume either way | |
| NT | Not verified. The NT Consumer Affairs site could not be read on 3 September 2026 — ask NT Consumer Affairs | |
South Australia's minimum sum insured moved recently and by a lot. For a policy entered into on or after 10 November 2025, the insurer's liability for building work or non-completion on a single dwelling must be fixed at “not less than $250,000”. Before that date the floor was $80,000. If you are reading an older SA certificate, that is why the number looks small.
The rule most people miss: cover comes before the deposit
On work above the threshold, the certificate is not a document you chase afterwards. It is a precondition to being asked for money at all.
NSW: “it is illegal for the contractor to ask for a deposit or other payment under the contract unless the insurance has been taken out, and a certificate of cover is given to you.”
WA: “Builders must take out the insurance policy out in the owner's name before accepting any payment (including a deposit) or commencing work.”
SA: the Act requires both limbs — a complying policy in force, and that “the building owner has been provided with a certificate that evidences the taking out of that policy”.
QLD works differently and it is worth knowing why. The contractor “must collect the premium from you and pay it to us on your behalf”, before work starts or within ten business days of signing, whichever is earlier. Then “Once the premium is paid the QBCC will issue a notice of cover.” So in Queensland the document you are waiting for comes from the regulator, not from the builder — and if it never arrives, that is the thing to ask about.
Sources: Building Commission NSW, Questions to ask before hiring a tradesperson or builder; Building and Energy (WA), Information and obligations for registered building services providers; QBCC, Who pays the premium. All read 3 September 2026.
What the Queensland scheme actually coversThe other policies, and what each one is for
Building Commission NSW lists what may be required on a residential job: Home Building Compensation Fund insurance, builders all-risk, public liability, workers compensation, kit homes cover and contracts insurance. Its own verb is “may be required”, and that is the right one — which policies bind depends on the work, the state and the licence.
| Policy | What it is for, in the regulator's words | Who it protects |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory home warranty | Pays out where the builder dies, disappears or becomes insolvent | You |
| Public liability | “covers the builder or tradesperson if anyone is injured” | Them, and anyone hurt — including you |
| Contract works | “covers the loss or damage to materials and work” | The job itself, before it is finished |
| Workers compensation | “covers employees who are injured on the building site” | Their workers |
| Professional indemnity | For “certifiers, architects, engineers and building consultants” | You, against bad advice or design |
One question is worth asking on any job with more than one person on it: who else will be on site, and are they employees or subcontractors? The answer decides which policy would respond if somebody is hurt in your yard, and it is a question a well-run business answers immediately. We could not verify a primary-source rule on whether a sole trader is covered by their own workers compensation policy, so ask rather than assume.
Source: NSW Government, Insurance requirements for contractors working on your home, read 3 September 2026.
The one-minute version
- Ask in writing: “Which policies do you hold for this job, and can you email me the certificates of currency?”
- Read the names and the dates — insured entity, ABN, period of cover, the address of the work.
- Ring the insurer on a number you found yourself, and quote the certificate number.
- In NSW or Queensland, run the free government search as well.
- Do not pay a deposit on work above your state's threshold until the certificate or notice of cover is in your hands.
And check the licence in the same sitting — the insured name and the licensed name have to be the same business. Every state's register is here.
General information for Australian home owners, not legal or insurance advice, and not an opinion on any policy or certificate. Yamate is software; it does not vet, rank or recommend any tradesperson, does not check anybody's insurance, and no regulator or insurer has reviewed this page. Every threshold and quoted line was read at the Act, the regulation or the scheme's own page on 3 September 2026 and each section links to its source; two rows in the table above could not be verified and say so. Schemes and thresholds change — check the linked page before relying on a figure. Yamate sells software to tradespeople and lists them in this directory.