How do I check if a builder is licensed in Tasmania?

Search the CBOS licensed occupations register - the "find a licensed tradesperson" search run by Consumer, Building and Occupational Services - by name or business name. It shows current licence holders, the occupation and class held, and the status as at the date you check. Our check also matches the trading name to the company and ABN records and reports the licence detail on record.

How much deposit can a Tasmanian builder ask for?

In Tasmania the maximum deposit is 5% of the contract price under the Residential Building Work Contracts and Dispute Resolution Act 2016. A written contract is mandatory for residential building work, and other payments before work starts are restricted to amounts directly related to the progress of work at the site.

Is the Tasmanian builder licence register free to search?

Yes. The CBOS licensed occupations register is public and free, and you do not need the builder's permission to search it. It shows the licence as at the date you look, which is why the date you checked matters.

Who regulates builders in Tasmania?

Consumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS), within the Department of Justice, licenses building services providers in Tasmania. Residential building disputes go first to compulsory CBOS mediation under the 2016 Act and then, if unresolved, to the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (TASCAT) in its Civil and Consumer Stream.

What does the CBOS register not show?

The register records the licence as it stands, not the quality of a builder's work, and it does not by itself connect the licence to the company taking your deposit, the directors behind it, or matters on other registers. That connective work is what the full report and an analyst check add.

How do I check a builder's insurance in TAS?

Tasmania has no mandatory home warranty or builders' insurance scheme in force, so there is no insurance certificate to verify. The old scheme was repealed and the 2023 Home Warranty Insurance provisions have not commenced. Instead, confirm the builder's licence by name on the Consumer, Building and Occupational Services register, rely on the statutory warranties in the building legislation, and note that a government financial assistance package can help eligible owners after a builder insolvency.

Tasmania builder check

Check a builder in Tasmania before you sign.

See what the public registers hold for a Tasmanian builder in about 60 seconds, then decide whether to sign, dig deeper, or walk away.

Building work in Tasmania is state law, and Tasmania is the one state with no compulsory home warranty insurance behind it. This page explains how a Tasmanian builder is licensed, where their record lives, why the contract and deposit rules matter more here, and what our free check reads for you against the public registers.

Example sources checked in the Property Assurance Standard

ASIC
ABR
ACCC

Agency and register names identify the public sources of data only; no affiliation or endorsement is implied or exists.

In short, as at 17 Jul 2026

In Tasmania, significant residential building work must be carried out by a licensed builder, and the licence sits on the public CBOS licensed occupations register that anyone can search. Tasmania is the only Australian state with no compulsory home warranty insurance scheme, so a builder's own solvency and record carry more weight, and a written contract with the deposit capped at 5% is mandatory. You can check the company, licence details and external administration signals for a Tasmanian builder for free before you sign.

How do you check a builder is licensed in Tasmania?

To check a builder in Tasmania, search the CBOS licensed occupations register - the "find a licensed tradesperson" search run by Consumer, Building and Occupational Services - by name or business name. It shows current licence holders, the licensed occupation and class they hold, and the status of that licence as at the day you look. Significant residential building work must be carried out by a licensed builder, so confirm the register on the CBOS site rather than taking a quote at face value.

CBOS sits within the Tasmanian Department of Justice and licenses building services providers - not only builders, but designers, engineers, building surveyors and more. The principle is that any building practitioner who takes responsibility for part of the building process must be licensed. The register is free and public, and you do not need the builder's permission to search it.

The single most useful thing the register shows you is the name a licence is actually held under. A licence held by one entity does not cover work you contract through a different trading name or a related company. Match the exact name and licence on the register to the name that will sit on your building contract and take your deposit.

Do builders in Tasmania need home warranty insurance before you sign?

No. Tasmania has no compulsory home warranty insurance scheme - it is the only Australian state without one. Tasmania abolished its compulsory home warranty (housing indemnity) insurance scheme in 2008 and has been the only state without a compulsory scheme since. A replacement scheme has been legislated, the Residential Building (Home Warranty Insurance Amendments) Act 2023, but its operative provisions commence on a day to be proclaimed and, as at 2026-07-16, it has not yet commenced, so it is not yet operational.

