Building indemnity insurance (BII) is an important protection for anyone constructing or renovating a home.
It helps cover extra costs that arise if the contractor disappears, dies or becomes insolvent and is unable to complete the building work or repair defects under statutory warranties.
When is BII required?
The Building Work Contractors Act 1995 requires a BII policy to be in place for domestic building work:
- valued at $20,000 or more that requires development approval under the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 (PDI Act), and
- performed by a building work contractor under a domestic building work contract, or on the contractor’s own behalf.
The owner must receive a copy of the BII certificate when building work is to be performed under a domestic building works contract.
Further information
BII requirements under the PDI Act
Under the Planning, Development and Infrastructure (General) Regulations 2017, anyone applying for building consent for domestic building work must provide BII certificates with their application when:
- a domestic building works contract is in place at the time of application, or
- the work is being undertaken by a building work contractor on their own behalf.
Otherwise, BII certificates must be provided to the relevant authority (council or private certifier) before notifying the commencement of building work.
