Deciding what to buy

Building a new home: contracts, insurance and payments by state

Builder's insurance, deposit limits, progress payments and defect cover when you build a new home in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia.

The rules, state by state

Each state sets its own rules for building contracts and builder's insurance. The table gives the headline rule at each step for a typical new home; the sections below and the official pages give the detail and the exceptions. Each cell links to the government page it comes from.

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Victoria in full, including the payment-stage percentages and the reforms due by 1 December 2026: building a new home in Victoria.

A house-and-land package is still two contracts

A package is sold as one product, but Victorian and South Australian government guidance both describe it as more than one contract.

• Consumer Affairs Victoria says house and land packages generally involve at least two contracts, one to buy the land and one to build the house. Building can only start when the plan of subdivision is registered; you can cancel the land contract if the subdivision is not registered within 18 months of signing (or by a date in the contract), and your building obligations should not start until registration. The builder must obtain a soil report and foundation data, and you should not have to pay extra later for work the builder should have foreseen from it. (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 22 Oct 2026)
• The SA Government's HomeSeeker SA says house-and-land packages normally have a 2-part contract, one for the land and one for the house, each typically with its own deposit, and that a buyer may only have to pay stamp duty on the price of the land, not the value of the house. Approvals can take anywhere from two weeks to 12 months, the final price can rise through variations, and it suggests a contingency of at least 5 to 10 percent of the budget. (SA Housing Authority (HomeSeeker SA), verified 22 Oct 2026)

Insurance before money

In each state below, the insurance, or the certificate for it, comes before a step the state names: a payment, the deposit or the start of work.

• For eligible Victorian projects the registered builder must pay the Home Warranty premium before the earlier of 10 business days after the building contract is signed or the work starting; not doing so is an offence. Once the Building and Plumbing Commission accepts the premium it issues a Notice of Cover to the building owner. A homeowner may still be protected even if the builder does not pay the premium. (Building and Plumbing Commission (Victoria), verified 22 Oct 2026)
• The NSW Government says not to make payments until home building compensation cover is in place, that a builder can only seek a deposit of at most 10% of the total contract price before work starts, and that consumers should only make authorised progress payments. A payment for plans before signing is generally not covered by home building compensation cover. (NSW Government (Building Commission NSW), verified 22 Oct 2026)
• In WA, residential building work valued over $20,000 needs home indemnity insurance. It covers completion of the work up to $200,000 (or the contract value if lower) and loss of a deposit up to $40,000, for six years from practical completion, and comes into effect only if the builder dies, disappears or becomes insolvent (or, for a company, ceases to exist or becomes insolvent). The builder must give the owner the certificate before starting work or asking for a deposit; it protects later owners. (Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety (WA), verified 22 Oct 2026)
• In SA, domestic building work that needs approval and costs $20,000 or more must be covered by building indemnity insurance, which the builder arranges and pays for. It applies if the builder dies, disappears or becomes insolvent, and defective-work claims can usually be made up to 5 years from completion. Building work cannot start until the owner and the council have a copy of the certificate. The SA.GOV.AU page states no cover limit. (Government of South Australia, verified 22 Oct 2026)

Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory

These three are not in the table. What Delora's sources say about each:

• In the ACT, building work on houses and apartment buildings of three storeys and below must be covered by residential building work insurance, from an authorised insurer or an approved fidelity fund scheme. From 1 January 2025 the minimum insurance amount increased from $85,000 to $200,000 and the claim time limit from 90 days to 180 days; the time limit starts when the homeowner becomes aware that the builder has become insolvent, died or disappeared. The insurance covers the current owner and future owners. (ACT Government (City and Environment Directorate, Planning), verified 22 Oct 2026)
• In the Northern Territory, owners of new homes (including duplexes and units in complexes up to 3 storeys, plus extensions or renovations to those buildings) must have residential building cover protecting against defective or incomplete work, under the Building Act 1993 -- obtained via a fidelity fund certificate. (Northern Territory Government, verified 12 Aug 2026)
• In August 2024 the Tasmanian Government announced the reintroduction of a mandatory, last-resort Home Warranty Insurance Scheme for residential building contracts over $20,000, expected to take effect in mid-2025. (Premier of Tasmania, verified 22 Oct 2026)

Delora could not find a current official page confirming that Tasmania's scheme has started. Ask Building Standards Tasmania, or the builder's insurer, before you sign.

Practical checklist

Before you sign a building contract, in any state

• Use the rules for the state where the home is being built
• Check the builder's licence or registration on the state register
• Get the insurance certificate or notice of cover before you pay a deposit
• Compare the deposit and each progress payment with the limits for your state
• Have a building lawyer read the contract, including any land contract in a package

Questions for a professional

• Which state's building contract rules apply, and is this contract within them?
• Is the builder's insurance in place for this job, and what does it cover?
• Is the deposit within the legal limit, and does each progress payment follow completed work?
• In a house-and-land package, what happens to the building contract if the land is delayed?

