Builder marketing rules in Queensland: ACL, QBCC Act and Office of Fair Trading

Key takeaways

• Queensland residential builder marketing sits under the ACL plus the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991, and the QBCC plus the Office of Fair Trading share enforcement.
• QBCC licence number and class must appear on advertising for regulated building work over $3,300 under section 53 of the QBCC Act 1991.
• Section 53A extends licence-display duties to online, social media and vehicle advertising.
• Quote pricing under the Schedule 1B contract regime cannot omit the licence-display and cooling-off information at the point of first offer.
• Fake or incentivised reviews without disclosure breach ACL sections 18 and 29 and attract civil penalties.

The two regulators

The Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) licenses and disciplines builders under the QBCC Act 1991. The Office of Fair Trading, part of the Department of Justice, enforces the Australian Consumer Law for building services outside the QBCC-licensed space. In practice, marketing complaints about licensed builders usually land with the QBCC first.

Licence display under section 53

Section 53 of the QBCC Act 1991 requires every licensed contractor to include their QBCC licence number in any advertising for building work above the regulated threshold. The threshold is $3,300 which is the lowest in Australia. Section 53A confirms this covers online listings, social platforms, vehicle signage and any print or broadcast advertising.

QBCC audit patterns focus on:

• Facebook and Instagram business pages that omit the licence number.
• Website landing pages that show the number in a footer image, which does not satisfy section 53 because search engines and screen readers cannot index it.
• Sub-contractor advertising by builders promoting scope beyond their licence class.

Quote conduct at first offer

Schedule 1B of the QBCC Act 1991 governs regulated residential contracts. Marketing that leads a homeowner to sign a Level 1 or Level 2 contract must not misrepresent the cooling-off period, which is 5 business days from receipt of the signed contract copy under the Schedule.

The Office of Fair Trading has pursued misleading-quote cases where a builder's ad implied a fixed price and the quote arrived subject to material variation. The overall-impression test from ACL section 18 applies.

Reviews and testimonials

Queensland treats fake reviews under the general ACL regime. QBCC can add a licence-conduct finding if the review misrepresented workmanship covered under Schedule 1B statutory warranties.

What Queensland builders should audit today

• QBCC licence number visible as searchable text on every marketing page.
• Facebook and Instagram business pages show the licence number.
• Vehicle signage carries the licence number.
• Every review is verifiable to a real customer.
• Quote and pre-contract material state the 5 business day cooling-off right clearly.