Full WhackGet paid. Not played.

NSW contract guide

Which contract does this job need?

The owner just accepted the quote. The form depends on who is hiring you, whether the work is on a home, and the price including GST. One number does not pick the contract.

Scope. NSW only. The lines below are the Home Building Act 1989 and the Home Building Regulation, clause 5, for contracts from 1 March 2015. Not legal advice.

Ask who is paying you

The owner, or another client who is not a licensed contractor, hiring you for residential building work: use the price bands below.

A builder hiring you, where you both hold contractor licences for this work: that is a subcontract. Sections 7 and 7AAA do not apply. The Act’s note says the same for work on premises one of you owns. “Builder” on the ute is not enough. Each licence has to authorise the work.

A shop or other job that is not residential building work, including specialist work that is not residential building work, is outside those home-building forms. Write the scope, price and pay date anyway. A burst pipe or other job that cannot wait without risking a person or property can start before the paperwork (section 6(2)). A booked renovation cannot.

If the owner hired you, use the price

The Act uses “exceeds”, GST included. If the price is unknown, use the reasonable market cost of the labour and materials. $5,000 exactly is not over the line. $20,000 exactly stays in the middle band. The NSW Government page describes the bands more loosely.

  • Not more than $5,000. The small-job written contract is not required. Still write what you are doing, the price and when you get paid.
  • More than $5,000, not more than $20,000. The small-job contract.
  • More than $20,000. The fuller home building contract. The owner can cool off for 5 clear business days after receiving the signed copy (section 7BA, clause 7). Home building compensation has to be in place, and the certificate given, before you take any money (section 92, clause 53). Staged contracts between the same parties are added together.

The deposit cap is a different line. For residential building work it is 10% (section 8), including under $5,000, and it does not apply between two licence holders for work each is licensed to do.

Before you price the job

  1. Name the hirer. Owner, licensed builder, or commercial client.
  2. Say whether the work is residential building work.
  3. Price it including GST. Do not leave the price open and hope it stays under a line.
  4. Contract in the name on the contractor licence. An individual’s licence does not let their company sign.
  5. If the job will change, agree the extra in writing. The variations page says when that is required.

Illustration only. Not a contract and not a customer job.

Vanity and tapware, then the job grows

You are replacing a vanity and tapware and sealing the splashback. No tiling. No waterproofing. The owner hired you.

  • $4,200 including GST. Under the small-job line. Write the scope and the pay date.
  • They add waterproofing and wall tiles and the price becomes $12,400. That is the small-job contract. A $1,240 deposit is 10%. There is no cooling-off period at this price.
  • It becomes a full bathroom at $22,000. Fuller contract, cooling-off, and the insurance certificate before any money.
  • Same $12,400, but a licensed builder hires you and you are licensed for the work. Subcontract. Not the homeowner form.

Questions tradies ask

Does every job over $5,000 use the same contract?
No. The middle band and the over-$20,000 contract are different. A subcontract between two licence holders, and specialist work that is not residential building work, sit outside both.
Is the 10% deposit on every job?
On residential building work, yes, unless the contract is between two licence holders for work each is licensed to do, or the work is specialist work that is not residential building work.
Does a $12,000 bathroom have five days’ cooling-off?
No. That right starts when the price exceeds $20,000, and it is the owner’s right. Developer contracts and some other contracts are outside it.

Related guides

Sources

Read on 8 November 2026. General information about NSW rules, not legal advice. A later amendment can change a section.

Write it for this job

NSW publishes free sample home building contracts for work with the homeowner. Fill one in yourself if that is the job. Full Whack asks who is hiring you and writes the matching file. The first one is free. It is not a check that the job complies.

Start a contract

Opens the contract start page. No card on that page.