Your responsibility
When you build renovate, you must get public liability insurance. It protects you from serious financial loss if anyone is injured or killed, or has their property damaged, whilst on site.
This also applies if someone is injured when trespassing on your land before building work has started, or during construction.
You and your builder should discuss public liability insurance responsibilities before signing any contract for major building work on vacant land. Your insurer may note conditions on the policy and require a higher premium for the construction period.
You should take out public liability insurance on any block of land you intend to build on starting from the settlement date.
Your contractor’s responsibilities
Check that your contractor has met their insurance obligations in the contract. The contractor who is in charge of the site should have both:
- liability insurance
- construction insurance.
Construction insurance covers the site and materials against theft, vandalism, fire, storm etc. throughout the construction period until handover.
Queensland Home Warranty Scheme
Depending on the work being undertaken, your contractor may also need to take out home warranty insurance for your building or renovation project.
