Quote, contract, invoice — three documents, three rules
People use the three words for the same piece of paper. The law does not.
| Document | Is it compulsory? | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Quote | No. No Australian law requires one, in writing or at all | An offer to do described work for a stated price. Becomes binding when you accept it |
| Contract | Yes, above a threshold in every state and territory except the ACT | Carries the licence number, the price, the payment stages and the statutory warranties |
| Receipt | Yes, over $75. Under $75 you may ask and it must arrive within 7 days | Proves what was paid, to whom, for what, and when |
| Itemised bill | Yes, on request. 7 days to provide, and you have 30 days to ask | Shows how the price was worked out — labour hours, rate, materials |
So the honest answer to “what must the quote include” is that the quote is where you have the most freedom to insist, and the least law behind you. The leverage arrives at the contract.
When a written contract stops being optional
Above the line in your state, a written contract is the law and its contents are prescribed. Below it, you are relying on the quote and on the Australian Consumer Law.
| Where | Written contract required | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | Over $5,000 including GST | Small job contract $5,000–$20,000; large job contract over $20,000, with five clear business days' cooling off |
| VIC | Over $10,000 | Called a major domestic building contract. Changes by 1 December 2026 |
| QLD | Over $3,300 | Level 1 to $19,999, level 2 from $20,000. Every contract over $3,300 must carry cooling-off advice |
| WA | Fixed cost $7,500 to $500,000 | Outside that band the Home Building Contracts Act does not apply |
| SA | $20,000 and over | Below that it is "minor domestic building work" and the Division does not reach it |
| TAS | $20,000 and over | Written, signed, and a copy to the owner. Minimum five business days' cooling off |
| ACT | Not required | Government's own words: no requirement in ACT legislation, but strongly recommended |
| NT | Over $25,000 on certain building classes | Called prescribed residential building work |
What a NSW contract has to contain
NSW spells its contracts out further than most, so it is the clearest worked example. A small job contract — $5,000 to $20,000 — must be dated, signed by both parties, and must contain:
- the parties' names, “including the name of the holder of the contractor licence as shown on the contractor licence”
- the contractor licence number
- a description of the work, and any plans or specifications
- the contract price, if known
- a quality of construction clause: that the work will comply with the Building Code of Australia and every other code or standard the work must meet by law
A large job contract — over $20,000 — adds the things worth having. Among them: the price “prominently displayed on the first page”; “a clear statement setting out the cooling-off period of five clear business days”; a 17-item checklist with a caution against signing if you cannot answer yes to all of it; a progress payment schedule tied to completed stages; and a note that the contractor must give you an insurance certificate under the Home Building Compensation Scheme.
Two more rules from the same page are worth carrying into any state. “All variations to the contract must be in writing and signed by both parties.” And the copy is yours: the contractor must hand it over “within five business days after you sign it”.
Source: NSW Government, Contracts for residential building work, read 3 September 2026.
The two documents you can demand on any job
These two apply to every trade job in the country, whatever it cost and whatever was signed.
A receipt, over $75
The ACCC: “Businesses must give consumers a receipt for anything that costs over $75.” Under $75 you can ask, and it must arrive within seven days. It has to show “the business's name, the business's ABN or ACN, the product or service, the date the product or service was supplied, the price of the product or service.”
The ABN on the receipt is worth reading. It should match the business that quoted you, and it should match the name on the licence.
An itemised bill, on request
This is the one almost nobody uses. “Consumers can request an itemised bill or account for a service. If a consumer asks for this, the business must provide it within 7 days.” You have “up to 30 days after receiving the original bill” to ask.
And it cannot be a one-line total. An itemised bill must show “how the price was worked out, the number of labour hours and hourly rate, if relevant, materials used and the amount charged for them, if relevant.”
That is the legal version of “how did you get to that figure” — and it works on a $400 service call with no contract in sight.
Source: ACCC, Receipts, bills, proof of purchase, read 3 September 2026.
A tax invoice is not a quote, and not always required
A tax invoice is a GST document, and only a business registered for GST issues one. The ATO's rule: “If a customer asks for a tax invoice, you must provide one within 28 days, unless it is for a sale of $82.50 (including GST) or less.”
It is not a substitute for a quote and it is not a substitute for an itemised bill — a tax invoice needs only a brief description of what was sold, not the working behind the price. The full list of what one carries is on tax invoice requirements in Australia.
Source: ATO, Tax invoices, read 3 September 2026.
What to insist on in the quote anyway
None of this is compulsory. All of it is cheap to ask for, and a tradesperson who runs a tidy business will have most of it already.
| On the quote | Why it earns its place |
|---|---|
| Licence number and the licensed name | The name on the register has to match the name on the paperwork, not just the person in your kitchen |
| ABN | Ties the quote, the receipt and the licence to one business |
| Scope, item by item | Removes the argument about what was included. This is where money goes missing |
| Named materials, brands and models | Stops a substitute arriving on the day |
| What is excluded | Rubbish removal, making good, painting after a repair, scaffolding |
| Whether GST is in the number | A price silent about GST is a price you cannot compare |
| Deposit and payment stages | Stages of work finished, never weeks elapsed |
| Start date and finish date | Without one, "a reasonable time" is the only standard you have |
| How long the quote holds | Material prices move. A quote with no expiry is a quote that quietly expires |
| What happens to variations | In writing, signed, before the work — which is the rule anyway above the contract threshold |
Quote or estimate — ask which one this is
A quote is a fixed offer for described work. An estimate is a considered guess, and it can move. The document rarely says which it is, and the word at the top is not decisive — what matters is what was agreed.
NSW puts the practical version well: get three, and give all three the same brief. “Provide at least 3 contractors with the same information so you can easily compare the quotes.” And the warning underneath it — “If you don't specify exactly what you want in the beginning, the quote may only include the cheapest products and materials.”
Where a figure genuinely cannot be fixed, the honest form is a named provisional or prime cost item, with the basis for the final number written down. NSW allows for exactly that: costs may change, but the contract should state how and why.
Source: NSW Government, Getting quotes for contractors, read 3 September 2026.
Victoria's rules change by December
The Domestic Building Contracts Amendment Act 2025 passed on 11 September 2025 and takes effect by 1 December 2026. One of its changes lands squarely on this page: Consumer Affairs Victoria says some basic document requirements currently apply only to major domestic building contracts and “will now apply to all domestic building contracts to reduce misunderstandings and disputes.”
Until then, its own note holds: “For now, the current laws remain the same.” If you are reading Victorian contract advice, check the date on it.
Source: Consumer Affairs Victoria, New domestic building contract laws passed in Victoria, read 3 September 2026.
General information for Australian home owners, not legal advice, and not an opinion on any particular quote or contract. Yamate is software; it does not vet, rank or recommend any tradesperson, and no regulator has reviewed this page. Every threshold and quoted line above was read at the Act, the regulation or the regulator's own page on 3 September 2026 and each section links to its source — contract law and thresholds change, so check the linked page before relying on a figure. Yamate sells software to tradespeople and lists them in this directory.