QBCC licence and other fees are set by regulation and increase according to the Government Indexation Rate. For 2024-2025, the Government Indexation Rate is zero percent. Therefore there was no fee increase on 1 July 2024.
Four people are suspected of performing unlicensed work following a recent audit of 52 active building sites in Cairns by Queensland’s building regulator.
Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) officers checked the licences of almost 90 individuals as part of an ongoing campaign around the State to stamp out unlicensed, illegal and defective work.
QBCC Commissioner, Anissa Levy, says the three-day audit of Cairns residential building sites also detected another three individuals suspected of hiring an unlicensed worker.
“The three people suspected of performing unlicensed work and the builders suspected of engaging them are now subject to further investigations which could lead to fines or prosecution,” Commissioner Levy says.
“The QBCC has zero tolerance for these illegal activities and by proactively identifying and preventing unlawful activity we can help protect owners from financial risks or defective building work.
“Our compliance audits also ensure there is a level playing field for our licensees who are doing the right thing by obtaining qualifications and experience and providing the QBCC with evidence of their financial stability each year.”
Commissioner Levy says the QBCC’s audits are not just about detecting offences, as previous campaigns have revealed the majority of individuals working on building sites are licensed.
“When we find people doing the right thing, our officers can then shift their focus to engaging with licensees and home owners to raise awareness of topical issues, provide them with advice on their rights and responsibilities, and information about the role of the QBCC,” she says.
“Building strong relationships with industry members and home owners allows us to foster a culture of professionalism and compliance and helps ensure safer construction practices."
The QBCC urges all members of the public to only use licensed contractors for their building project, regardless of the size of the project.
The QBCC website provides free information to help home and property owners find a qualified, licensed local contractor.
Background
For the 2024 year to date, QBCC officers around the State have audited more than 170 sites and interviewed more than 300 contractors. These audits have detected 13 people suspected of performing unlicensed work and a further four individuals hiring an unlicensed worker.
In 2022-2023, the QBCC issued 313 individuals with fines for unlicensed contracting or unlicensed contracting-related offences, while 65 received warnings.
An individual or company caught working without a licence can be issued with a penalty infringement notice of up to $3,096 or prosecuted in court. Repeat offending can lead to imprisonment for up to a year.
An excluded individual is one of three people suspected of performing unlicensed work following an audit of 60 active building sites in Townsville by Queensland’s building regulator.
Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) officers checked the licences of almost 170 individuals as part of an ongoing campaign around the State to stamp out unlicensed, illegal and defective work.
QBCC Commissioner, Anissa Levy, says another individual was suspected of hiring an unlicensed worker and officers detected a further 22 offences relating to non-compliant signage during the recent three-day audit of residential building sites.
“The three people suspected of performing unlicensed work and the builder suspected of engaging an unlicensed worker are now subject to further investigations which could result in prosecution,” Commissioner Levy says.
“The QBCC has zero tolerance for these illegal activities and there are significant penalties for anyone caught acting unlawfully.
“One of the reasons we take a tough stance in proactively identifying and preventing unlawful activity is to help protect owners and workers from financial risks or defective building work.
“Our compliance audits also ensure there is a level playing field for our licensees who are doing the right thing by obtaining qualifications and experience and providing the QBCC with evidence of their financial stability each year.”
Commissioner Levy says the QBCC’s audits are not just about detecting offending behaviour, as previous campaigns reveal the majority of individuals working on building sites are compliant.
“As most people are doing the right thing, our officers visiting building sites can focus on engaging with licensees and home owners to raise awareness of topical issues, provide them with advice on their rights and responsibilities, and information about the role of the QBCC,” she says.
“Building strong relationships with the industry and home owners, allows us to foster a culture of professionalism and compliance and it helps ensure safer construction practices."
Background
An individual or company caught working without a licence can be issued with fines of up to $3,096 or prosecuted in court. Repeat offending can lead to imprisonment for up to a year.
Public licence register
The QBCC website provides free information to help home and property owners find a qualified, licensed local contractor.
Queensland’s building industry regulator has banned a Gold Coast accountant from providing Minimum Financial Requirements (MFR) financial reporting information on behalf of building industry licensees for three years.
The Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) has banned Kevin Fleiner of PJC Business Consulting from being a ‘Qualified Accountant’ for the purposes of MFR reporting.
Mr Fleiner is excluded from providing MFR Reports but can provide annual financial reporting services to building industry clients.
Queensland is the only jurisdiction in the nation where the building regulator requires licensees to submit annual financial reporting information.
The privacy and confidentiality requirements of the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 prohibit the QBCC from disclosing information that does not appear on a publicly available QBCC register.
Accountants excluded under the QBCC Act appear on the register of excluded accountants.
QBCC Commissioner, Anissa Levy, says financial reporting helps to provide reassurances about the financial wellbeing of a licensee, and an accountant’s role in preparing reports is an important one.
“Our strict financial reporting laws help protect industry members and home owners, so the QBCC carefully monitors information provided by accountants and takes exclusion action against accountants in appropriate cases,” Ms Levy says.
An accountant can be excluded by the QBCC if, within the previous three years, the accountant has:
The last time the QBCC excluded an accountant was in September 2020.
“We liaise regularly with accountants and their representative bodies to ensure they are aware of their responsibilities regarding MFR reporting and any other relevant legislation,” Ms Levy says
The QBCC provides regular educational newsletters to accountants and meets quarterly with leading accountancy organisations, the Institute of Public Accountants, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, and Certified Practising Accountants.
