Every trade has someone who's been doing it the same way for 20 years and reckons they've learnt all there is to know. Sometimes they're brilliant. Sometimes they're 20 years out of date. As a homeowner, you want to know which one is building your house.

Complacency kills quality. The building rules, products and methods have changed a lot in the last few years, and a builder whose team isn't keeping up will build you yesterday's house to today's price.

Ask these questions before you sign

This is the useful bit, so it goes first. When you're comparing builders, ask:

  • Who will supervise my site? Get a name, and look up their licence on the QBCC licence search.
  • How many sites does that supervisor run at once? A supervisor spread across too many jobs can't check the work.
  • What training do your supervisors and trades do? Look for a real answer: manufacturer training, industry courses, toolbox talks on new rules.
  • How did you adapt to NCC 2022? Every builder should be able to explain what they changed for 7-star energy ratings, condensation and waterproofing.
  • Do you use inspection checklists or ITPs? Can you see the signed records for your slab, frame and waterproofing stages?
  • How do you handle defects? What's the process, and how quickly are they fixed?

A builder who takes quality seriously will have good answers and won't mind being asked. My C4 Asking the Right Questions checklist gives you the full set.

Why it matters: the rules keep changing

A few recent changes trades and supervisors have had to get across:

  • 7-star energy rating. NCC 2022 lifted the minimum for most new homes from 6 to 7 stars under NatHERS (in Queensland from 1 May 2024). That changes insulation, glazing, sealing and design details.
  • Whole of Home energy. For the first time, fixed appliances like air conditioning, hot water and pool pumps count towards the home's energy rating.
  • Condensation management. New requirements aim to stop moisture getting trapped in walls and roofs, including how exhaust fans discharge and what membranes go behind cladding and under the roof.
  • Livable housing design. Features such as a step-free entry path, wider doors and corridors, and reinforcement in bathroom walls for future grab rails.
  • Waterproofing. AS 3740:2021, the wet area waterproofing standard, came in through NCC 2022 with changes to falls, shower areas and set-downs.

A trade who learnt their craft 15 years ago and hasn't kept up can easily get any of these wrong. And many of them are covered up before you'd ever see them.

Don't rely on the certifier to catch it

Many homeowners assume the building certifier is watching the quality of their build. In Queensland, your private certifier must inspect at set stages, typically footings or slab, frame and final. But they check minimum compliance at those points only. They don't supervise the trades or check workmanship between inspections, and they won't teach anyone how to do their job better.

That leaves quality in the hands of your builder's supervisor and the trades themselves. It's why their training and systems matter so much.

What a learning builder looks like

You can usually tell from how they talk:

  • They mention specific changes and what they did about them, not just "we meet all the codes".
  • They use current product installation guides, not "the way we've always done it".
  • Their supervisors check work against a checklist, and can show you one.
  • They admit past mistakes and can tell you what they changed because of them.
  • They don't treat the cheapest price as the goal. Cheap often means corners, and corners mean defects.

The bottom line

Building codes set a minimum, and certifiers check that minimum at a handful of stages. Everything in between depends on people who keep learning. Pick a builder whose team does, and keep checking the work yourself at each stage.