In place of an insurance scheme, CBOS administers a Financial Assistance Package for consumers affected by construction company failures. It is designed to help where a construction business fails, covering situations such as loss of a deposit, work left non-complete, and defects. It is a government safety net rather than a policy each builder must carry, so it works differently from the mainland home warranty schemes.

The practical consequence for a buyer is that the builder's own solvency and record carry more weight in Tasmania than they do in states with a compulsory scheme behind every job. Where another state has a certificate of insurance to fall back on, in Tasmania the check that matters is who the licensed entity is, whether it is current, and whether the company taking your deposit shows external administration signals. That is exactly what you can read before the deposit leaves your account.

What do Tasmania's contract and deposit rules require?

In Tasmania, a written contract is mandatory for residential building work and the maximum deposit is 5% of the contract price, under the Residential Building Work Contracts and Dispute Resolution Act 2016. Other payments before work starts are restricted to amounts directly related to the progress of work at the site, so a large up-front sum outside that 5% cap sits outside the rules.

The 5% cap is a low deposit ceiling by national standards, and with no compulsory home warranty insurance sitting behind the job, it is one of the main statutory protections a Tasmanian buyer holds. The contract should name the licensed entity, carry its licence detail, and reflect the deposit and progress-payment limits the 2016 Act sets. A request for a much larger deposit on a standard home build is worth pausing on before you sign.

Where do building disputes go in Tasmania?

In Tasmania, a residential building dispute goes first to compulsory CBOS mediation under the Residential Building Work Contracts and Dispute Resolution Act 2016, and then, if it does not settle, to the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (TASCAT) in its Civil and Consumer Stream. CBOS mediation is a required first step, and a mediation panel must cease if there is no settlement within 20 days, after which the matter can move to TASCAT.

TASCAT hears these disputes under the 2016 Act and can make binding, enforceable orders. Its jurisdiction here is limited to that Act - it does not extend to disputes with draftspersons, engineers, architects, building surveyors or subcontractors. Knowing the path in advance changes how you read a builder before you sign: a builder whose licensed entity differs from the one on the quote is harder to pursue later, so the point of checking first is to decide while you still hold the deposit.

Who signs off building work in Tasmania - the surveyor or the council?

In Tasmania, building work is assessed by a licensed building surveyor for compliance, while each council has a designated Permit Authority that issues the permit - the two roles are separate. Under the Building Act 2016, building work falls into one of three categories set by that Act, and the surveyor who assesses compliance is a private practitioner, not a council officer.

This split matters when you read who is standing behind a job. A private building surveyor certifies that work meets the standard, and the council's Permit Authority is the body that grants the permit. Confirming that the right permit pathway applies to your work, and that a licensed surveyor is engaged, is part of matching a builder's promises to the framework the Building Act 2016 actually sets.

What are Tasmania's owner-builder rules?

In Tasmania, an owner-builder permit is issued by CBOS, and the threshold is $5,000 - the lowest in Australia. To get a permit you must complete an approved Tasmanian owner-builder course within the last 12 months and hold a construction-induction "white card", and only two owner-builder Class 1a projects are permitted in any 10-year period.

The low threshold means far more Tasmanian work falls inside the owner-builder regime than in other states, so it is worth confirming whether a job is being run under a builder's licence or an owner-builder permit. The two carry different obligations, and knowing which applies tells you what record exists to check.

Checking their insurance in Tasmania

In Tasmania there is no mandatory home warranty or builders' insurance scheme in force, so there is no insurance certificate to verify. The 1990s scheme was repealed and the Home Warranty Insurance provisions passed in 2023 have not commenced. What protects a Tasmanian owner instead is the statutory warranties in the building legislation and a government financial assistance package for owners hit by a builder's insolvency.

