Home warranty insurance by state: thresholds, cover periods and limits

How it works

The builder (the “principal contractor”) buys the policy for each job and pays the premium, which is built into the contract price. The owner does not buy it. The cover is for incomplete work (the builder stops before finishing) and for defective work found within a set period after completion, typically up to six years for major or structural defects and a shorter period for other defects.

Because it is usually a last resort, you first try to resolve problems with the builder, then through your state’s dispute service. The insurance comes into play only when the builder can no longer be pursued. Victoria is the exception for new contracts: Home Warranty “is not limited to situations where the builder has died, disappeared or become insolvent”.

The schemes, state by state (as published, read 21 October 2026)

Notes on the table:

• NSW: if there is no contract price, the test is the reasonable market cost of labour and materials, and a project split across several contracts counts as the total of all contracts. Some multi-storey buildings are exempt.
• Victoria: Home Warranty does not apply to buildings of more than three storeys that contain more than two homes, and does not protect owners who use an unregistered builder for work that needs a registered one. Existing DBI cover “does not transfer to Home Warranty”. Assistance can also include lost deposits where work has not started, accommodation, removal and storage costs, and securing an incomplete site.
• Queensland: a structural defect claim must be made within 3 months of first becoming aware of the defect; a non-structural claim within 7 months of substantial completion. For non-completion, the contract must end within 2 years and the claim be lodged within 3 months after it ends.
• Western Australia: the fact sheet lists exemptions, including work under $20,000, work that needs no building permit, and associated work alone such as a pool, fence, pergola or landscaping. The insurer may charge a $500 excess.
• ACT: the time limit to claim starts when the owner becomes aware that the builder has become insolvent, died or disappeared, and rose from 90 to 180 days from 1 January 2025. Payotte could not confirm the ACT value threshold from the page read.
• NT: from 30 March 2026, claims can be made within 90 days of becoming aware of a defect or of a trigger event; the changes apply only to certificates issued after that date.
• Tasmania: compulsory housing indemnity insurance was removed by the Housing Indemnity Amendment Act 2008. The Consumer Affairs Tasmania page (updated 22 July 2026) describes a “future home warranty insurance model” still being developed and, meanwhile, a one-off Financial Assistance Package of up to $200,000 for owners whose builder died, disappeared or entered administration since 1 July 2021.

When a claim is possible

In NSW, WA, SA, the ACT and the NT the trigger is, in substance, that the builder:

• has died;
• has disappeared;
• has become insolvent (bankrupt, liquidated, ceased to exist); or
• in NSW, has had a licence suspended for not paying a money order of NCAT or a court; in WA, has had a registration cancelled or not renewed for failing financial requirements; in the NT, has had a registration cancelled by the Building Practitioners Board.

If the builder is still trading, these schemes do not pay: go through the builder and your state’s building disputes service first.

Buying a recently built or renovated home

The policy follows the property: icare states that the cover “stays with the property and may protect future owners”, the ACT page that it “covers the current owner and future owners”, and the WA fact sheet that the benefit “will pass to a subsequent owner(s)” within the six-year period. Before you buy a home built or substantially renovated in the last six or seven years:

• ask the vendor for the certificate of insurance (or Notice of Cover in Victoria, fidelity certificate in the ACT and NT), and check that the address, builder and contract details match;
• check the public register: SIRA publishes one for NSW, the BPC has an insurance search for Victorian properties, the QBCC lets buyers of a new home check whether it has cover, and in WA and SA the QBE certificate register (and Assetinsure’s validation tool in SA) can match a certificate with the insurer’s records;
• watch for owner-builder work. In NSW an owner-builder who sells within 7 years and 6 months of the permit must put a consumer warning in the contract for sale. In WA an owner-builder who sells within seven years of the building permit must have cover in place and give the buyer a valid certificate before the sale is finalised. In Victoria, owner-builder rules are on the BPC site. In the NT an owner-builder’s fidelity certificate exists to protect future owners.

Missing cover does not always block a sale, but it means you may have nothing to claim against if the builder is gone. Pair this with a building and pest inspection and the vendor disclosure rules in your state. For a home not yet built, see buying off the plan.

Which professional to consult

A conveyancer or solicitor checks the certificate, the owner-builder warning and the contract before you sign (conveyancers). A building inspector looks for defects that may still fall within the cover period (building inspectors).