Domestic building work contract or payment dispute | Queensland Building and Construction Commission
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It's not uncommon for parties to disagree about what is or is not included in the contract, or how much is owing. These types of disputes are sometimes referred to as 'contractual' matters, as they do not relate to the quality of work performed.

Contractual dispute vs defective work

View the examples below to clarify what is a contractual dispute versus what is a defective work issue.

Contract dispute

Roof tiles wrong colour

Defective work

Leaking roof

Contract dispute

Type of door installed is different to what was agreed

Defective work

Sticking door

Contract dispute

Disagreement about cost to change handrails from timber to steel

Defective work

Loose handrail

Contract dispute

Dispute about delays in finishing laying floor tiles

Defective work

Cracked floor tiles
If your complaint is about the quality of the work rather than a contractual matter, you can lodge a defective work complaint.

How we may help

We offer a dispute resolution service to help with contractual disputes while the contract is still active. Our service aims to facilitate an agreement between both parties.

We have no power to:

  • require someone to pay or refund monies
  • make decisions or give orders about your contract
  • force either party to comply with any agreement.

Eligibility for our help 

Our powers to help with contractual complaints are limited by strict eligibility criteria.

  1. We may be able to help you with your disagreement about contractual matters if you are a:

    • property owner—you are the owner of a property with an active contract for domestic building work
    • principal contractor—who has either:
      • a contract underway with a property owner for domestic building work
      • a subcontract underway with a subcontractor for domestic building work. 
  2. Your contract must still be active to get our help with contractual matters. 

  3. The contract must be for domestic building work. This includes things like:

    • building a house or duplex
    • renovating, altering, extending or repairing a home, which can include a residential apartment or unit
    • landscaping, paving, driveways, fencing, garages, carports, swimming pools and other associated works
    • supplying lighting, heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, water supply, sewerage and other services and facilities.

Apply for our help

You can lodge a complaint to apply for help with your contractual dispute.

  1. Check your contract terms for how you should deal with disputes. Make sure you have followed these closely to avoid breaching your contract and risking your ability to claim under the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme.

  2. Property owners

    You should speak to your principal contractor and clearly identify your concerns with them before you apply to use our service. Explain the items you believe are contractual (and defective or incomplete if this is also part of the problem).

    Give them reasonable access to the site to review and address your concerns.

    The QBCC considers reasonable access to be:

    • 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 has been given by the contractor. 


    Principal contractors

    Make sure you raise any concerns directly with the home owner or your subcontractor.

    If the disagreement is with a home owner, try to resolve the problem by listening to their concerns and attempt to reach an amicable solution. 

  1. Give the other party written notice of the disputed items by email or letter.

  2. You will need to provide a copy of:

    • the contract or subcontract agreement
    • your letter to the other party outlining the disputed items.
  3. We want to process your complaint quickly and you can help us by making sure you take the time to read all instructions. Entering the right dates and values is essential and helps us process your complaint quickly. 

    Be sure to let us know if you are concerned about any dangerous or unsafe items. 

    To apply online you can:

    • login or register for myQBCC 
    • navigate to the complaints and disputes tab 
    • scroll down to find the Residential and commercial construction complaint form
    • click on 'action' and choose 'start a new form'
    • complete form
    • upload digital copies of your supporting documents.

    Lodge complaint online

    Manual option

    You can choose to download and complete a manual form. You can find the manual form below in the related resources section.

    To lodge your application you need to provide us with:

    • the completed form
    • all supporting documentation.

    You can lodge the application:

What happens next?

Once you have lodged your complaint, we will review your case to see if and how we can help.

We will contact both parties to see if we can help facilitate a resolution.

Dispute resolution process

Our role is to try to facilitate an agreement between the parties involved in a dispute.

A QBCC Building Inspector will assess the complaint and contact both parties to discuss the complaint and obtain further information or documents if required. As the process is about facilitation, we ask you to be open and willing to reach an agreement.

If an agreement is reached the QBCC is not a party to the agreement and we do not formally document it. If the parties cannot agree, and if there is no dispute about the quality of work, we would not conduct an inspection.

At the end of the process, both parties will receive a letter from QBCC allowing them to apply to the QCAT if they wish to seek further help.

Example outcomes of contractual dispute scenarios

Below are some scenarios of different contractual disputes that demonstrate when the QBCC can help and possible outcomes from our involvement.

Scenario 1 – Home owner vs contractor

The tiler who Robyn hired to retile her bathroom failed to finish the job and now refuses to come back and complete the work.

Robyn is eligible to apply to use our dispute resolution service because all of the following apply:

  • she is the property owner
  • the work is domestic building work
  • the contract has not been completed.
What outcome can Robyn expect?

One of our Building Inspectors will review Robyn's submission and contact both Robyn and the tiler to try to facilitate an agreement. If this happens, the case will be finalised. The QBCC is not a party to the agreement, and we do not formally document it. Our role is to try to facilitate an agreement between the parties involved.

If both parties cannot agree, and as there is no issue with the quality of work, we would not conduct an inspection. At the end of the process, both parties will receive a letter from the QBCC allowing them to apply to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) if they want to commence a building dispute.