Official resources

• Building and Plumbing Commission: Home Warranty
• NSW Government: contracts for residential building work
• QBCC: what is home warranty insurance?
• WA Government: home indemnity insurance (information sheet)
• SA.GOV.AU: building indemnity insurance

Sources and methodology

• Home Warranty | Building and Plumbing Commission — Building and Plumbing Commission (Victoria) (retrieved 22 Oct 2026). Licence: CC BY 4.0
• Domestic Building Insurance and Home Warranty | Building and Plumbing Commission — Building and Plumbing Commission (Victoria) (retrieved 22 Oct 2026). Licence: CC BY 4.0
• Time limits and amounts for Home Warranty | Building and Plumbing Commission — Building and Plumbing Commission (Victoria) (retrieved 22 Oct 2026). Licence: CC BY 4.0
• Deposits and payments for building work | Consumer Affairs Victoria — Consumer Affairs Victoria (retrieved 22 Oct 2026). Licence: CC BY 4.0
• New domestic building contract laws passed in Victoria | Consumer Affairs Victoria — Consumer Affairs Victoria (retrieved 22 Oct 2026). Licence: CC BY 4.0
• Find a practitioner — Building and Plumbing Commission (Victorian Building Authority) (retrieved 29 Jul 2026, last checked 7 Aug 2026). Reuse terms: see the publisher's site
• Home building compensation for homeowners | SIRA — State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) NSW (retrieved 22 Oct 2026). Licence: NSW Government content, reproduced for research/citation purposes
• Contracts for residential building work | NSW Government — NSW Government (NSW Fair Trading) (retrieved 22 Oct 2026). Licence: NSW Government content, reproduced for research/citation purposes
• Verify NSW — Property and real estate agents — NSW Government (NSW Fair Trading) (retrieved 15 Aug 2026, last checked 18 Aug 2026). Reuse terms: see the publisher's site
• What is home warranty insurance? | QBCC — Queensland Building and Construction Commission (retrieved 22 Oct 2026). Licence: Government content, reproduced for research/citation purposes
• Understanding deposits and progress payments | QBCC — Queensland Building and Construction Commission (retrieved 22 Oct 2026). Licence: Government content, reproduced for research/citation purposes
• Find a licensed contractor — Queensland Building and Construction Commission (retrieved 12 Aug 2026). Licence: Government content, reproduced for research/citation purposes
• Home indemnity insurance (information sheet) | WA Government — Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety (WA) (retrieved 22 Oct 2026). Reuse terms: see the publisher's site
• Home Building Contracts Act (factsheet) | WA Government — Building and Energy (WA) (retrieved 22 Oct 2026). Reuse terms: see the publisher's site
• Hiring tradespeople — Consumer Protection WA (Government of Western Australia) (retrieved 12 Aug 2026). Licence: Government content, reproduced for research/citation purposes
• Building indemnity insurance | SA.GOV.AU — Government of South Australia (retrieved 22 Oct 2026). Licence: Government content, reproduced for research/citation purposes
• Building indemnity insurance | PlanSA — PlanSA (Government of South Australia) (retrieved 22 Oct 2026). Licence: CC BY 3.0 AU
• Greater protection for home builders | Consumer and Business Services — Consumer and Business Services (SA) (retrieved 22 Oct 2026). Licence: CC BY 4.0
• SA.GOV.AU - Choosing a builder — Government of South Australia (Attorney-General's Department) (retrieved 12 Aug 2026). Licence: Government content, reproduced for research/citation purposes
• Building a home with a large building company - checklist | Consumer Affairs Victoria — Consumer Affairs Victoria (retrieved 22 Oct 2026). Licence: CC BY 4.0
• Buying a house-and-land package | HomeSeeker SA — SA Housing Authority (HomeSeeker SA) (retrieved 22 Oct 2026). Licence: Government content, reproduced for research/citation purposes
• Home Warranty premium and Notice of Cover | Building and Plumbing Commission — Building and Plumbing Commission (Victoria) (retrieved 22 Oct 2026). Licence: CC BY 4.0
• Protecting yourself in case of builder insolvency | NSW Government — NSW Government (Building Commission NSW) (retrieved 22 Oct 2026). Licence: NSW Government content, reproduced for research/citation purposes
• Residential building work insurance | ACT Planning — ACT Government (City and Environment Directorate, Planning) (retrieved 22 Oct 2026). Licence: CC BY 4.0
• Residential building insurance — Northern Territory Government (retrieved 12 Aug 2026). Licence: Government content, reproduced for research/citation purposes
• Home Warranty Insurance for Tasmanians a step closer | Premier of Tasmania — Premier of Tasmania (retrieved 22 Oct 2026). Licence: Government content, reproduced for research/citation purposes

Figures on this page are drawn from Delora's local knowledge graph, refreshed from these primary sources and checked for changes on a regular schedule. If a figure here looks out of date, the official source above is always the authority — please let us know.