Queensland's licensing through the QBCC is stricter than most states on one thing: your finances. On top of qualifications and a home-warranty scheme, contractor licensees must continuously meet Minimum Financial Requirements — and failing them is a fast track to suspension. Here is the structure.
Licence categories
QBCC licences fall into classes, each with a qualification and experience bar:
- Builder — Low Rise / Medium Rise / Open / Restricted. Low Rise is around a Cert IV in Building and Construction plus a relevant trade qual; Medium Rise and Open need a Diploma/Advanced Diploma and a trade background, with supervisory experience across the scope.
- Trade contractor — plumbing, drainage, carpentry, painting, waterproofing, tiling and the like, around a relevant Cert III plus experience (commonly 2+ years post-qual, or 4+ years where you have no formal qual). A contractor-grade licence lets you contract with the public and must meet MFR; an occupational-grade cannot contract and is not subject to MFR.
- Fire protection — a newer framework with five fire-system streams, around a Cert III in Fire Protection.
- Pool safety inspector — issued under the Building Act 1975 (not the QBCC Act), so it is exempt from MFR.
(Electrical sits under the Electrical Safety Office — see Electrical, Plumbing, Gas & ARCtick Licensing.)
Minimum Financial Requirements (MFR) — the QLD difference
Contractor-grade licensees must continuously meet the MFR (the MFR Regulation 2018). The core tests:
- Net Tangible Assets (NTA) at or above the level for your category (a builder contractor needs NTA ≥ $46,000).
- Current ratio (current assets ÷ current liabilities) of at least 1:1.
- Maximum Revenue (MR) set by your NTA on a sliding scale — you can exceed it by up to 10% without prior approval; more than that needs a new MFR report.
The categories by Maximum Revenue:
| Category | Max Revenue | Min NTA |
|---|---|---|
| SC1 | ≤ $200,000 | $12,000 |
| SC2 | $200,000–800,000 | $46,000 |
| Cat 1–3 | $800,000–$30M | rises with MR |
| Cat 4–7 | > $30M | higher + tighter |
Annual reporting: contractor and builder grades lodge annual financials (SC1/SC2 lodge simple figures via myQBCC; Cat 1–3 add a balance sheet, aged debtors/creditors and cash flow). Note: from March 2025, individual SC1/SC2 licensees are exempt from annual reporting but must still maintain continuous MFR and remain subject to audit. Nominee supervisors and occupational licensees do not report.
Queensland Building Insurance (home warranty)
The QBCC home-warranty scheme (often Queensland Building Insurance, QBI) is compulsory for residential building work over $3,300. You collect the premium from the homeowner (or fund it for spec work) and pay the QBCC within the earlier of 10 business days of entering the contract or receiving the first payment. It covers non-completion and defects up to caps. Missing it brings fines, demerit points and possible suspension. (Detail: Home Warranty Insurance.)
How you lose a licence
Suspension and cancellation grounds include MFR non-compliance (insufficient NTA, poor current ratio, trading over MR), failing to lodge annual reports on time, not paying BIF-adjudicated amounts, large unpaid subbie/creditor debts, and serious or repeated defective work. The process cascades: for failure to lodge, the QBCC makes contact attempts, then imposes a "no new contracts" condition, then a show-cause, then suspension, then cancellation. For an MFR shortfall it is initially "educative" if you are responsive, escalating to a notice of intention to suspend (with ≥21 days to respond) and then cancellation. The practical lesson: treat your NTA and current ratio as licence conditions, not just accounting — and pay your subbies on time.
Common mistakes
- Treating MFR as a one-off at application instead of a continuous obligation.
- Trading more than 10% over your Maximum Revenue without a new MFR report.
- Missing the home-warranty premium deadline (the earlier of 10 business days).
- Carrying unpaid subbie debts — a separate disciplinary ground.
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