Check your Home Building Compensation policies of insurance for residential building work
10 May 2023
SIRA is investigating allegations of unauthorised brokers providing fraudulent home building compensation insurance to builders working in the residential building industry.
If you are the principal contractor for residential building or trade work over $20,000 you must ensure the work is insured. Only an icare approved broker can arrange home building compensation insurance for your business.
SIRA has an online register where you can check whether the insurance you have purchased is valid. You should ensure the insurance details match your project and are in the same name as the contract for the work.
If your projects are not insured, this may:
- expose you or your business to penalties of up to a maximum of $110,000 in the case of a corporation and $22,000 in any other case. If you are convicted of a second or subsequent offence, you may be liable to a penalty up to a maximum of $55,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or both
- affect your ability to enforce the building contract or recover money from your customer
- affect whether the project meets some requirements under planning laws and may affect the commencement or certification of the project, or
- mean that a current or future homeowner may be unable to claim on the insurance scheme if you cannot complete the project or honour your statutory warranty obligations.
False or misleading conduct by insurers and insurance brokers is also an offence. Insurance distributors must not advertise or sell products to the building industry that are not genuine home building compensation insurance.
If you have concerns about your home building compensation insurance phone SIRA on 13 74 72 or email HBC Enforcement.