INSIGHT · LICENSING & COMPLIANCE
How long after completion a claim
can be brought, by state.
Five of the seven jurisdictions read put a 10-year outer limit on actions for defective building work, each counted from its own event. As read on 10 November 2026: Victoria counts from the occupancy permit or certificate of final inspection (Building Act 1993 s 134); South Australia from completion (PDI Act 2016 s 159); Tasmania from accrual tied to the occupancy permit (Building Act 2016 s 327); the ACT from the certificate of completion (s 142); the NT from occupancy certification (s 160). In Queensland and WA we found no such limit in the Acts read. NSW was not verified.
Analysed 10 November 2026 · Building Act 1993 (Vic), Version 152, and Limitation of Actions Act 1958 (Vic), Version 113 · Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld), current from 28 April 2026, and QBCC Act 1991 (Qld), current from 1 February 2026 · Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 (SA), version 30 July 2026, and Limitation of Actions Act 1936 (SA) · Limitation Act 2005 (WA), as at 1 December 2024, and Building Services (Complaint Resolution and Administration) Act 2011 (WA), as at 25 September 2025 · Building Act 2016 and Limitation Act 1974 (Tas) · Building Act 2004 (ACT), R57, and Limitation Act 1985 (ACT), R28 · Building Act 1993 and Limitation Act 1981 (NT) · Legal Aid NSW page · NSW Acts not verified · all read 10 November 2026.
Key takeaways
- Ten years in five jurisdictions, each counted from its own event: Victoria: the occupancy permit, or the certificate of final inspection (s 134(1)). South Australia: completion of the building work (s 159(1)). Tasmania: accrual, which s 327(2) ties to the occupancy permit for permit building work. ACT: the certificate of completion, else the last inspection, else first occupation (s 142(1)). NT: occupancy certification, else first occupation after completion (s 160(2)).
- Queensland and WA: no building long-stop found in the Acts read: Queensland's Limitation of Actions Act 1974 s 10 and WA's Limitation Act 2005 s 13 set 6 years from when the cause of action arose or accrued. We found no 10-year building provision in those Acts, in Queensland's QBCC Act 1991 or in WA's Building Act 2011 and complaints Act as read.
- The general period runs from accrual, not from a certificate: Contract and tort actions: 6 years in Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, WA, Tasmania and the ACT, and 3 years in the NT (Limitation Act 1981 s 12), each from when the cause of action accrued or arose. When that is for a hidden defect is a legal question on the facts.
- Regulators keep their own clocks: The QBCC cannot give a direction to rectify more than 6 years and 6 months after the work was completed or left incomplete, unless the tribunal extends the time (QBCC Act s 72A(4)). A WA building service complaint is out of time more than 6 years after completion of the service (s 6(1)(b)).
- We would keep each start event's document for the whole period: A system-design recommendation: each job keeps the document and date that every instrument counts from, and the record is kept at least until the longest period that could apply to that job has passed.
The outer limit on building actions,
state by state
A building long-stop caps how late an action for defective building work can be brought, whatever the general limitation period would otherwise allow. The rows below quote each instrument as read on 10 November 2026; the warranty periods in the same states are a different set of clocks, set out in our page on defect records and statutory warranty periods.
A long-stop is an outer limit. An action can be out of time earlier under the general limitation period, and whether any claim is in or out of time depends on facts a lawyer would check.
