INSIGHT · RISK & FINANCIAL VISIBILITY

Three states run home warranty cover themselves.
Tasmania has no scheme in force.

27 October 2026

Who provides home warranty insurance depends on the state. As read on 27 October 2026: in NSW, Service NSW states icare HBCF is the only provider; in Victoria, the Building and Plumbing Commission provides Home Warranty for eligible contracts signed on or after 1 July 2026; in Queensland, the QBCC runs the statutory scheme. Government lists name QBE, Assetinsure and AB Phillips in South Australia, QBE and the Master Builders Fidelity Fund in the ACT, and Fidelity Fund NT. WA lists QBE for owner-builders. Tasmania's model is still being developed.

A hand holding house keys on a house-shaped key ring

Analysed 27 October 2026 · Service NSW (last published 9 September 2024), icare and the Home Building Act 1989 (NSW) · Building and Plumbing Commission pages (last updated 30 June to 23 July 2026), Consumer Affairs Victoria (6 February 2026) and Building Act 1993, Version 152 (Vic) · QBCC and QBCC Act 1991 (Qld) · SAFA and Building Work Contractors Act 1995 (SA) · LGIRS fact sheet (2025), WA owner-builder page (16 September 2026) and Home Building Contracts Act 1991 (WA) · CBOS (22 July 2026) and Tasmanian legislation · ACT Planning and Building Act 2004 · NT Government and Building Act 1993 (NT) · all read 27 October 2026.

Key takeaways

Three state-run schemes: Service NSW states icare HBCF is the only insurance provider that offers home building compensation cover. The Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC) states it provides Home Warranty for new eligible domestic building work from 1 July 2026. Queensland's QBCC Act continues a statutory insurance scheme (s 67X), and the commission issues the notice of cover when it accepts a premium (s 68F).
Four places with named providers: SAFA, the South Australian Government Financing Authority, names QBE, Assetinsure and AB Phillips. ACT Planning names QBE as the only authorised insurer and the Master Builders Fidelity Fund as the only approved fidelity fund scheme. The NT Government names Fidelity Fund NT as the only provider. WA's owner-builder page lists QBE.
WA's general list is not published in the fact sheet: The Act requires an insurer approved in writing by the Minister (s 25D(1)(f)). The WA fact sheet states insurers are approved by the Minister for Commerce and tells readers to contact Building and Energy or an industry association for their names.
Each state checks a certificate differently: NSW has a free public register, HBC Check. The BPC has a policy verification tool and a paid Insurance Information Statement. The QBCC runs an insurance search on request. In South Australia and WA, the government pages point to the insurers: QBE's and Assetinsure's registers and a phone check for AB Phillips in SA, QBE's register in WA.
We would store the check, not just the certificate: A system-design recommendation: each residential contract record holds the scheme and provider as listed on the day it was checked, the certificate or notice number, how it was checked, the date and what matched.

Who provides cover, state by state

Lists change, and a name on a list is not a statement about any insurer's terms, price or capacity.

