What the scheme covers, and up to how much
The Queensland Home Warranty Scheme is run by the QBCC. It pays a maximum of $200,000 each for three separate things, so one job can draw on more than one of them.
| What it pays for | Standard | With optional extra cover |
|---|---|---|
| Refunding a deposit if work never started, or finishing incomplete work and repairing any defects | $200,000 | $300,000 |
| Repairing fire, storm or tempest damage to incomplete work, where the incomplete-work claim is accepted | $200,000 | $300,000 |
| Fixing defects and subsidence in the work after the job is finished | $200,000 | $300,000 |
| Alternative accommodation, removal and storage — combined, and counted inside the figure above, not added to it | $5,000 | $10,000 |
The QBCC pursues the contractor to recover whatever it pays out. A claim is assessed by the QBCC, not paid on request.
Source: QBCC — Maximum amounts covered, read 2 September 2026.
How the cover gets to $300,000
Optional additional cover lifts the ceiling from $200,000 to $300,000. It is bought by the homeowner, not the builder, and only once the contractor has paid the standard premium.
The window is short. The QBCC will not accept an application made more than 30 business days after the contract was entered into, or after work has started — whichever comes first. There is no late option.
It is bought through the QBCC Portal link in the Notice of Cover, or on 139 333. The fee depends on the total value of the work.
Source: QBCC — Take out optional additional cover, read 2 September 2026.
Which Queensland jobs are covered
Cover is compulsory for residential construction work valued at more than $3,300, counting materials, labour and GST together. That is the whole job, not the labour line on the quote.
Building work in multiple dwellings over three storeys sits outside the scheme. The QBCC publishes an A–Z of what is and is not insurable work, and that list is the answer for any job near the edge.
Source: QBCC — What is home warranty insurance, read 2 September 2026.
Who pays for it, and when
The contractor pays the premium to the QBCC, having collected it from the homeowner as part of the contract price. It is due before work starts, or within 10 business days of signing — whichever is earlier.
Once the premium is paid, the QBCC issues a Notice of Cover. That document is worth reading the day it arrives: a wrong address, a wrong contract value or a wrong name is easier to amend then than at claim time.
Cover starts on whichever of these happens first: the premium is paid, the contract is signed with a licensed contractor, or work begins.
How to check the cover is actually there
The QBCC runs an insurance search on a property. It says whether cover is in force under the scheme, whether any claim has been made against the property, and what was paid.
- Free if you currently own the home.
- $54.84 per search for a prospective purchaser, as at 2 September 2026.
- Open to the registered owner, a manufactured home owner, a prospective purchaser, or an agent such as a solicitor.
Lodge one at the QBCC insurance search, or through the Insurance tab of the QBCC Portal. Source: QBCC — Insurance search on a property, read 2 September 2026.
Find a licensed tradie in QueenslandThe time limits — this is where cover gets lost
The cover runs for 6 years 6 months from the earliest of: the premium being paid, the contract being agreed, or work starting. That period can extend where the job takes longer than six months to finish.
Inside that window sit much shorter deadlines for actually claiming.
| Claim | The defect must appear | The claim must be lodged |
|---|---|---|
| Structural defect | Within 6 years 6 months after the cover commencement day | Within 3 months after the day you first become aware of it |
| Non-structural defect | Within 6 months after the day the work is substantially complete | Within 7 months after the day the work is substantially complete |
| Work not completed | Contract ends within 2 years of work starting, or 2 years of the contract where work never started | Within 3 months after the day the contract ends |
Two things fall out of that table. A non-structural claim is measured from completion, not from the day the problem showed up, so a fault noticed in month eight is already outside it. And a structural claim gives three months from the day you first knew — which is why the date something was first noticed is worth writing down.
Source: QBCC — Time limits for cover and claims, read 2 September 2026.
An insurance claim and a QBCC complaint are not the same thing
They run on different clocks. The insurance deadlines above are 3 months and 7 months. The deadlines for asking the QBCC to direct the contractor to come back and fix it are 12 months, measured differently again.
A complaint lodged in time to get a direction can be well outside the window for an insurance claim on the same defect. Both sets of dates are set out at where to take a building dispute in Queensland.
What the scheme does not do
- It is not a substitute for checking the licence before the job starts. The register is free and live at the QBCC.
- It does not cover work under $3,300, or multiple dwellings over three storeys.
- It does not pay on request. The QBCC assesses the claim, and where it pays, it goes after the contractor for the money.
- It does not replace the contract. The contract is still what says what was to be built, for how much, by when.
Before the next job
Two things cost nothing and both are done before signing: check the licence at the regulator yourself, and confirm the contract states the home warranty premium. If the premium is not in the contract, it is a question to ask before the deposit, not after.
General information about a Queensland government scheme, not legal advice, and not a statement of what will happen on any particular job. Every figure and deadline above was read at the QBCC's own pages on 2 September 2026 and each section links to the page it came from — scheme rules and fees change, so check the QBCC before relying on a date. Yamate is not the QBCC, is not an insurer, and has no role in a claim. Yamate sells software to tradespeople and lists them in this directory.