Because no cover is compulsory, the honest position is that a builder in Tasmania is not required to hold home warranty insurance, and any claim of cover is a document to sight rather than assume. The statutory warranties require building work to be done properly, with due care, and to comply with the plans and the law, and they run for a set period after the work is completed. Those warranties are enforced through the tribunal, not through an insurer.

For a builder insolvency, the Consumer, Building and Occupational Services financial assistance package can help eligible owners with part of their loss, broadly up to twenty per cent of the contract price capped at $200,000 for insolvencies from mid-2021, plus limited deposit protection. It is assistance, not insurance, and it has its own eligibility rules. The practical check in Tasmania is to confirm the builder's licence by name on the CBOS register and rely on the written contract and the statutory warranties.

Where to verify: CBOS licensed occupations register Tasmania has no mandatory insurance scheme in force; confirm the builder's licence by name and rely on the statutory warranties.

What does a Property Assurance check cover in Tasmania?

A free Property Assurance check reads the public registers for the builder you name and reports what they hold, sourced and dated. Company identity and external administration signals come from national records, so they are part of the instant check everywhere. Whether the TAS builder licence itself is read in the instant pass or checked by an analyst depends on the state.

How each check is run for a Tasmania builder, as at 17 Jul 2026.
Check	How it is run	What it reads
Company and business identity	Instant check	The instant check matches the trading name to the company and ABN records held on the national ASIC company register and the Australian Business Register.
External administration signals	Instant check	The instant check reports the count of external administration or strike-off signals on record in the national ASIC company dataset. Counts only, sourced and dated.
TAS builder licence on the register	Analyst check	The Consumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS) register is not yet part of the instant automated pass. Our analyst team checks it by hand for the full report, and you can search it yourself on the CBOS licensed occupations register.

Where a check is marked analyst check, it is not yet part of the instant automated pass. If the builder does not fully match automatically, leave the name with us and an analyst runs the Consumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS) register and the wider checks by hand for the full report. You can also search the register yourself on the CBOS licensed occupations register.

What are the builder licence classes in Tasmania?

Tasmania issues building licences in classes, and the class sets what work the holder is authorised to do. Matching the class to the work in your quote is part of reading a licence properly, not just confirming one exists.

Common Tasmanian building licence categories and what each permits.
Licence or registration	What it authorises
Builder (General Construction) - Low Rise	Authorises general construction building work at the Low Rise scope, broadly aligned to a Certificate IV qualification. The General Construction class also has a Domestic sub-class, and for a standard house build or renovation a Builder (General Construction, Domestic or Low Rise) licence is the relevant class.
Builder - Medium Rise	Authorises building work at the Medium Rise scope, broadly aligned to a Diploma-level qualification, covering a wider range of work than the Low Rise class.
Builder - Open	Authorises building work at the Open scope, broadly aligned to an Advanced Diploma or degree qualification, the widest of the builder classes.
Building Designer	A separate licensed category that prepares building design and documentation. A Building Designer is licensed to design, not to carry out the building work itself.

What does our own TAS data hold?

Tasmania builder records are not yet in our automated register index, so we do not publish a count here rather than imply coverage we do not hold. When you run a check for a Tasmania builder, our analyst team reads the Consumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS) register and the national company records by hand and reports what they find, sourced and dated.

What is worth checking before you sign in Tasmania?

Before you sign a building contract or pay a deposit in Tasmania, a short list of checks reconciles the sales material with the public record. None of these characterise a builder. They confirm the paperwork matches the entity.

The name on the CBOS licence matches the company and ABN that will sign your contract and take the deposit.
With no compulsory home warranty insurance in Tasmania, the builder's own solvency and record carry more weight, so the licensed entity is current and the company shows no external administration signals.
The deposit asked for is within the 5% cap set by the Residential Building Work Contracts and Dispute Resolution Act 2016, with any other pre-start payment tied to progress at the site.
The licence class on the register actually authorises the work you are quoting - a Builder (General Construction, Domestic or Low Rise) licence for a standard house build or renovation, not just building work in general.
The trading name in the sales material resolves to a real, current licensed entity on the CBOS register, not a related name with no licence of its own.