| State | Long-stop period | Start event | What it covers | Instrument and version read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | NSW: not verified (10 Nov 2026). The 10-year limit Legal Aid NSW states is for Home Building Compensation claims, not court actions (see below). Our page on defect records and statutory warranty periods quotes s 6.20 as read on 25 October 2026 | NSW: not verified (10 Nov 2026) | NSW: not verified (10 Nov 2026) | Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 s 6.20: not verified (10 Nov 2026), register blocked automated access. Legal Aid NSW, Home building and renovating, no date shown, read 10 Nov 2026 |
| Victoria | Victoria: 10 years (s 134(1)); up to 15 years for some cladding building actions (s 134(2)); longer if a court extends the period under s 77 of the VCAT Act 1998 (s 134(2A)) | Victoria: date of issue of the occupancy permit, whether or not later cancelled or varied; if none was issued, the certificate of final inspection under Part 4 | Victoria: an action, including a counterclaim, for damages for loss or damage arising out of or concerning defective building work (s 129), which includes design, inspection and issuing a permit; not death or personal injury (s 130) | Building Act 1993, Authorised Version 152, as at 16 September 2026, read 10 Nov 2026 |
| Queensland | Queensland: no building long-stop found in the Acts read | Queensland: not applicable | Queensland: the general 6-year period applies to contract and tort actions other than personal injury (s 10(1)(a)) | Limitation of Actions Act 1974, current from 28 April 2026; QBCC Act 1991, current from 1 February 2026; read 10 Nov 2026 |
| South Australia | South Australia: 10 years; the period cannot be extended (s 159(3)) | South Australia: completion of the building work | South Australia: an action for damages for economic loss or rectification costs from defective building work, including for breach of statutory duty; not death or personal injury (s 159(2)) | Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016, version 30 July 2026, read 10 Nov 2026 |
| WA | WA: no building long-stop found in the Acts read | WA: not applicable | WA: the general 6-year period applies (s 13) | Limitation Act 2005, as at 1 December 2024; Building Act 2011, as at 28 May 2026; Building Services (Complaint Resolution and Administration) Act 2011, as at 25 September 2025; read 10 Nov 2026 |
| Tasmania | Tasmania: 10 years for permit or notifiable work; 6 years for low-risk work (s 327(7)) | Tasmania: permit building work, the occupancy permit issued after completion; if none, first occupation, or 2 years after the building permit if not occupied; if occupied without an occupancy permit, completion (s 327(2)). Permit plumbing work, the certificate of completion, else first use or 2 years after the plumbing permit (s 327(3)). Notifiable work, the certificate of completion (s 327(5)); low-risk work, completion (s 327(6)) | Tasmania: a cause of action for damages, other than for death or bodily injury, from defective building or plumbing work or associated work, and a counterclaim (s 327(1)) | Building Act 2016, version in force 10 November 2026 (authorised version 11 June 2026), read 10 Nov 2026 |
| ACT | ACT: 10 years (s 142(1)); a shorter period under another territory law prevails (s 142(3)) | ACT: the day the certifier gives the certificate of completion; if none, the certifier's last inspection; if neither, first occupation or use. Also 10 years after the certifier's appointment ended (s 142(2)) | ACT: a building action, an action including a counterclaim for damages for loss or damage in relation to defective building work, other defective construction work, or a certifier's negligent exercise of a function (s 140) | Building Act 2004, Republication 57, effective 10 November 2026, read 10 Nov 2026 |
| NT | NT: 10 years after the cause of action first accrues (s 160(1)); Part 13 prevails over inconsistent law (s 161) | NT: the grant of occupancy certification; if none, first occupation after completion of the work (s 160(2)) | NT: an action for economic loss and rectification costs from defective construction, founded on contract or tort, not death or personal injury (s 159) | Building Act 1993, as in force at 10 February 2026, read 10 Nov 2026 |
The general limitation period
sits underneath
Each state's limitation Act sets a general period for contract and tort, counted from when the cause of action accrued or arose. Most are 6 years; the NT's is 3. For defective building work, when a cause of action accrued is a legal question on the facts. The building long-stops read fix their own start events instead, most of them a document date.
