Builder marketing rules in Tasmania: ACL, Residential Building Work Act and CBOS

Key takeaways

• TAS residential builder marketing sits under the ACL plus the Residential Building Work Contracts and Dispute Resolution Act 2016 (Tas) and the Occupational Licensing Act 2005 (Tas).
• Occupational licence number must appear on builder advertising under the Occupational Licensing Act 2005.
• Tasmania has no compulsory home warranty insurance scheme. The 2023 Act passed but is not yet proclaimed, so any advertising that promises "warranty insurance" is currently misleading.
• Consumer Building and Occupational Services (CBOS) administers residential building rules and the licence register.
• Fake or incentivised reviews without disclosure breach ACL sections 18 and 29.

The regulator

Consumer Building and Occupational Services (CBOS) sits within the Department of Justice and administers residential building licensing, contracts and dispute resolution in Tasmania. It also enforces the Australian Consumer Law for building services.

Licence display

The Occupational Licensing Act 2005 (Tas) sets the licensing framework for builders, plumbers and other building trades. Licensed persons must include their licence number in advertising. CBOS runs a public licence-check tool that consumers use before signing.

The missing warranty insurance scheme

Tasmania is the only mainland Australian jurisdiction without a compulsory home warranty insurance scheme. The Residential Building Insurance Act 2023 passed but has not been proclaimed. Any Tasmanian builder advertising "warranty insurance protection" today risks a misleading-conduct finding, because the advertised protection does not yet exist as a compulsory scheme.

Builders migrating from Victoria in particular need to strip DBI or Home Warranty references from templates when marketing into Tasmania.

Quote and estimate conduct

The Residential Building Work Contracts and Dispute Resolution Act 2016 (Tas) sets the price and content rules for residential building contracts. Section 15 sets progress payment rules. Section 17 covers cooling-off. Marketing that misrepresents these terms is enforceable under both the Act and the ACL.

What Tasmanian builders should audit today

• Occupational licence number visible on every advertising channel.
• No references to compulsory warranty insurance protection.
• Cooling-off wording accurate to section 17 of the 2016 Act.
• Provisional sum items described consistently across advertising and quote.
• Every review is verifiable to a real customer.