A certifier’s inspections are about compliance with the approval, the building rules and the Building Act, not about quality or your contract with the builder: the QBCC’s own example of what certifiers do not answer for is the quality of the paintwork. This guide is about the levers an owner has around those inspections, what happens when work does not comply, and who checks the certifier.
Paperwork and extra inspections
For any stage before the final one, an owner can ask the certifier for the inspection documents on a Form 35, and the certifier has 5 business days to provide them.
An owner can also ask for inspections beyond the standard stages on a Form 31, given to whoever engaged the certifier within 10 business days of being told of the engagement, and pays the reasonable costs.
Show cause, enforcement notice, appeal
Under the Building Act 1975, a private certifier (class A, in the Act’s words) may decide whether enforcement action should be taken over a building development approval that they, or another certifier with the same employer, granted. That power lasts until the final inspection certificate or certificate of occupancy is given; after that, the local government is the enforcement authority. If someone does not comply with a certifier’s enforcement notice, the certifier must tell the local government (section 48).
The Act sets the order for a local government’s notices, and section 48 applies the same enforcement-notice section to a private certifier (class A) acting on its own approvals.
1 · Show cause notice
Before an enforcement notice, the person must first be given a show cause notice, unless the matter is dangerous or minor (section 248).
It must be in writing, give the facts behind the proposal, and allow at least 20 business days for the person to make representations (section 247).
2 · Enforcement notice
A local government may give one to the owner of a building, structure or building work it reasonably believes is dangerous, dilapidated, unfit for use or occupation, or in one of the other conditions the section lists, and to a person who does not comply with a particular matter in the Act (section 248).
It may require, among other things, repairs, supports, fencing off, or an application for a development permit. Demolition or removal can be required only if repairing, securing, fencing off or cleaning the building is not possible and practical (section 249).
3 · Appeal
Anyone who receives an enforcement notice under section 248 can appeal against it to a development tribunal: within 5 business days if the notice is about a dangerous building or structure, and within 20 business days for any other notice (section 250).
Audits of certifiers
Officers of the QBCC’s Certification Unit may audit any licensed building certifier, under section 133 of the Building Act. The QBCC says certifiers can expect an audit at least once in every three-year period, and chooses them by risk, location, random selection and licence history, including whether the licence is new.
Assessment audit
A desktop review of the certifier’s files, meaning approval and inspection documents, and of their administrative procedures. No site visit.
Technical audit
An on-site inspection of building work under construction, relating to the certifier’s approval documents. It covers all classes of building.
At the end of an audit, the QBCC decides whether the certifier engaged in unsatisfactory conduct or professional misconduct, and gives the certifier an information notice with its reasons and their review rights.
| Measure | 2025–26 |
|---|---|
| Audits commenced | 46: 24 technical (on-site) and 22 assessment |
| Complaints about certifiers | 123 received; 125 finalised, including some lodged before 2025–26 |
| Outcomes from audits and complaints | 40 reprimands, 3 directions issued as enforcement action, no licence conditions imposed |
| Licensed building certifiers | 523, as at 30 June 2026 |
A complaint, from lodging to decision
A complaint is for unsatisfactory conduct or professional misconduct in a certifier’s certifying functions, and must come with evidence and reasons. The QBCC suggests evidence such as engineer’s reports, inspection certificates, approval documents and photographs. It looks at the certifying work itself, which typically does not include how a certifier communicates, such as not answering emails.
Submitted
You receive an email confirming the complaint, with a case number.
Preliminary assessment
The QBCC checks the complaint has been properly made. It cannot process a complaint against a certification company rather than an individual, one that covers several sites, or one not supported by a statutory declaration under section 190 of the Building Act.
Triage
The certifier is told what the complaint is about and given the supporting documents, as section 191 of the Building Act requires, and their response is assessed. A complaint dismissed before investigation gets a written explanation, and that dismissal is not a reviewable decision.
Investigation
The QBCC looks only at the certifier’s conduct. It gives no set timeframe, because that depends on how complex the complaint is.
Decision
Both parties, and the certifier’s employer or appointer where there is one, receive an information notice with the reasons and the review rights.
The QBCC cannot step into the contract between a certifier and the people who engaged them, and cannot order a refund of private certification fees. Pool barriers have their own inspectors in Queensland; see the guide to pool safety inspections.