State	Scheme and provider, as the government source states it	How a certificate can be checked	Instrument and version read
NSW	Home building compensation (HBC) cover. Service NSW: icare HBCF is the only insurance provider that offers HBC cover; SIRA regulates the scheme. The Act requires a certificate in a form approved by the Authority (s 92(1), (2)), which its Dictionary defines as SIRA. The Self Insurance Corporation is taken to be a licensed insurer (s 105B)	HBC Check, a free public register (Service NSW). The Act requires SIRA to keep a register of certificates and make it publicly available (s 102A)	Home Building Act 1989, version in force at 18 January 2026; Service NSW page last published 9 September 2024. Read 27 October 2026
Victoria	Contracts signed on or after 1 July 2026: Home Warranty, provided by the BPC (BPC page). Under the Act, assistance may be provided under the statutory insurance scheme, including rectification or completion by or on behalf of the Authority (Building Act s 137M), and the Authority must issue a notice of cover when it accepts the premium (s 137T). The Act defines the Authority as the Victorian Building Authority (s 3(1)); the BPC site states the Victorian Building Authority trades as the BPC. Earlier contracts: Domestic Building Insurance (DBI), which continues under its policy terms	BPC policy verification search for DBI the BPC issued; an Insurance Information Statement for a Notice of Cover issued on or after 1 July 2026	Building Act 1993, Authorised Version 152; BPC pages last updated 30 June to 23 July 2026. Read 27 October 2026
Queensland	Statutory insurance scheme, continued under the Act (QBCC Act s 67X) and operating as the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme (QBCC). The commission issues a notice of cover when it accepts a premium (s 68F)	QBCC insurance search on a property, for an owner, prospective purchaser or their agent	QBCC Act 1991, version current from 1 February 2026; QBCC insurance search page. Read 27 October 2026
South Australia	Building indemnity insurance from private insurers. SAFA: it underwrites the insurance through a reinsurance arrangement with QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited; Assetinsure and AB Phillips (pools, spas and landscaping only) are outside that arrangement. The Act sets what a policy must cover (s 35) and requires a certificate before work (s 34); it does not list insurers	Through each insurer: QBE's Insurance Certificate Register, Assetinsure's online validation, AB Phillips by phone (SAFA)	Building Work Contractors Act 1995, version 15.1.2026; SAFA pages. Read 27 October 2026
WA	Home indemnity insurance from private insurers approved by the Minister (s 25D(1)(f); LGIRS fact sheet). The fact sheet does not list them. The Act also allows corresponding cover from a fund the Minister approves by Gazette order (ss 25DA, 25GB). The owner-builder page lists one approved owner-builder provider: QBE Insurance (Australia) Pty Ltd	QBE's Builders Warranty Insurance Certificate Register, for a certificate QBE issued; the insurer's name is on the certificate or available from the permit authority (fact sheet)	Home Building Contracts Act 1991, as at 5 April 2023; LGIRS fact sheet LGIRSOCT25_10324; owner-builder page last updated 16 September 2026. Read 27 October 2026
Tasmania	No scheme in force. The Housing Indemnity Act 1992 is repealed (Residential Building Work Contracts and Dispute Resolution Act 2016 s 91, Schedule 2). CBOS states a future home warranty insurance model is being developed, with an interim Financial Assistance Package	Not applicable	Tasmanian legislation register and CBOS page last updated 22 July 2026. Read 27 October 2026
ACT	Residential building work insurance from an authorised insurer, or a fidelity certificate from an approved fidelity fund scheme. ACT Planning: QBE is currently the only authorised insurer and the Master Builders Fidelity Fund the only approved scheme	No public register named. The certifier must receive the policy, an approved insurer's certificate or a fidelity certificate with the application for a building commencement notice (s 37(4))	Building Act 2004, Republication 56; ACT Planning page, no date shown. Read 27 October 2026
NT	Residential building cover as a fidelity fund certificate, since 1 January 2013 (NT Government). Fidelity Fund NT is currently the only provider. The Act also allows the Minister to approve insurers by Gazette notice (s 54CA)	No public register named. The builder gives the owner the policy document or a copy of the fidelity certificate before demanding any payment (s 54AC(2))	Building Act 1993, as in force at 10 February 2026; NT Government page, no date shown. Read 27 October 2026

What each check returns

The checks differ in who may use them, what they cost and what they confirm.

Queensland's page adds that a search on a property completed more than six and a half years ago will likely show no information because the policy will have expired. The ACT and the NT pages read name no register; their check point is the certifier or the payment demand.

State	Check	What it confirms, as the publisher states it	Who, cost, timing	Instrument and version read
NSW	HBC Check	That a builder or tradesperson has valid cover for the residential work they are doing (Service NSW). icare asks owners to check the certificate shows their name, property address and contract details	Anyone; free	Service NSW page, last published 9 September 2024, and icare page. Read 27 October 2026
Victoria	BPC policy verification	Whether the BPC issued domestic building insurance for the property; if valid, the property address and the date the policy was issued	Search by policy number	BPC page, last updated 30 June 2026. Read 27 October 2026
Victoria	Insurance Information Statement	Whether the BPC issued a Notice of Cover for Home Warranty work at the property on or after 1 July 2026, when cover ends and the maximum cover still available. It does not include DBI policies issued before 1 July 2026	Homeowner, prospective purchaser, owners corporation or their agent; $51.80, non-refundable	BPC Insurance Information Statement page. Read 27 October 2026
Queensland	Insurance search on a property	Whether cover is in force under the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme and, if so, whether a claim has been made and any amount paid	Registered owner, prospective purchaser or their agent; $54.84 per request, free for a current owner; QBCC aims to respond within 7 working days	QBCC insurance search page, no date shown. Read 27 October 2026
South Australia	Insurer registers	That the certificate is valid with the issuing insurer: QBE by address, Assetinsure online, AB Phillips by phone (SAFA)	Homeowners are encouraged to check (SAFA)	SAFA insurers and homeowners pages. Read 27 October 2026
WA	QBE certificate register	That a certificate was issued by QBE, by matching its details with QBE's records (fact sheet)	Owners; permit authorities also receive a copy with the building permit application	LGIRS fact sheet LGIRSOCT25_10324. Read 27 October 2026

Victoria has two schemes
running at once.

