53%
With serious defects
NSW strata buildings surveyed in 2023 with serious defects in common property.
NSW Office of the Building Commissioner, cited by NSW Productivity and Equality CommissionThe free builder background check
Do not sign a building contract blind.
Run a free 60 second background check on your builder, so you can sign with confidence or walk away in time.
We investigate the company, licence, directors, insolvency indicators, payment signals, disputes, insurance position and review footprint behind the builder you are considering.
"We used this process before choosing our own builder. The check came back clean, and it gave us the confidence to move forward."
This is how people lose life savings.
2,600+
Construction insolvencies
Construction companies reported insolvent in the 12 months to March 2025.
ASIC statistics reported by News.com.au1,700+
Customers affected
Homes in progress and signed contracts affected when the major builder collapsed.
Grant Thornton statement reported by Guardian Australia14,722 Australian companies entered external administration in the 2024 to 2025 financial year, the highest annual number on record.Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Corporate Insolvency Update (issue 37)
Reads the public registers directly. Sources named and dated.
Everywhere we check
One report reads every public register that matters. Here is what each one tells you, and why it matters before you commit.
ABRThe business on your quote actually exists, its ABN is active and GST-registered - so your contract names a real, current entity. Source: ABR.- ASICThe company's standing and its directors' history, including companies they ran that failed - so you know who you are really dealing with. Source: ASIC.
Verify NSW / QBCCThe licence is current, in the right class for your job, and what conditions sit on it - so the person quoting is allowed to do the work. Source: Verify NSW / QBCC.- icare HBCFWhether they are eligible for the home building insurance your contract may require - so you are not uninsured mid-build. Source: icare HBCF.
- Courts & TribunalsPublished disputes with other homeowners - so you see the record before you become part of it. Source: Courts & tribunals.
ACCCPublic warnings and enforcement actions - so you know if a regulator has already acted. Source: ACCC.
Agency and register names identify the public sources of data only; no affiliation or endorsement is implied or exists.
The moment that matters
The check belongs before the contract and deposit, not after the uncomfortable phone call.
Most people only start investigating once something feels wrong: delays, excuses, payment pressure or silence from the builder. By then, the contract may already be signed and the deposit may already be committed.
The Free Initial Builder Check exists to move that first question forward, before the decision becomes expensive to reverse.
- 01Quote Shortlisted
The builder looks promising and the price is in front of you.
- 02Free Initial Builder Check
Start matching the business behind the quote before money moves.
- 03Contract And Deposit
This is the point where the decision becomes much harder to unwind.
- 04Build Begins
By now, delays and disputes can become expensive to solve.
The free initial check
Before you sign the contract or pay the deposit, start with the builder behind the paperwork.
The first step is not a long form or a payment page. It is a quick builder search that begins matching the business, licence and entity details behind the quote.
Search the builder you are considering.
Start with a builder name, trading name, company name or ABN. The first job is to identify the right business behind the quote.
We begin matching the entity behind the contract.
The initial check starts the company, licence and identity matching process so you are not relying only on the name in the sales material.
You know whether to sign, dig deeper, or walk away.
The initial check gives you a cleaner starting point before you decide what needs to be reviewed before signing or paying the deposit.
The hidden problem
A registered builder can still have problems that put your build, deposit and contract at stake.
A licence may show they are allowed to perform certain work. It does not show whether the company behind the quote is under financial pressure, whether directors have failed companies behind them, whether disputes are already on record, whether suppliers have gone unpaid, or whether the entity taking your money is the entity you thought you were hiring.
Builder due diligence starts where the quote, the sales meeting and the review profile stop.
Above The Line
QuoteReviewsDisplay homeLicence number
What is usually visible before you sign
Below The Line
Entity control
- Trading name
- ABN / ACN
- Licence holder
People behind it
- Directors
- Related companies
- Prior failures
Commercial pressure
- Insolvency notices
- Payment signals
- Disputes
Project cover
- Insurance position
- Licence conditions
- Review footprint
The pre-contract confidence gap
The usual builder checks can make you feel comfortable without answering the commercial questions.
Before signing, most homeowners look at quality signals: finished homes, reviews, licence details, quotes and referrals. Those inputs matter. The gap is that a building contract is also a commercial decision about the company taking your money.
What creates comfort
01The completed homes look strong.02The reviews sound reassuring.03The licence number checks out.04The quote looks competitive.05Someone you know recommended them.What still needs to be answered
PAThat helps you judge workmanship. It does not confirm the current company, director, licence, payment or dispute position behind the new contract.PAReviews can help, but they rarely connect the trading name to company history, officeholders, unpaid creditor signals or formal matters on record.PAA licence may confirm permission to perform certain work. It still needs to be connected to the entity taking the deposit.PAA sharp price does not explain the trading entity, insurance position, supplier payment signals or how much pressure may be sitting behind the quote.PAA referral is valuable context. It is not the same as checking the company, licence holder, directors, payment signals, disputes and insurance position.Questions before money changes hands
The questions people ask before the deposit leaves the account.
Straight answers
- Where does the data come from?
- Public registers only, including ASIC, the ABR, Verify NSW, QBCC, icare, NCAT and the ACCC. Every result names the register it came from and the date we checked it, so you can trace each fact yourself.