Questions about checking a builder in Tasmania

How do I check if a builder is licensed in Tasmania?: Search the CBOS licensed occupations register - the "find a licensed tradesperson" search run by Consumer, Building and Occupational Services - by name or business name. It shows current licence holders, the occupation and class held, and the status as at the date you check. Our check also matches the trading name to the company and ABN records and reports the licence detail on record.
Do builders in Tasmania need home warranty insurance?: No. Tasmania is the only Australian state with no compulsory home warranty insurance scheme, having abolished its compulsory scheme in 2008. A replacement scheme has been legislated (the Residential Building (Home Warranty Insurance Amendments) Act 2023) but, as at 2026-07-16, it has not yet commenced. In its place, CBOS administers a Financial Assistance Package for consumers affected by construction company failures.
How much deposit can a Tasmanian builder ask for?: In Tasmania the maximum deposit is 5% of the contract price under the Residential Building Work Contracts and Dispute Resolution Act 2016. A written contract is mandatory for residential building work, and other payments before work starts are restricted to amounts directly related to the progress of work at the site.
Is the Tasmanian builder licence register free to search?: Yes. The CBOS licensed occupations register is public and free, and you do not need the builder's permission to search it. It shows the licence as at the date you look, which is why the date you checked matters.
Who regulates builders in Tasmania?: Consumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS), within the Department of Justice, licenses building services providers in Tasmania. Residential building disputes go first to compulsory CBOS mediation under the 2016 Act and then, if unresolved, to the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (TASCAT) in its Civil and Consumer Stream.
What happens if my Tasmanian builder fails part-way through the job?: Because Tasmania has no compulsory home warranty insurance, there is no per-job insurance certificate to fall back on. CBOS instead administers a Financial Assistance Package for consumers affected by construction company failures, covering situations such as loss of a deposit, non-completion and defects. This is why the builder's solvency and record are worth checking before the deposit leaves your account.
What are the owner-builder rules in Tasmania?: An owner-builder permit is issued by CBOS, and the threshold is $5,000, the lowest in Australia. You must complete an approved Tasmanian owner-builder course within the last 12 months and hold a construction-induction white card, and only two owner-builder Class 1a projects are permitted in any 10-year period.
What does the CBOS register not show?: The register records the licence as it stands, not the quality of a builder's work, and it does not by itself connect the licence to the company taking your deposit, the directors behind it, or matters on other registers. That connective work is what the full report and an analyst check add.
How do I check a builder's insurance in TAS?: Tasmania has no mandatory home warranty or builders' insurance scheme in force, so there is no insurance certificate to verify. The old scheme was repealed and the 2023 Home Warranty Insurance provisions have not commenced. Instead, confirm the builder's licence by name on the Consumer, Building and Occupational Services register, rely on the statutory warranties in the building legislation, and note that a government financial assistance package can help eligible owners after a builder insolvency.

14,722 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.

Sources

The regulatory facts on this page were read from primary government sources and last reviewed on 17 Jul 2026. Registers and rules change, so confirm any figure on the source before you rely on it.

CBOS - find a licensed tradesperson (as at 16 Jul 2026)
CBOS - builder licence (as at 16 Jul 2026)
CBOS - warranties and consumer guarantees (as at 16 Jul 2026)
CBOS - Financial Assistance Package for consumers affected by construction failures (as at 16 Jul 2026)
Residential Building Work Contracts and Dispute Resolution Act 2016 (Tas) (as at 16 Jul 2026)
CBOS - owner builder permit (as at 16 Jul 2026)
TASCAT - Civil and Consumer Stream (as at 16 Jul 2026)
Building Act 2016 (Tas) (as at 16 Jul 2026)

Property Assurance is an independent Australian information service. It is not a government body, insurer or credit provider, and it does not rate, rank or score any builder. It reports what the public registers hold, with the source and the date, so you can draw your own conclusion before you sign.