The quality of your new home comes down to a handful of people and how much time they actually spend on your site. Trades do the work, but the site supervisor decides whether that work is right before it gets covered up. Once the plasterboard is on or the slab is poured, a lot of mistakes become very expensive to fix, or simply invisible.

Here's what supervision and quality control should look like on a Queensland build, and how to tell whether you're getting it.

Who's responsible for what

  • The builder holds the QBCC licence and is responsible for the work complying with the contract, the approved plans, the National Construction Code (NCC) and Australian Standards.
  • The site supervisor runs the job day to day for the builder. QBCC has specific licence classes for supervisors, including site supervisor and nominee supervisor licences, so ask what licence your supervisor holds.
  • The building certifier approves the plans and signs off certain inspection stages. Their job is to check compliance at those stages, not to manage quality across the whole build.
  • The engineer designs the footings, slab and structure, and often inspects reinforcement before concrete is poured.

The rules sit in the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991, the Building Act 1975, the NCC, and the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) for site safety.

What a supervisor should actually do

On a well-run job, the supervisor:

  • Books trades in the right order and makes sure the previous stage is ready for them.
  • Checks set-out, levels and dimensions against the plans before work proceeds.
  • Inspects each stage before it gets covered up: footings, slab, frame, rough-in, waterproofing, linings.
  • Gets defects fixed by the trade responsible, before the next trade starts.
  • Coordinates the certifier's and engineer's inspections.
  • Keeps the site safe, tidy and properly fenced, with erosion controls in place.
  • Keeps records: photos, inspection reports, variations and decisions.
  • Keeps you informed, in writing, about progress, delays and changes.

The reality on many sites

Here's the bit the brochures leave out. On many volume builds, one supervisor can be running a lot of jobs at once, sometimes well into double figures. They might visit your site once or twice a week, often for a short stop between other jobs. In between, trades are largely checking their own work.

That doesn't mean your home will be poor. It means the system relies on good trades and on the supervisor catching problems at the right moments. If those moments get missed, defects can be built in and covered up.

Stage inspections versus quality control

In Queensland, the certifier must sign off mandatory inspection stages for a house: foundation and excavation, footings and slab before the concrete is poured, frame, and final. For some of these stages the certifier can rely on certificates from an engineer or other competent person.

These inspections check compliance at a point in time. They are not a full quality check of everything in your home. Things like waterproofing quality, tiling, paint, cabinetry, fixing and finishes are largely down to the builder's own quality control.

Good quality control looks like:

  • Written checklists for each stage, signed off by the supervisor.
  • Hold points, where work can't proceed until a stage is checked.
  • Photos of work before it's covered, especially plumbing, waterproofing, insulation and wall ties.
  • A defects list worked through before practical completion, not after.

Questions to ask your builder

Ask these before you sign, and again when construction starts:

  1. Who is my site supervisor, and what QBCC licence do they hold?
  2. How many jobs are they running at the moment?
  3. How often will they be on my site, and at which stages will they do a formal inspection?
  4. Do you use stage checklists, and can I see them?
  5. Can I attend the stage inspections, or at least get the reports and photos?
  6. How do I raise a concern, and how quickly will you respond?
  7. Can I bring an independent inspector at key stages, and how much notice do you need?

A builder who's confident in their process will answer these without fuss. Check your contract for how site access works, as you'll usually need to arrange visits with the builder.

Your role as the owner

You don't need to be a builder to spot many problems. You do need to know what to look for and when. Visit regularly with the builder's agreement, take photos at every stage, raise issues in writing and keep copies.

An independent building inspector at the key stages, typically pre-pour slab, frame, waterproofing and practical completion, is money well spent on most builds. They work for you, not the builder.

Our stage checklists take you through what to check at each point, from the slab to handover. You can find them all at constructor.net.au/checklists.