Reference

Defects liability periods in Australia, state by state

Two clocks run after practical completion. The defects liability period is the contractual window, usually twelve months on a commercial job and thirteen weeks on a new home, in which the builder must come back for notified defects. The statutory warranty period is the longer, legislated window in which the owner can still hold the builder to the work, and it is different in every state. This page sets out both, with the source for each row.

RESIDENTIAL BUILDING WORK·VERIFIED AGAINST THE SOURCES LINKED · 4 OCTOBER 2026

The statutory clock

How long the owner can hold the builder to the work

These periods come from each state’s residential building legislation, not from the contract, and the contract cannot shorten them. They are for residential (domestic) work; commercial work relies on the contract and the general limitation period. Each row links to the regulator or the Act it was checked against.

State or territory	Statutory period for residential defects	Runs from	Legislation	First step	Source
Victoria	Action against the builder may be brought for up to 10 years from completion, on the implied warranties.	Completion of the work	Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 s 8 (warranties); Building Act 1993 (10-year limit)	Building and Plumbing Commission (dispute resolution, home warranty, rectification orders), then VCAT	Consumer Affairs Victoria
New South Wales	6 years for a major defect; 2 years for any other defect. A further 6 months if the loss becomes apparent in the last 6 months of the period.	Completion of the work	Home Building Act 1989 s 18E	Building Commission NSW (Fair Trading), then NCAT	NSW Government
Queensland	Non-structural: complain within 12 months of completion. Structural: complain within 12 months of noticing it; the QBCC can direct rectification up to 6 years 6 months from completion.	Completion of the work (structural: date noticed, within the 6 years 6 months)	Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991	QBCC complaint, then a direction to rectify	QBCC
Western Australia	A building service complaint about defective work within 6 years of completion (15 years for Typlex pipe failures).	Completion of the work	Building Services (Complaint Resolution and Administration) Act 2011	Building and Energy, then the State Administrative Tribunal	WA Government
South Australia	Proceedings for breach of a statutory warranty within 5 years of completion. The limit cannot be extended.	Completion of the work	Building Work Contractors Act 1995 s 32	Consumer and Business Services, then the Magistrates Court	Law Handbook SA
Tasmania	Proceedings for breach of a statutory warranty within 6 years of practical completion.	Practical completion	Residential Building Work Contracts and Dispute Resolution Act 2016 s 32	Consumer, Building and Occupational Services	Tasmanian legislation
Australian Capital Territory	6 years for a structural element (including external walls and weatherproofing); 2 years for a non-structural element.	The completion day	Building Act 2004; Building (General) Regulation 2008	Access Canberra	Master Builders ACT
Northern Territory	Apply within the effective period: 6 years for structural defects; 1 year for non-structural defects.	Completion of the work	Building Act 1993 (residential building dispute provisions)	NT Consumer Affairs (the Commissioner)	NT Consumer Affairs

Scroll sideways on a phone. “Completion” is defined by each Act and is not always the practical completion date in the contract; NSW, for instance, uses the earliest of several events. Where a period runs from the date a defect is noticed, the table says so.

Work it out

When does each clock run out on your job?

Enter the state and the practical completion date, pick the contractual period from the forms above, and the dates fall out of the table. Nothing is sent anywhere; it runs in the page.

State or territoryPractical completion dateContractual DLP

Pick a state and a practical completion date to see when the contractual period ends and when each statutory clock in the table above runs out.

The contractual clock

The defects liability period itself

The DLP is whatever the contract says, and the standard forms differ sharply between commercial and residential work. It is the window in which the builder is obliged to return, and in which part of the retention is usually held. When it ends, the statutory periods above are what remain.

AS 4000 and AS 4902 (commercial)

12 months is the common entry in the annexure; the parties can write a different period.

HIA new home contracts (residential)

Typically 13 weeks from practical completion, longer in some regions.

Master Builders residential contracts

Varies by state; the ACT contract carries a 90-day period.

Bespoke and developer contracts

Whatever the contract says, often 12 months, sometimes restarting for an item once it is rectified.

What it means for the record

Every one of these clocks is beaten by a dated notice

The periods above all turn on two dates: when the work was completed, and when the defect was notified. A builder who disputes a month-ten claim will argue about both. The record that settles it is a defect raised with a photo and its capture time, filed against the unit, issued to the builder on a date the system kept, with the builder’s response on the same thread.

In IssuesId the handover register keeps running after practical completion: owners report on a QR card, each item is typed Warranty or Maintenance, the builder stays the party it is issued to and gets the item by email with a no-login link, the owner’s side closes it, and the Post PC Issues report in the catalogue prints what arrived after completion, filtered to the window you choose.

Asked alongside

Questions about the periods

How long is the defects liability period in Australia?

It depends on the contract, because the DLP is contractual. The AS 4000 and AS 4902 commercial forms commonly carry twelve months; HIA new home contracts typically carry thirteen weeks, longer in some regions; Master Builders residential contracts vary by state. Separately, each state’s legislation gives the owner a longer statutory period to hold the builder to the work, from two years for minor defects in NSW and the ACT to ten years in Victoria.

What is the difference between the defects liability period and the statutory warranty period?

The defects liability period is the window the contract sets, in which the builder must return for notified defects and part of the retention is held. The statutory warranty period is set by the state’s residential building legislation, cannot be shortened by the contract, and runs for years after the DLP has ended. A defect found in month eighteen is outside most DLPs and inside every statutory period in the table.

When does the clock start?

From completion, in every state, but each Act defines completion in its own way and it is not always the practical completion date in the contract. NSW uses the earliest of several events, including handover and the occupation certificate. Queensland’s structural period runs from when the defect is noticed, inside an outer limit of six years and six months from completion. Record the completion date and keep the certificate.

Does the statutory warranty pass to the next owner?

In the states whose regulators say so on the pages linked in the table, yes: Consumer Affairs Victoria says the right transfers to a new owner if the property is sold within the period, and South Australia’s Act gives a purchaser the rights of the previous owner. Check your own state’s page in the table; the periods still run from the original completion, not from the sale.

About this page

General information about common usage and the legislation as published by the regulators linked, checked on 4 October 2026. It is not legal advice. Periods, thresholds and the definition of completion change; your contract and the current legislation in your state apply to your job. If a row is out of date, tell us and we will correct it. Related terms are defined in the glossary, the Victorian changes from July 2026, including home warranty claims and rectification orders, are set out on Victoria’s building reforms, and the opinion piece on running the period as a job is tracking DLP defects after the trades have gone.