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Building Work Contractors Act 1995 (SA): what the Act establishes

The Building Work Contractors Act 1995 (SA) is the statute behind CBS builder licensing, the two-credential model, statutory warranties and domestic contract rules.

By Dan Waring. Last updated 30 May 2026. Verified 8 May 2026.

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TL;DR

The Building Work Contractors Act 1995 (SA) is the statute that makes building work in South Australia a licensed activity and sets the consumer-protection rules for domestic building contracts. It establishes the two-credential model (contractor’s licence plus building work supervisor registration), empowers CBS (Consumer and Business Services) to set conditions on each licence, implies six non-excludable statutory warranties into every domestic building contract, and sets the written-contract, deposit-cap and building-indemnity-insurance rules. It operates alongside the Building Work Contractors Regulations 2011 (SA), which carry the detail (fees, deposit caps, prescribed notices). For the licence classes, fees and qualification pathways, see the SA builder licence guide.

In plain English

The Act is the legal backbone behind a CBS building licence. It answers three questions: who may contract to do building work, what protections a homeowner gets, and what happens when a builder gets it wrong. CBS, which sits within the Attorney-General’s Department, administers and enforces the Act. The operational detail (fee amounts, deposit caps, the prescribed contract notice) lives in the Building Work Contractors Regulations 2011 (SA), which are made under the Act and updated more often than the Act itself.

The Act is built around a two-credential model. A contractor’s licence authorises a person or company to enter building contracts and run a building business. A building work supervisor registration authorises an individual to carry out or supervise the work on site. A sole trader needs both; a company needs a licence plus at least one nominated registered supervisor. Neither credential works alone for domestic building work.

What it requires

  • A licence to contract for building work. It is an offence to carry out building work for another person under a contract, or to advertise or hold yourself out as available to do so, without the appropriate CBS contractor’s licence.
  • Conditions on each licence. CBS issues licences subject to conditions that define the scope authorised. The Act supports a general building contractor licence and restricted trade contractor licences for single or multiple specified trades (tiling, paving, gyprocking, painting, concreting and similar). A restricted licence does not authorise general structural work.
  • Six statutory warranties. The Act implies warranties into every domestic building contract that the work will be performed with proper care and skill, with suitable and good-quality materials, in accordance with the contract and all statutory requirements, within a reasonable time, and that a new dwelling will be fit to live in. A builder cannot contract out of them. Warranty claims must generally start within 5 years of practical completion.
  • Written contracts and deposit caps. For domestic building work over the prescribed threshold the Act requires a written contract with prescribed content and a statutory warranty schedule, and the Regulations cap the deposit a builder may take. Take more than the cap, or start without the required contract, and you breach the Act.
  • Building indemnity insurance. For major domestic work the builder must hold building indemnity insurance and give the owner the certificate before work starts. From 10 November 2025 the trigger threshold rose to building work over $20,000 requiring development approval, with $250,000 of cover.

What it doesn’t cover

  • Plumbing, gas-fitting and electrical work. These are licensed separately under the Plumbers, Gas Fitters and Electricians Act 1995 (SA); a building work contractor’s licence does not authorise them.
  • The building approval itself. Development and building consent run under the planning and development legislation (the PDI Act framework), not this Act. The Act governs who may contract for the work and the contract rules, not whether the building is approved.
  • Licence classes, fees and qualifications in detail. The Act creates the framework; the specifics (fee amounts, qualification pathways, the supervisor technical interview) sit in the Regulations and CBS policy and are covered in the SA builder licence guide.
  • Work performed entirely interstate. A CBS licence is a South Australian credential; building work in another state is governed by that state’s licensing law.

Practical implications

For the builder:

  • Hold the right credential for what you contract to do. A restricted licence will not cover general building work, and a supervisor registration alone does not let you contract.
  • Get the written contract, deposit and insurance steps right before you take money. These are the provisions that most often turn a fee dispute into a breach of the Act.
  • The statutory warranties run for 5 years from practical completion and cannot be signed away. Build defect-rectification expectations into your pricing and records accordingly.

For the homeowner:

  • Verify the builder’s licence and supervisor registration on the CBS public register before signing.
  • Insist on the written contract and the building indemnity insurance certificate before any work starts or any deposit is paid beyond the cap.
  • If the builder dies, disappears or becomes insolvent, the building indemnity insurance is your fallback; for defects while the builder is still trading, the statutory warranties are the lever.

References

See also

Last updated: 2026-05-30. Verified: 2026-05-08. Quarterly review for currency.

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