Owner-Builders in Tasmania

What it is

Tasmania runs an owner-builder authority framework under the Building Act 2016 (Tas). An owner who wants to build or renovate their own home can apply for an owner-builder authority from the Director of Building Control before commencing work above the applicable value threshold.

The Residential Building Work Contracts and Dispute Resolution Act 2016 (Tas) runs alongside for the statutory warranty framework. Section 32(1) of the 2016 Act imposes a 6 year proceedings limit for statutory warranty claims measured from practical completion, and that limit applies to owner-builder work on any subsequent sale.

When an authority is required

An owner-builder authority is required for prescribed residential building work on the owner's own property above the value threshold set by the Building Act 2016 (Tas) and Building Regulations. The specific threshold is set by regulation rather than by the Act itself.

Below the threshold no authority is required. The owner can do the work directly or engage tradespeople without triggering the authority framework.

Application process

Applications are made to the Director of Building Control through the Consumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS) portal. Requirements typically include:

• ownership of the land or long-term lease
• individual applicant (not a company)
• suitable knowledge or experience (or completion of an approved course)
• payment of the application fee

The authority is issued for a single property and specifies the work covered.

Section 32 warranty exposure on sale

Section 32(1) of the Residential Building Work Contracts and Dispute Resolution Act 2016 (Tas) imposes a 6 year statutory warranty proceedings limit from practical completion. Where owner-built work is subsequently sold, section 27 to 32 warranties can apply against the owner-builder for the balance of the 6 year period.

That extends personal liability to the owner-builder for warranty claims during the 6 year window post-completion. TASCAT can make orders under section 62 of the 2016 Act against the owner-builder for money, rectification or completion.

No compulsory home warranty insurance

Tasmania is the only Australian jurisdiction without a compulsory home warranty insurance scheme. The Residential Building (Home Warranty Insurance Amendments) Act 2023 (Tas) passed but has not been proclaimed. That absence puts more weight on the owner-builder personal liability position: there is no insurance backstop for a subsequent purchaser who discovers a defect in owner-built work.

TradeForm TAS owner-builder templates highlight the absence of insurance backstop as a distinctive feature of the Tasmanian owner-builder framework.

Trade work by licensed practitioners

An owner-builder must engage licensed tradespeople for specialist trades (electrical under the Electrical Safety Act 2015 (Tas), plumbing under separate licensing). The owner-builder authority does not extend to specialist trade work.

The defects document mechanism does not apply

The section 4 practical completion definition and the section 44 defects document mechanism under the 2016 Act operate between the owner and the building contractor. Where an owner-builder does the work themselves, there is no separate building contractor to hand over a defects document to. That practical difference means owner-builders in Tasmania have no formal defects document mechanism at completion, unlike owner-purchasers of contracted work.

How Tasmania compares

Tasmania's owner-builder authority framework is broadly similar to other states but distinctive in three respects. Personal warranty liability under section 32(1) is 6 years (aligned with the flat statutory warranty period), the absence of compulsory home warranty insurance removes the safety net, and the section 44 defects document mechanism does not apply to genuine owner-builder work.

TradeForm TAS templates walk owners through the Director of Building Control authority process and the section 32 warranty exposure on any subsequent sale.