Personal injury, extensions and postponements in the limitation Acts were not surveyed. Victoria's s 5(1)(a) is subject to other subsections of s 5 that were not read.
| State | Contract and tort period | Runs from | Instrument and version read |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | NSW: Legal Aid NSW states 6 years to start a court case for breach of contract, and 6 years for negligence other than personal injury. Act text not verified (10 Nov 2026) | NSW: the breach of contract, or the negligent act or failure to act, as Legal Aid NSW words it | Limitation Act 1969: not verified (10 Nov 2026). Legal Aid NSW page, no date shown, read 10 Nov 2026 |
| Victoria | Victoria: 6 years for actions founded on simple contract or tort, including breach of statutory duty (s 5(1)(a)) | Victoria: the date the cause of action accrued | Limitation of Actions Act 1958, Authorised Version 113, as at 2 October 2026, read 10 Nov 2026 |
| Queensland | Queensland: 6 years for simple contract, quasi-contract or tort other than personal injury (s 10(1)(a)); 6 years on a deed (s 10(3)) | Queensland: the date the cause of action arose (deed: accrued) | Limitation of Actions Act 1974, current from 28 April 2026, read 10 Nov 2026 |
| South Australia | South Australia: six years for actions founded on simple contract or tort (s 35) | South Australia: after the cause of action accrued | Limitation of Actions Act 1936, version 1 July 2021, read 10 Nov 2026 |
| WA | WA: 6 years for any cause of action unless Division 3 sets another (s 13); 12 years on a deed (s 18) | WA: the date the cause of action accrued | Limitation Act 2005, as at 1 December 2024, read 10 Nov 2026 |
| Tasmania | Tasmania: 6 years for simple contract or tort, including breach of statutory duty (s 4(1)); 12 years on a specialty (s 4(3)) | Tasmania: the date the cause of action accrued | Limitation Act 1974, version in force 10 November 2026, read 10 Nov 2026 |
| ACT | ACT: 6 years for any cause of action unless the Act provides another period (s 11) | ACT: the date the cause of action first accrues | Limitation Act 1985, Republication 28, effective 26 November 2025, read 10 Nov 2026 |
| NT | NT: 3 years for actions founded on contract (not under a deed) or tort, including breach of statutory duty (s 12(1)) | NT: the date the cause of action first accrues | Limitation Act 1981, as in force at 11 August 2025, read 10 Nov 2026 |
How the two clocks interact,
in the instruments' words
- Victoria and South Australia override the limitation Act: Victoria's s 134(1) applies despite anything in the Limitation of Actions Act 1958 or any other Act or law. South Australia's s 159(1) applies despite the Limitation of Actions Act 1936, and s 159(3) states the 10 years cannot be extended.
- Victoria has two exceptions: Section 134(2) allows a cladding building action more than 10 but less than 15 years after the occupancy permit where it became prohibited on or after 16 July 2019 and before 1 December 2023. Section 134(2A) allows an action after 10 years if a court extends the period under s 77 of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998.
- Victoria's plumbing work has its own 10 years: Section 134A: where a compliance certificate is issued for plumbing work under Part 12A, an action for damages for defects in that work cannot be brought more than 10 years after the certificate is issued, unless a court extends the period.
- The ACT yields to a shorter period, the NT prevails: ACT s 142(3): the 10-year limits do not apply if a shorter limitation period applies under another territory law. NT s 161: to the extent of any inconsistency with another law in force in the Territory, Part 13 prevails.
- Tasmania sets the accrual date itself: Section 327 does not leave accrual to the general law: it fixes the date by document (occupancy permit, certificate of completion) or by event (first occupation, completion), and runs 10 or 6 years from it depending on the category of work.
Regulator and scheme time limits
are a third set of clocks
Some regulators can act on defective work only within a stated time, and the NSW home building compensation scheme has its own claim times, separately from any court action. These limits are what a builder may be asked about years after handover.
The statutory warranty periods for residential work are set out on our page on defect records and statutory warranty periods, and are not repeated here.
- Queensland: direction to rectify, 6 years and 6 months: QBCC Act 1991 s 72A(4): a direction to rectify or remedy cannot be given more than 6 years and 6 months after the building work was completed or left in an incomplete state, unless the tribunal, on the commission's application, extends the time. Section 72(2AA) lets a regulation prescribe a period for making the direction.
