Where to take a dispute (QLD)

The four steps, and the clock on each

Step 1 — written notice to the contractor

The QBCC cannot accept a complaint unless the contractor has received written notice first. Its own words: “we cannot accept a complaint unless the other party has received the written notice.”

The notice lists every defective or unfinished item and gives a period to put it right — the QBCC's example is 14 days. Keeping the notice, the contract and the dates is what the complaint form asks for next.

Source: QBCC — Lodge a defective work complaint, read 2 September 2026.

Step 2 — the two 12-month limits, and the trap in them

Both limits are twelve months. They are counted from different days, and that difference is the whole thing.

The QBCC's own power runs longer than either. In its words: “We only have: 6 years and 6 months from when the building work was completed to issue the contractor with a direction to rectify.” So a structural defect that appears in year five can still be directed — but only if the complaint goes in within twelve months of it being noticed, and only if the six years and six months has not run out.

A non-structural defect works the other way. The clock started at completion whether or not anybody saw the problem, so month thirteen is too late no matter when it appeared.

Source: QBCC — Help with defective work, read 2 September 2026.

What counts as structural

The QBCC treats faulty or unsatisfactory work as structural where it does any of four things:

• adversely affects the structural performance of a building
• adversely affects the health or safety of persons residing in or occupying a building
• adversely affects the functional use of a building
• allows water penetration into a building

Non-structural work is work that fails to meet a reasonable standard of construction or finish expected of a competent holder of a contractor's licence, or that has caused a settling-in period defect in a new building.

Water getting in is on the structural side of that list, which surprises people. Source: QBCC — What is defective work, read 2 September 2026.

What the QBCC does with a complaint

1. A Resolution Services officer reads the complaint and contacts both parties.
2. If items are still in dispute, both sides meet on site. The QBCC defines reasonable access as “a time agreed to by you and the contractor, during normal working hours, for full consecutive days if required, providing a minimum of 48 hours' notice.”
3. If that does not settle it, a QBCC building inspector attends. The inspection is visual only — the QBCC does not undertake invasive investigation to find the cause of an alleged defect.
4. Where defective work is found, the QBCC issues a Direction to Rectify.

Source: QBCC — Resolution process for defective work, read 2 September 2026.

Step 3 — the Direction to Rectify, and its 35 days

A Direction to Rectify is the QBCC telling the contractor to fix the defective work. In most cases the rectification period is 35 days. It can go to the principal contractor and to any relevant licensed subcontractor.

Each direction is recorded on the licensee's public record as complied or not complied, which is part of what the licence search shows a future customer. Ignoring one can bring demerit points, fines to $3,454, court penalties to $43,175 for an individual and $215,875 for a company, QCAT disciplinary action, or conditions, suspension and cancellation of the licence.

The homeowner's part is access: the contractor has to be able to get in and do the work.

Source: QBCC — Direction to rectify, read 2 September 2026.

Step 4 — QCAT, and why it will not hear you first

QCAT decides building disputes, but not as a first stop. Parties must go through the QBCC's dispute resolution process first, and the application has to arrive with the QBCC's letter about it. QCAT's own warning is blunt: without that letter it “may result in QCAT refusing your application at the time of lodgement or dismissing your application.”

On money, the two kinds of dispute differ:

• Domestic building disputes — no monetary claim limit.
• Commercial building disputes — up to $50,000, or above that only where both parties consent in writing and the consent is filed with the application.

Domestic building work covers building a new detached dwelling including a duplex, and renovating, extending, altering, improving or repairing a home, duplex or unit.

Source: QCAT — Domestic and commercial building disputes, read 2 September 2026.

If the contractor has gone under

A Direction to Rectify is worth nothing against a business that no longer exists, which is where the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme comes in instead. It covers residential work over $3,300 up to $200,000 per category, or $300,000 where optional additional cover was bought in time — with its own, shorter deadlines. See am I covered if the builder goes bust (QLD).

Where to start

Everything above runs through two bodies and no one else. The QBCC takes the complaint and issues directions, on 139 333 or through its complaint form. QCAT decides the dispute afterwards. Neither charges for the advice line, and neither needs a lawyer to start.

General information about a Queensland process, not legal advice, and not an opinion on anybody's dispute. Nothing here says whether a particular defect is defective work, who is at fault, or what any reader ought to do — those are questions for the QBCC, QCAT, or a lawyer. Every deadline above was read at the QBCC's and QCAT's own pages on 2 September 2026 and each section links to the page it came from; rules and fees change, so check before relying on a date. Yamate sells software to tradespeople and lists them in this directory.