Guidance on When Domestic Building Contracts Are Needed

Latest update 28/09/2025 | Last update 03/08/2023 | First published 25/04/2021

This guidance was provided to TradeBox Australia by Aitchison Reid Building and Construction Lawyers. Liability limited by a scheme approved under professional standards legislation. Read more about Aitchison Reid.

Domestic building contracts must be used for all domestic building work over $3,300 (including materials, labour and GST), in Queensland. This means that if you want to use your TradeBox contract for domestic building you must use the TradeBox Domestic Building Contract. The maximum fine for not using a domestic building contract is high. So it’s a costly mistake if you get it wrong. The definition of domestic building, which stretches over the governing Act and Regulations is complicated.

So, we’ve come up with a simplified version.

You are probably doing domestic building work, if you are:

• doing building work to a residential dwelling or property;

• contracting with the owner or the owner’s agent (including a body corporate or real estate agent); and

• the work is more than $3,300 (including materials, labour and GST).