- WA: building service complaint, 6 years: Building Services (Complaint Resolution and Administration) Act 2011 s 6(1)(b): a building service complaint is out of time if made more than 6 years after completion of the regulated building service, and s 6(1)(a) allows 15 years for complaints about one specified type of polybutylene pipe. Completion is the date worked out under prescribed criteria or, if none are prescribed, the date the service was last carried out (s 6(2)).
- NSW: home building compensation, 10 years: Legal Aid NSW states that, for completed work, a Home Building Compensation claim runs 6 years for major defects and 2 years for other defects from completion, with another six months if the loss becomes apparent in the last six months, and that no claim can be made more than 10 years after the building work is completed. This is an insurance claim time, not a limit on court actions.
What to keep,
and which rule makes it matter
None of the provisions read sets a retention period for a builder's job records. The rows below are our design, keyed to the start events the instruments use. Each says which provision makes the record load-bearing.
A record kept for 10 years from the start event covers the long-stops read, but not Victoria's cladding exception or an extension a court grants. How long to keep any record is a decision for the business and its advisers.
| Record | Label | Which provision counts from it |
|---|---|---|
| Occupancy permit, certificate of final inspection, certificate of completion or occupancy certification, with issue date | Our design | Vic s 134(1); Tas s 327(2), (5); ACT s 142(1)(a); NT s 160(2) |
| Date the work was completed, or left incomplete | Our design | SA s 159(1); Tas s 327(6); Qld QBCC Act s 72A(4); WA complaints Act s 6(1) |
| Date of first occupation or use | Our design | ACT s 142(1)(c); NT s 160(2); Tas s 327(2) |
| Certifier's last inspection date, and the date the certifier's appointment ended | Our design | ACT s 142(1)(b), (2) |
| Building permit issue date and the category of work (permit, notifiable, low-risk) | Our design | Tas s 327(2), (7) |
| Plumbing compliance certificate and its issue date | Our design | Vic s 134A(1) |
| External wall cladding products installed, with their identification | Our design | Vic s 134(2), (3) |
What we would put in a system
For each completed job, the useful test is whether the record can say, without reconstruction from email, which start event each instrument counts from, on what date, and from which document.
Where agents help here is narrow. An agent can read an occupancy permit or certificate of completion and draft the start-event date, and list jobs whose recorded periods are close to ending; a person confirms each. No agent decides when a cause of action accrued, whether a claim is in time or whether a record can be destroyed.
| Field | Why it is load-bearing |
|---|---|
| State, instrument and version read | Five jurisdictions have a building long-stop, two were not found to, and one was not verified on the read date. |
| Start-event document and date | The occupancy permit, certificate of completion or occupancy certification is the date four of the five long-stops count from. |
| Fallback events | First occupation, last inspection, and the end of a certifier's appointment apply in the ACT, NT and Tasmania when no certificate issued. |
| Earliest and latest end dates (our calculation) | The general period and the long-stop can end on different dates; both are worth storing, marked as calculated and not as legal conclusions. |
| Retention hold | A flag that stops records being deleted while any period recorded against the job is still running. |
- Practical completion and the defects list: What practical completion means in each state and what happens to the defects list.
- Defect records and statutory warranty periods: The warranty periods by state, and the event each counts from.
- Builder liquidation by state: What happens to money and claims when a builder fails.
- Compliance: Holds each job's completion documents and dates in one record.
Questions worth asking
of your own job records
For a builder working in Victoria: can you find the occupancy permit or certificate of final inspection for every job completed in the last 10 years?
Building Act 1993 (Vic) s 134(1) counts its 10 years from the date of issue of that document. A job record that holds the document and its issue date answers the question without a search. General information as read on 10 November 2026, not legal advice.
For a builder in the ACT: does each job record show whether a certificate of completion was given, and if not, the last inspection date?
