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Subbie quote pack: what every trade quote should contain

What goes in a tight subbie quote pack: scope, pricing basis, licence and CoCs, variation mechanism, programme. Used across every Australian residential trade.

By Dan Waring. Last updated 5 May 2026. Verified 5 May 2026.

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TL;DR

A complete subbie quote pack is the cheapest insurance on a residential job: it locks scope, pricing basis, licence and insurance currency, programme, and the variation mechanism before any work starts. Most trade disputes trace back to the quote pack, not the contract. Spend the time to assemble a clean pack per trade at scope-lock; rushing it is what generates variations later. Top job-killer is vague scope edges (who installs, who supplies, where one trade ends and the next begins). Cheapest insurance is a written variation clause plus a quote currency expiry: usually 30 days from issue, after which prices need re-confirming. Builder, trade and client all benefit when the pack is tight: fewer variations, fewer RFIs, a shorter snag list.

When you do this

The quote pack is built at scope-lock, after design is settled enough to describe what work is in and out, and before any trade is engaged. On a typical residential build that’s once the drawings are tendered and the engineer’s details are issued; on a renovation it’s once the demolition scope is pegged and the wet area substrates are decided.

Build a pack per trade. The structure below is identical across chippy, sparky, plumber, plasterer, brickie, tiler and any other subbie. The content is what changes.

Who’s involved

  • The engaging party, usually the builder, sometimes the client direct (owner-builder, head contract direct to subbies). They issue the pack and read the responses.
  • The subbie quoting, individual sole trader or trade contracting business. Returns the priced pack with their licence and insurance details.
  • Designer or QS, optional, where the scope is complex or large enough to warrant external pricing review.
  • The client, on a builder-led job the client doesn’t see the pack day-to-day. They have the opportunity to review the head contract’s allowance and scope structure before signing, but aren’t expected to know who installs what. On an owner-builder job the client sits in the engaging-party seat and the pack is theirs to issue.

Across all parties: the pack is a shared artefact, not a one-side template. Both sides hold a copy at sign.

Steps

1. Assemble the scope of works

A clear, written scope of works is the single biggest predictor of a clean job. For each trade:

  • Areas of work (room by room, or zone by zone)
  • What this trade installs
  • What this trade does NOT install (the most-confused items: data and AV, gas connection, refrigerant work, low-voltage lighting, painting, waterproofing, fire-rated systems, etc., depending on the trade)
  • Substrate condition expected when the trade arrives
  • Condition the trade leaves the area in (clean, paint-ready, ready for the next trade)

Refer to drawings and schedules by document number. Use the document precedence convention from the head contract.

2. Set the pricing basis

State which pricing model the quote uses:

  • Lump sum off plans, fixed price for a defined scope
  • m² rate, for area-based work (plasterboard fix, tiling, painting)
  • Lineal-metre rate, for run-based work (cornice, skirting, architrave)
  • Day rate, for flexible work (patching, retrofit, fault-finding)
  • Hourly rate, for service calls and unpredictable work
  • Mixed, lump sum for documented scope plus a day or hourly rate for unscoped work

Whatever the model, state the rate that applies to variations. PC sums and provisional sums should be flagged as such with quantity and a per-item rate so the variation maths is clean.

3. Confirm licence and insurance

Every state’s residential licensing scheme requires the contractor’s licence number to appear on quotes, contracts, correspondence and advertising. The quote pack should ask for and receive:

  • Contractor licence number, current and correct class for the work and the state of work
  • Public Liability Certificate of Currency, typical floor $5m for sole-trader residential, $10m if working under a head contractor; current expiry date
  • Workers Compensation Certificate of Currency, where employees or apprentices are involved
  • Professional Indemnity, where the scope includes design (most common for sparky on switchboard upgrades or solar tie-ins)

Both parties should sight current Certificates of Currency before any work starts. Last year’s screenshot doesn’t cut it.

4. Set the programme and sequencing

  • Days on site for each phase of the trade’s work (rough-in vs fit-off for sparky and plumber; fix vs set vs sand for plasterer; frame vs fix-out for chippy)
  • Sequencing: which trades or stages must be complete before this trade arrives
  • Notice required to call the trade to site
  • Hold points (frame inspection, pre-line, pre-paint, PCI)

Programme alignment is where most trade-on-trade conflict starts. Misaligned programmes turn into variations, EOTs, or both.

5. Write the variation mechanism

Every quote pack needs a written variation clause. It must cover:

  • What triggers a variation (scope change, latent condition, client request, design change)
  • Who can authorise (named individual or role)
  • The form variations are issued and accepted in (written, signed, dated)
  • The pricing basis for variations (the contract rate, day rate, or quote-on-request)
  • When variations are paid (typical: with the next progress claim)

Verbal variations, undocumented changes, and “we’ll sort it later” are the recipe for a dispute at PCI.

6. Set the quote currency window

Quotes don’t last forever. Materials prices, supplier availability, and trade availability all move. The pack should set a currency window: industry convention is 30 days from issue, after which the quote must be re-confirmed in writing. The window should be on the face of the quote.

Documents needed

The complete pack assembled by both parties:

DocumentHeld by
Scope of works (per trade)Engaging party issues, subbie returns priced
Drawings register (current revision per drawing)Engaging party
Schedules (finishes, fittings, hardware, services)Engaging party
ProgrammeEngaging party
Licence and CoC checklistSubbie returns with current copies
Variation form (blank template)Engaging party
Quote response (priced, with currency window)Subbie

Common holds

What stops a quote pack from converting to a clean job:

  • Vague scope edges: “make it watertight” without naming substrates, membranes and falls; “tile up to ceiling” without naming the tiler-sparky interface for niche lights
  • Missing licence detail: licence number missing, expired, or wrong class for the state of work
  • Expired CoCs: insurance lapsed between quote and start; the engaging party hasn’t sighted the current one
  • No variation mechanism: nothing in writing means everything is later argued verbally
  • Pricing basis mismatch: quote is lump sum but the contract treats it as cost-plus, or vice versa
  • PC and PS items not flagged: lump sum quote that includes “allowances” the subbie treats as fixed and the engaging party treats as estimates
  • Programme assumptions not stated: subbie assumes frame is ready when they arrive; builder assumes subbie can wait three days

Each of these is a common dispute trigger documented in the HIA Guide to Materials and Workmanship and in state Fair Trading complaint data.

References

See also

Last updated: 2026-05-05. Verified: 2026-05-05. Quarterly review for state licensing currency, ACL provisions, and HIA Guide.

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