How to choose a roofer in Brisbane: licence, quote and contract checks

Published 23 October 2026

Check the roofer’s QBCC licence and its class

In Queensland, building work “valued over $3,300” needs a QBCC licence, and the licence has to be in the right class for the job. The QBCC says it’s the owner’s responsibility to check that the person is licensed for the work.

QBCC licence classes for roofing work

QBCC licence class pages (last reviewed August 2021) and the QBCC Regulation 2018, schedule 2 (version in force from 1 September 2026), checked 23 October 2026. Both roofing classes exclude painting roofs, so a restoration that includes coating the roof needs that part covered by a painting and decorating or builder licence when it’s over $3,300.

Search the QBCC licensee register by licence number, surname or company name. The QBCC suggests opening the “licensee’s full history” to see “any infringement notices, directions to rectify work or other disciplinary actions recorded”, and says the name and licence number in the roofer’s ads must match the licence. Licences come “as a physical card and as a digital licence on a mobile device”; ask to see one, and if you can’t find the roofer on the register, the QBCC takes calls on 139 333.

Roofers who only advertise small jobs can work without a licence up to $3,300, and the QBCC says they “must state in their ad they can only do work up to that value.”

Comparing roofing quotes

The QBCC says “we always recommend getting more than one quote”, and “To compare quotes fairly, make sure they cover the same scope of work.” It warns against choosing on price alone, and adds: “If you accept a quote that is below fair market value and need to make a claim under the QHWS the amount of compensation you receive may be reduced.”

Questions the QBCC suggests asking about any quote:

• “Are there any additional fees or charges I should be aware of?”
• “Are contingencies (unexpected costs) included in the quote? If so, how much?”
• “Does the price include all required certifications, inspections and fees?”

For a roof, our advice is to ask each roofer to itemise the same things: the roof sheets or tiles (brand, profile and colour), battens, sarking or insulation blanket, flashings and ridge capping, gutters and downpipes if they’re included, scaffold or edge protection, the skip, and any engineering or certification. The sarking and insulation guide explains the layer under the roof.

What a roofing contract must include in Queensland

Roofing work over $3,300 on a home is a “regulated contract” under schedule 1B of the QBCC Act, and “The contract must be in writing and dated and signed by or on behalf of each of the parties to it.” It must contain:

• the names of the parties, with the roofer’s name as it appears on the licence, and the licence number
• a description of the work, and any plans and specifications
• “the contract price or the method for calculating it, including the building contractor’s reasonable estimate”
• the date for practical completion, or how it will be worked out
• a conspicuous notice of your right to withdraw from the contract (the cooling-off period below)

From $20,000 (a level 2 contract), it must also state the start date and the statutory warranties, and the roofer must give you the QBCC’s consumer building guide before you sign. If the price is fixed, “it must be stated in a prominent position on the first page of the contract schedule”. The roofer must give you a signed copy within 5 business days, and can’t start work until the contract complies. The QBCC has contract templates, including a two-page small building projects contract for jobs under $3,300.

Deposits, progress payments and cooling-off

Before work starts, the deposit can be no more than 10% of the price for a contract over $3,300 and under $20,000, and 5% from $20,000 (QBCC Act schedule 1B s 33; the hail damage and insurance guide has the table). The QBCC says “A deposit isn’t required until you have signed a contract”, and that deposits over the limit “are unlawful, must not be paid and should be reported to the QBCC”. After the deposit, each claim must be “directly related to the progress of carrying out the subject work at the building site” and proportionate to the work done.

You can withdraw “within 5 business days after the day on which the owner receives a copy of the signed contract”, by a signed written notice; the roofer can keep reasonable out-of-pocket expenses plus $100. For an urgent roof repair, the Act lets the owner of “a repair contract” waive this right in a signed written notice so work can start sooner. Door-to-door agreements have their own 10-business-day rules, covered in the hail guide.

Variations: rotten battens and other surprises

Once an old roof is off, the roofer may find rotten battens or rafters, rusted fixings or a failed tie-down. Extra work like this is a variation. The Act says the roofer “must not start to carry out any domestic building work the subject of the variation before the building owner agrees to the variation in writing”, apart from genuinely urgent work.

The written variation has to describe the change, state the change to the price (or how it’s calculated) and any delay, and “Any increase in the contract price as a result of the variation can not be required to be paid before work the subject of the variation is started.” Our advice: ask for photos of anything found and keep every variation with the contract.

Home warranty insurance and defective roof work

For residential work over $3,300, the roofer pays a Queensland Home Warranty Scheme premium to the QBCC, collected from you as part of the contract price. The QBCC says it covers you “if your contractor does not, or can not, finish the work”, “if your contractor does not fix defects” and for subsidence, up to “a maximum of $200,000 on claims”, with limitations and exclusions.

For roofs, one definition matters: the QBCC Regulation counts “a defect in the work that allows water penetration” of a home as a structural defect. Structural defects are covered if you become aware of them within 6 years and 6 months, and you must claim “within 3 months after the day the consumer first becomes aware”. Other defects are covered for 6 months after the work is substantially complete, with claims within 7 months. The QBCC lists insulation among the items not covered for defects.

Time limits for defective roof work in Queensland

QBCC Regulation 2018, schedule 6 s 16 (version in force from 1 September 2026) and the QBCC’s home warranty and defective work pages (January 2024 and December 2025), checked 23 October 2026. The QBCC says there is no defects claim if you unreasonably refuse to let the roofer come back to fix the work.

The Act also gives you statutory warranties: the roofer warrants the work “will be carried out— (a) in an appropriate and skilful way; and (b) with reasonable care and skill.” Before going to the QBCC, give the roofer written notice of every defect with a date to fix it.

Safety on the roof: what Queensland law asks of roofers

Queensland’s Work Health and Safety Regulation sets fall controls for roof work. Its stricter rules apply on any roof “with a slope over 26º”, and where a person could fall 3 m or more on housing construction work, or 2 m or more on other construction work. There the business must, before work starts, use control measures “to prevent a person falling any distance” or, if that isn’t practicable, to arrest the fall. The measures it lists include edge protection, covers over openings, travel-restraint and harness systems, fall-arresting platforms and safety nets.

Ask each roofer how they’ll manage falls on your house. On a highset Queenslander or a two-storey house, expect scaffold or edge protection to be part of the quote.

Insurance to ask the roofer about

Beyond home warranty, the QBCC says “Most contracts require the contractor to have: Public liability insurance; Contract works insurance (also known as construction works insurance).” Contract works insurance “covers the site and materials against theft, vandalism, fire, storm, etc.” during the job. Our advice: ask for the certificates of currency and check the dates cover your job.

Common questions