Building Act 2004 (ACT) s 142(1) counts from the certificate, else the certifier's last inspection, else first occupation or use, and s 142(2) adds the date the certifier's appointment ended. General information as read on 10 November 2026, not legal advice.
For a Queensland builder: do your records hold the completion date the QBCC would count from?
QBCC Act 1991 s 72A(4) bars a direction to rectify more than 6 years and 6 months after the work was completed or left incomplete, unless the tribunal extends the time. General information as read on 10 November 2026, not legal advice.
For a builder working in the NT: is the date of occupancy certification stored against each job?
Building Act 1993 (NT) s 160(2) makes that date, or first occupation after completion, the date the cause of action accrues for the 10-year limit. The NT's general contract and tort period is 3 years (Limitation Act 1981 s 12). General information as read on 10 November 2026, not legal advice.
Questions people ask
about suing a builder
How long can you sue a builder in Australia?
It depends on the state and the facts. As read on 10 November 2026, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and the NT cap actions for defective building work at 10 years from a stated event (6 years for low-risk work in Tasmania), and Victoria allows some exceptions. General contract and tort periods are 6 years in most states and 3 years in the NT, from when the cause of action accrued. When a period ends depends on facts a lawyer would check. General information, not legal advice.
How long do you have to sue a builder in Victoria?
Building Act 1993 (Vic) s 134(1): a building action cannot be brought more than 10 years after the date of issue of the occupancy permit, or, if none was issued, the certificate of final inspection. Section 134(2) allows up to 15 years for some cladding actions and s 134(2A) allows a court extension. The general period for contract and tort is 6 years from accrual (Limitation of Actions Act 1958 s 5(1)(a)). As read on 10 November 2026; general information, not legal advice.
How long after a job can you sue a contractor in Queensland?
Queensland's Limitation of Actions Act 1974 s 10(1)(a) sets 6 years from the date the cause of action arose for contract and tort actions other than personal injury. We found no separate 10-year building limit in that Act or the QBCC Act 1991 as read on 10 November 2026. The QBCC cannot direct rectification more than 6 years and 6 months after completion unless the tribunal extends the time (s 72A(4)). General information, not legal advice.
Is there a 10-year limit on building claims in South Australia?
Yes. Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 (SA) s 159: no action for damages for economic loss or rectification costs from defective building work can be commenced more than 10 years after completion of the building work, and the period cannot be extended. It does not affect damages for death or personal injury. As read on 10 November 2026; general information, not legal advice.
How long can you sue a home builder in WA?
WA's Limitation Act 2005 s 13 sets 6 years from when the cause of action accrued, unless another period in the Act applies. We found no separate 10-year building limit in the Acts read on 10 November 2026. A building service complaint to the Building Commissioner is out of time more than 6 years after completion of the service (Building Services (Complaint Resolution and Administration) Act 2011 s 6(1)(b)). General information, not legal advice.
What this analysis
does and does not show.
Evidence note
- What it shows
- The outer time limit on actions for defective building work, the event it counts from and what it covers, in Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, WA, Tasmania, the ACT and the NT; the general contract and tort limitation period in each; and the QBCC and WA complaint time limits, as read on 10 November 2026.
- Key facts quoted
- Vic Building Act ss 129, 130, 134, 134A; Vic LAA s 5(1)(a). Qld LAA s 10; QBCC Act ss 72, 72A(4). SA PDI Act s 159; SA LAA s 35. WA Limitation Act ss 13, 18; BSCRA s 6. Tas Building Act s 327; Tas Limitation Act s 4. ACT Building Act ss 140, 142; ACT Limitation Act s 11. NT Building Act ss 159 to 161; NT Limitation Act s 12. NSW: Legal Aid NSW page.
- The NSW legislation register blocked automated access on 10 November 2026 and we did not route around it. The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 s 6.20 and the Limitation Act 1969 are not verified; the NSW rows rest on a Legal Aid NSW page, which shows no date.
- Tasmania's Building Act 2016 s 327 was read in the full register text; the page paraphrases it.