The BPC states that the scheme which applies depends on when the building contract was signed and when cover was issued. A DBI Certificate of Insurance issued before 1 July 2026 continues under the DBI policy, and DBI cover does not transfer to Home Warranty. For eligible contracts signed on or after 1 July 2026, Home Warranty may apply, and the BPC is the provider.

Consumer Affairs Victoria, in a page last updated 6 February 2026, states that the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority (VMIA) is now part of the BPC, that the BPC may be the insurer for a policy issued on or after 31 May 2010, and that a small number of other commercial providers also offer domestic building insurance.

Under Home Warranty the document changes. The BPC issues a Notice of Cover to the building owner once it accepts the premium (s 137T), and lists what to check on it: the builder's name, registration number and ABN or ACN, the site address, the work covered, the assessed insurable value, the premium paid, when cover starts and claim timeframes.

What a certificate record has to match

Across the states, the same handful of facts decides whether a certificate belongs to the job in front of you.

The builder, as named on the contract: NSW requires the policy to be in force in the name under which the person contracted to do the work (s 92(1)(a)). The BPC lists the builder's name, registration number and ABN or ACN. The ACT page asks owners to check the builder's name.
The address of the work: icare asks owners to check the property address, the BPC's verification returns it, and SAFA directs owners to search QBE's register by address. NSW requires the contractor to tell the insurer the address of the premises (s 92A).
The value and scope: The BPC lists the work covered and the assessed insurable value. The ACT page asks owners to check the cost of the work.
The date the certificate reached the owner: NSW and the NT tie the obligation to payment, including a deposit (NSW s 92(2); NT s 54AC(2)). South Australia ties it to performing the work (s 34). Our thresholds page compares these trigger events.
The issuer, and that the issuer is on the list: Where a state relies on private insurers, the issuer on the certificate is the first thing to compare with the government list for that date.

For a subcontractor, the cover
belongs to the head contract.

Two of the government sources state the point directly. Service NSW: "You do not need HBC cover if you subcontract the work from another licensed contractor." The WA fact sheet: home indemnity insurance "is also not required for a subcontractor who performs building work under a contract with a registered builder as it is the builder who obtains HII."

The certificate on a job is therefore the builder's, issued for the owner. A subcontractor's record of it is a record of which scheme or insurer an owner would turn to if the builder became insolvent, died or disappeared (Service NSW also lists a licence suspension). What happens to a subcontractor's own claim in that event is a separate matter, covered in our page on builder liquidation by state.

What we would put in a system

Where agents help here is narrow. A compliance agent can read a certificate or notice of cover, extract the number, issuer, builder and address, compare the issuer with the state's government list for the date, and draft the check record, and a person runs or confirms the check and signs it off. No agent decides whether cover exists, whether a policy complies or whether an insurer is suitable.

Field	Why it is load-bearing
State, scheme and provider, with the list and its read date	Three states run their own scheme, four rely on named providers, and the lists are government pages that can change.
Certificate, policy or notice of cover number, and issuer	Every check tool starts from a number or an address, and Victoria issues a different document depending on the contract date.
Check method, date and result	HBC Check, BPC verification, a QBCC search or an insurer register each return different facts; the record says which was used and what matched.
Builder name, registration and site address as on the certificate	These are the fields the NSW Act, the BPC and the ACT page ask to be matched against the contract.
Date the certificate reached the owner, and the first payment demand	NSW and the NT tie the obligation to payment, including a deposit.

Questions worth asking
of your own contract records

For a builder working in several states: does each contract record say which scheme or provider applied, and on what list you saw it?

The answer differs in every state, and in Victoria it differs by contract date. A record that stores the list and its read date can be checked later. General information as read on 27 October 2026, not legal or insurance advice.

For a Victorian builder: which open contracts were signed before 1 July 2026 and which after?

The BPC states DBI continues for certificates issued before 1 July 2026 and Home Warranty may apply to eligible contracts signed on or after that date. The document to hold is a DBI certificate in the first case and a Notice of Cover in the second. General information as read on 27 October 2026, not legal or insurance advice.

For a subcontractor: do you hold the head contract's certificate reference for jobs where the builder's position worries you?

Service NSW and the WA fact sheet both state the subcontractor does not need its own cover; the owner's cover sits with the builder's certificate. Knowing the scheme helps you read what follows if the builder fails. General information as read on 27 October 2026, not legal or insurance advice.

For a developer or buyer of a completed dwelling: has anyone run the state's check on the property, not just looked at a copy?

Queensland's insurance search and Victoria's Insurance Information Statement are available to prospective purchasers. NSW's HBC Check is open to anyone. General information as read on 27 October 2026, not legal or insurance advice.