- Is this legal?
- Yes. We read public registers that anyone is entitled to search, and we cite the source and date for every fact we report.
- What if you find nothing?
- If a builder does not match automatically, leave the name with us and one of our analysts runs a free manual trace within 24 hours.
- What happens to my details?
- We use your phone and email to send your results. We only contact you about related help if you tick the optional box, and every message we send identifies us and offers a way to opt out.
- Do you score builders?
- No. We never rate, rank or score anyone. We report what the public registers say, with the source and the date, and you draw your own conclusions.
What the check answers
- Are they the legal entity you think you are signing with?
- We match the builder name, company, ABN, ACN, business names and licence holder.
- Is the licence valid, relevant and connected to the entity?
- We check status, class, conditions and whether the licence aligns with the quoted work.
- Who is behind the company?
- We review directors, officeholders, related entities and past company associations.
- Have the people behind it been connected to failed companies before?
- We look for prior deregistrations, external administrations and associated company history.
- Are there signs the business may be operating under financial pressure?
- We check insolvency notices, payment signals, bureau indicators, defaults and tax debt signals where available.
- If they collapse, are you actually covered?
- We check insurance eligibility and cover indicators relevant to the build.
- Are there disputes already on the record?
- We search court, tribunal and regulator sources for matters that may affect your decision.
- What do past customers say outside the sales process?
- We review ratings, reviews, complaints and public mentions against the actual entity.
The report
The answers are prepared into a builder due-diligence report.
The report shows what was checked, what was found, where it came from and when it was reviewed. It is built to help you understand the builder before you commit to the contract.
PROPERTY ASSURANCE
INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION REPORT · 27-POINT CHECK · HUMAN-REVIEWED
Findings Summary
SECTION OUTCOMES
SUBJECT OF VERIFICATION
Example Constructions Pty Ltd
ABN 00 000 000 000 · ACN 000 000 000 · LIC 000000C
NSW
LICENSING
Current - Building Contractor
detail p.3
COMPANY & DIRECTORS
Registered · 12 yrs 4 mos
detail p.4-5
INSURANCE ELIGIBILITY
Confirmed - HBCF
detail p.6
COURTS & TRIBUNALS
1 matter listed
detail p.7-8
REGULATORY ACTIONS
None recorded
detail p.9
INSOLVENCY NOTICES
None located
detail p.10
KEY FACTS
ABN STATUS
Active from 12 Mar 2014 · GST registered
ABR · checked 22 Jul 2026
LICENCE CLASSES & CONDITIONS
Building · Structural landscaping - 1 condition, p.3
Verify NSW · checked 22 Jul 2026
TRIBUNAL MATTER (LISTED)
NCAT home building division · filed Feb 2026 · p.7
NCAT · checked 22 Jul 2026
Prepared reportFindings, source notes and review date in one document.
If everything looks clear
A clean check still has a job to do.
Property Assurance is not built to make every builder look like a problem. A clear result can be valuable because it shows the builder has been checked through a defined process before you commit.
The outcome you want is not fear. It is knowing what has been checked before you sign the contract or pay the deposit.
The method
the Property Assurance Standard
27 checks across Australian public registers. Human-reviewed. Every fact sourced and dated. Never scored.
This is not a review badge or a score. It is a defined standard for checking the builder behind a construction decision before you commit.
Property Assurance Standard27-point builder evidence protocol
Identity, authority, people, pressure, disputes, cover and review footprint, prepared into one human-reviewed report.
Identify
Match the builder, trading names, company numbers and the party named on the paperwork.
Connect
Connect the licence, entity, officeholders and related business history before the deposit is paid.
Investigate
Review insolvency notices, disputes, payment signals, insurance position and external footprint.
Evidence
Prepare findings with dated source notes so the report is traceable and decision-ready.
Company identityLicence positionDirector associationsCommercial signalsDispute footprintInsurance indicators
Who it is for
When to run the check.
The best time to investigate a builder is before the contract is signed and before the deposit is paid. You can still run a check later, but every stage you delay can increase the amount already committed.
- 01
Research
Too early for detailUse this stage to create a shortlist. A full due-diligence report is most useful once you have a real builder name or quote.
- 02
Shortlist
Good time to startRun the Free Initial Builder Check when a builder looks likely and you want to identify the business behind the sales material.
- 03
Quote
Best windowThis is the strongest time to complete the Property Assurance Standard Check before the contract and deposit decision.
- 04
Contract / deposit
Do it before thisOnce signatures and money move, the decision can become harder, slower and more expensive to unwind.
- 05
Construction
Later than idealA check may still help explain concerns, but more of your money and timeline may already be committed.
Built for construction decisions
A clearer way to decide before the contract is signed.
Property Assurance does not sell rankings or review badges. We investigate the business, connect the source material, review the evidence and prepare the findings so homeowners can make a clearer decision before committing to a builder.
Not a popularity scoreNot a builder directoryNot a sales recommendationIndependent builder due diligence prepared for the decision in front of you.
Before the deposit leaves your account, identify the builder behind the contract.
Search the builder name, company or ABN and start with a Free Initial Builder Check.