- Queensland and WA: a statement that no building long-stop was found covers only the Acts listed. Other instruments, including NSW's Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020, were not read for this page.
- Extensions, postponements, personal injury periods, latent damage rules and how courts decide when a cause of action accrues for defective work were not surveyed.
- The statutory warranty periods are on a separate page and are not repeated or re-read here.
- Nothing here is legal advice and nothing determines when any claim is in or out of time. When a period ends depends on facts a lawyer would check.
Bring us one completed job
and its handover file.
Send us a completed job's occupancy or completion documents and the dates around them. We will show you which start events each state's Acts count from, and which of those your records can already show.
General information about published legislation and a Legal Aid NSW page, as read on 10 November 2026 at the versions listed in the sources. Not legal advice, and it does not determine when any claim is in or out of time. NSW instruments not verified.
Sources
Suggested citation: limitation and building Acts of Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and the NT at the versions listed, and Legal Aid NSW, as read 10 November 2026. Derived figures: none.
- Victorian Legislation - Building Act 1993: Authorised Version No. 152, as at 16 September 2026 · read 10 November 2026 · Legislation register
- Victorian Legislation - Limitation of Actions Act 1958: Authorised Version No. 113, as at 2 October 2026 · read 10 November 2026 · Legislation register
- Queensland Legislation - Limitation of Actions Act 1974: Current version from 28 April 2026 · read 10 November 2026 · Legislation register
- Queensland Legislation - Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991: Current version from 1 February 2026 · read 10 November 2026 · Legislation register
- South Australian Legislation - Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016: Current authorised version, 30 July 2026 · read 10 November 2026 · Legislation register
- South Australian Legislation - Limitation of Actions Act 1936: Current authorised version, 1 July 2021 · read 10 November 2026 · Legislation register
- Western Australian Legislation - Limitation Act 2005: As at 1 December 2024, PCO 00-g0-00 · read 10 November 2026 · Legislation register
- Western Australian Legislation - Building Services (Complaint Resolution and Administration) Act 2011: As at 25 September 2025, PCO 01-h0-01 · read 10 November 2026 · Legislation register
- Western Australian Legislation - Building Act 2011: Current from 28 May 2026 · read 10 November 2026 · Legislation register
- Tasmanian Legislation - Building Act 2016: Version in force 10 November 2026 (authorised version 11 June 2026) · read 10 November 2026 · Legislation register
- Tasmanian Legislation - Limitation Act 1974: Version in force 10 November 2026 · read 10 November 2026 · Legislation register
- ACT Legislation Register - Building Act 2004: Republication No 57, effective 10 November 2026 · read 10 November 2026 · Legislation register
- ACT Legislation Register - Limitation Act 1985: Republication No 28, effective 26 November 2025 · read 10 November 2026 · Legislation register
- NT Legislation - Building Act 1993: As in force at 10 February 2026 · read 10 November 2026 · Legislation register
- NT Legislation - Limitation Act 1981: As in force at 11 August 2025 · read 10 November 2026 · Legislation register
- Legal Aid NSW - Home building and renovating: No date shown · read 10 November 2026 · Government agency guidance
- NSW legislation - Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979: Not verified (10 Nov 2026): the site blocked automated access · Legislation register
- NSW legislation - Limitation Act 1969: Not verified (10 Nov 2026): the site blocked automated access · Legislation register
RELATED READING
Other readings on the same records.
- Handover documents: what the law requires, and what is only custom: Electrical and plumbing certificates come from the trades. Victoria ties final payment to the occupancy permit copy; Queensland requires inspection certificate copies. (Licensing & Compliance)
- The yearly fire safety statement is a different document in each state: The annual fire safety statement, essential safety measures report and occupier statement compared by state: who signs, who receives it, and the records behind it. (Licensing & Compliance)
- Practical completion: two states write the defects list into the definition: Queensland and Tasmania define practical completion with reference to a signed defects document. Victoria ties final payment to the occupancy permit copy. (Contracts & Payments)