Questions people ask
about home warranty insurance providers

Who provides home warranty insurance in NSW?

Service NSW states that icare HBCF is the only insurance provider that offers home building compensation (HBC) cover, formerly known as home warranty insurance, and that SIRA regulates the scheme. The Home Building Act 1989 treats the Self Insurance Corporation as a licensed insurer (s 105B). General information as read on 27 October 2026, not legal or insurance advice.

Who provides builders warranty insurance in Victoria?

For eligible contracts signed on or after 1 July 2026, the Building and Plumbing Commission states that it provides Home Warranty and issues a Notice of Cover. For earlier contracts, Domestic Building Insurance continues; Consumer Affairs Victoria states the VMIA is now part of the BPC and that a small number of other commercial providers also offer it. General information as read on 27 October 2026, not legal or insurance advice.

How do I check a home warranty insurance certificate?

It depends on the state. NSW has HBC Check, a free public register; the BPC has a policy verification search and an Insurance Information Statement ($51.80); the QBCC runs an insurance search ($54.84, free for a current owner). In South Australia and WA, the government pages point to the issuing insurer's certificate register (for AB Phillips in SA, a phone check). General information as read on 27 October 2026, not legal or insurance advice.

Who provides builders warranty insurance in SA?

The South Australian Government Financing Authority (SAFA) states it underwrites building indemnity insurance through a reinsurance arrangement with QBE, and names Assetinsure and AB Phillips (pools, spas and landscaping only) as private insurers outside that arrangement. Consumer and Business Services is the licensing regulator. General information as read on 27 October 2026, not legal or insurance advice.

Is there home warranty insurance in Tasmania?

No scheme is in force. The Housing Indemnity Act 1992 is repealed, and CBOS states a future home warranty insurance model is being developed. Its interim Financial Assistance Package is a one-off payment, capped at $200,000, for eligible consumers whose builder died, disappeared or became insolvent since 1 July 2021. General information as read on 27 October 2026, not legal or insurance advice.

What this analysis
does and does not show.

Evidence note

What it shows: Who each state's or territory's government sources name as the provider of home warranty insurance or its equivalent, the instrument that sets the requirement, and the certificate check each source describes, as read on 27 October 2026.
Key facts quoted: Service NSW: icare HBCF the only provider; NSW ss 92, 102A, 105B; BPC provides Home Warranty from 1 July 2026, Building Act ss 137M, 137T; QBCC Act ss 67X, 68F and the QBCC search ($54.84); SAFA: QBE, Assetinsure, AB Phillips; WA s 25D(1)(f) and QBE for owner-builders; Tasmania 1992 Act repealed; ACT: QBE and the Master Builders Fidelity Fund; NT: Fidelity Fund NT, ss 54AC, 54CA.

The NSW Act was read from an Internet Archive snapshot of 18 January 2026, because the NSW register blocked automated access directly and through a rendering proxy on 27 October 2026; later amendments are not verified. SIRA's pages were not readable and whether any alternative indemnity product under Part 6B is approved is not verified.
The BPC, SAFA, CBOS and NT Government pages were read through a rendering proxy (r.jina.ai) because they block automated access. The SA Act text is the copy read the same way on 25 October 2026.
WA's general list of insurers approved by the Minister was not found on a government page; only the owner-builder list was. Whether any fund is approved under s 25GB was not checked. The ACT and NT pages show no date.
Premiums, eligibility, policy limits and claim terms are not compared, and no insurer is assessed.
The HBC Check and insurer registers are interactive tools; we read the pages that describe them, not results for any property.
Nothing here is legal or insurance advice, and nothing here determines whether any work is insured.

Bring us one contract and its certificate.

Send us a residential contract and the insurance certificate or notice of cover that came with it. We will show you which scheme and provider the state lists for it, which check applies, and which fields in your records match.

General information about published legislation and government scheme pages, as read on 27 October 2026 at the versions listed. Not legal or insurance advice, and it does not determine whether any work is insured or any certificate is valid.

Send us the certificate · Compliance

Sources

Suggested citation: Home Building Act 1989 (NSW) ss 92, 102A, 105B; Building Act 1993 (Vic) ss 137M, 137T; QBCC Act 1991 (Qld) ss 67X, 68F; Building Work Contractors Act 1995 (SA) ss 34, 35; Home Building Contracts Act 1991 (WA) s 25D; Building Act 2004 (ACT) s 37; Building Act 1993 (NT) ss 54AC, 54CA; with the government scheme pages listed, as read 27 October 2026. Derived figures: none.

Three states run home warranty cover themselves. Tasmania has no scheme in force.