We will also encourage Robyn to get legal advice to see whether she should/can terminate her contract. Robyn may then get help through home warranty insurance.

Scenario 2 – Home owner vs contractor

Lee and Tio hired a contractor to install new flooring throughout the house. The contract allowed seven weeks to complete the job. Lee and Tio approved a variation to extend the contract time by an extra two weeks. It is now 12 weeks, and the work is still not finished, and they are losing money because of the delay as they can't move into the property until the work is finished.

Lee and Tio are eligible to apply to use our dispute resolution service because all of the following apply:

  • they are the property owners
  • the work is domestic building work
  • the contract has not been completed.
What outcome can Lee and Tio expect?

One of our Building Inspectors will review Lee and Tio's submission and contact them and their contractor to try to facilitate an agreement. If this happens, the case will be finalised. The QBCC is not a party to the agreement and we do not formally document it. Our role is to try to facilitate an agreement between the parties involved.

If both parties cannot agree, and as there is no issue with the quality of work, we would not conduct an inspection. At the end of the process, both parties will receive a letter from the QBCC allowing them to apply to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) if they want to commence a building dispute.

Scenario 3 – Home owner vs contractor

Chen is getting a new kitchen installed in his apartment and is unhappy with the colour of the new benchtops and does not believe the benchtops are the agreed colour.

Chen is eligible to use our dispute resolution service because both of the following apply:

  • he is the property owner
  • the contract has not been completed.
What outcome can Chen expect?

One of our Building Inspectors will review Chen's submission and contact both Chen and his contractor to try to facilitate an acceptable agreement. If this happens, the case will be finalised. The QBCC is not a party to the agreement and we do not formally document it. Our role is to try to facilitate an agreement between the parties involved.

If both parties cannot agree, and as there is no issue with the quality of work, we would not conduct an inspection. The case will be closed and both parties will receive a letter from QBCC allowing them to apply to QCAT if they want to commence a building dispute.

Scenario 4 – Commercial lessee vs contractor

Richard leases a commercial building for his restaurant. He is getting a new fit out to upgrade the kitchen and has received an invoice from the contractor for extra labour costs. Richard is disputing the payment as he did not receive a written variation request from the contractor before the work was done.

Richard is ineligible to apply to use our dispute resolution service because

  • he is not the property owner
  • the work is not domestic building work.

The case will be closed. Both Richard and the builder contractor will then receive a letter from QBCC allowing them to apply to QCAT if they want to commence a building dispute.

If he wants to apply to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) to resolve his dispute, QCAT will require him to apply to have his complaint assessed by the QBCC before they will accept an application to decide a building dispute.

Scenario 5 - Principal contractor vs home owner

Cameron was hired to build a deck. His client is disputing a variation regarding the type of decking to be used, as he believes the variation was not agreed prior to the work being done. 

Cameron is eligible to apply to use our dispute resolution service because all of the following apply:

  • he is the principal contractor
  • the work is domestic building work
  • the contract has not been completed. 
What outcome can Cameron expect? 

One of our Building Inspectors will review Cameron's submission and contact both Cameron and his client. We will not conduct an inspection as there are no allegations of defective work. 

We will call Cameron and his client to try to facilitate an acceptable agreement. If this happens, the case will be finalised. The QBCC is not a party to the agreement and we do not formally document it. Our role is to try to facilitate an agreement between the parties involved. 

If both parties cannot agree, and as there is no issue with the quality of work, we will not conduct an inspection. The case will be closed and both parties will receive a letter from QBCC allowing them to apply to QCAT if they want to commence a building dispute. 

Scenario 6 – Principal contractor vs subcontractor

Ramesh was hired to repair and repaint a residential driveway. Ramesh did the repairs himself and contracted the painting to a specialist painting company. Halfway through the job, the painters submitted a variation for extra cost to cover more paint. Ramesh does not agree with the variation, and the painters have stopped work.

Ramesh is eligible to apply to use our dispute resolution service because all of the following apply:

  • Ramesh is the principal contractor
  • the work is domestic building work
  • the contract has not been completed. 
What outcome can Ramesh expect?

One of our Building Inspectors will review Ramesh's submission and call both Ramesh and the painting contractor to try to facilitate an acceptable agreement. If this happens, the case will be finalised. The QBCC is not a party to the agreement and we do not formally document it.

If both parties cannot agree, as there is no issue with the quality of the work, we would not conduct an inspection. The case will be closed and both parties will receive a letter from the QBCC allowing them to apply to QCAT if they want to commence a building dispute. 

Ramesh may then wish to seek legal advice and/or apply to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) for further assistance.

Can QCAT help you?

The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) can make decisions about contract disputes.

If you have a contract dispute, the QCAT require you to still apply to resolve your dispute through the QBCC before they will accept an application to decide a building dispute. At the end of our process, we will issue you a letter so you can apply to the QCAT if you'd like their help.


Last reviewed: 24 Jan 2024 Last published: 24 Jan 2024
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