Cooling-off period

Under section 35 of Schedule 1B of the QBCC Act, you generally have the right to withdraw from the contract during a cooling-off period of five (5) business days.  

The cooling-off period begins the day after you receive a signed copy of the entire contract (including any plans and specifications) and, for contracts valued at $20,000 or more, a copy of the QBCC Consumer Building Guide. If the contractor delays providing any of these documents to you it prolongs the period within which you can withdraw from the contract.

In order to withdraw from the contract during the cooling-off period, you must:

• give the contractor a written and signed withdrawal notice stating you are withdrawing from the contract under the cooling-off provisions in section 35 of Schedule 1B of the QBCC Act.
• pay certain costs to the contractor. Section 38 of Schedule 1B of the QBCC Act sets out the amount a contractor is entitled to receive from a home owner who withdraws under the cooling-off provisions. This is usually $100 plus ‘an amount equal to any out-of-pocket expenses reasonably incurred by the building contractor before the owner withdrew’.

You cannot withdraw during the cooling-off period if:  

• you and your contractor had a previous contract on substantially the same terms for substantially the same services and relating to the same site or home  
• before entering into the contract, you received formal legal advice about the contract from a practicing lawyer, or you told the contractor that you received such advice.

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