Supervision and quality control

Your responsibility to supervise

It is the responsibility of  the licensed contractor to supervise and coordinate tradespeople working on site. They must:

• individual licensees must ensure any work they are contracted for is personally supervised by them, including any employees or sub-trade contractors under their licence.
• nominee or site supervisors must ensure an appropriately licensed person supervises the work.
• company licensees must ensure the work is personally supervised using a combination of QBCC nominee supervisors, site supervisors, occupationally licensed persons for occupational work and trade contractors who supervise work within their licence class.

All licensees should develop a supervision plan for each job that ensures the work:

• is supervised by appropriately licensed persons (personal supervision)
• that the appropriately licensed person is actively attending the site regularly and is present during important stages of the build process like the frame and slab stage (adequate supervision)
• that each contractor who works on site knows the contact details of the site supervisor. Most licensees now include these details on their site sign at the front of the building site. 

Supervising complex and large build projects

These types of projects generally require a number of appropriately licensed individuals to be based on-site on a full-time basis, actively supervising all stages of the build process, with all reporting back directly to the nominee or the construction manager with any issues from the build process.

Supervision as a construction manager

Your obligations as a construction manager are the same as a licensed contractor. You must ensure:

• any work carried out by licensed contractors for a principal (under construction management trade contracts) is supervised by an appropriately licensed person
• adequate supervision.

Certifiers and supervision

A certifier is not responsible for supervision. You and the property owner are responsible for ensuring the building work meets acceptable standards.

A certifier must act in the public interest regarding health and safety but can't supervise or report on the quality of work on an owner's behalf.

Read about the role and responsibilities of a certifier.

Limiting defective work with supervision

Costs to fix defective or substandard work can be high. In extreme cases, fixing poor quality work has forced licensed contractors to close their businesses or declare bankruptcy. The best way to ensure quality of work is to ensure adequate supervision.

Quality control

It is in a contractor's best interest to be diligent about quality control to ensure work is of a high standard and to minimise customer complaints.

You should:

• carry out regular on-site inspections with your client to ensure work meets acceptable standards
• include any particular requirements for quality and finish (e.g. type and number of coats of paints) in the contract.

A property owner can use a private building consultant to monitor their project if they would like a more technical person to inspect the work and raise any issues on their behalf.

What is adequate supervision

In the QBCC Act, adequate supervision means work is properly overseen to ensure that it meets the:

• plans and specifications of the work set out in the contract between the licensed contractor and client
• standard expected of a competent contractor of the appropriate licence class.

Adequate supervision does not necessarily mean that a supervisor must be on-site when every job is done.

The requirement depends on how complex the work is and the skills of the tradespeople involved. In some cases, a supervisor may not be watching over the work as it is happening. Still, it is critical that the supervisor checks the work to make sure it meets the requirements of the Building Code of Australia and any related Australian Standards, plans and specifications of the contract and achieves an appropriate level of quality.

At a minimum, the QBCC recommends inspections at these stages:

• when structural stages of construction are completed (footing, slab, frame and final)
• before the start of significant non-structural stages of construction (e.g. at pre-paint, before fixing stage, or before plasterboard or cladding is fixed)
• before handover to the consumer
• at other times as needed.