In Victoria the deposit cap halves once a job reaches $20,000 (from 10 percent to 5 percent), work over $10,000 needs a registered builder on a major domestic building contract, and contracts signed from 1 July 2026 need Home Warranty cover for work over $20,000 before any money changes hands.
Rules verified against the legislation and Building and Plumbing Commission on 2026-07-17.
Pick your state and a rough job value. The requirements that apply at that value appear below, with the official source behind each one. Your final signed contract price decides, not the estimate.
Choose a state and a value to see the requirements that apply at that size of job.
The deposit cap is 10 percent when the total contract price is under $20,000, and 5 percent when it is $20,000 or more.
Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic), section 11 (opens in new tab) · Consumer Affairs Victoria: deposits and payments (opens in new tab)
Domestic building work worth more than $10,000 must be carried out by a registered building practitioner, under a major domestic building contract. Registration is checked with the Building and Plumbing Commission, which took over from the Victorian Building Authority on 1 July 2026.
Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic) and Building Act 1993 (Vic) (opens in new tab) · Building and Plumbing Commission (the building regulator from 1 July 2026) (opens in new tab)
Most domestic building work worth more than $10,000 needs a major domestic building contract in writing, with the protections the Act prescribes.
Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic), section 31 (opens in new tab) · Consumer Affairs Victoria: deposits and payments (opens in new tab)
For contracts signed from 1 July 2026, work worth more than $20,000 needs Home Warranty cover, which the builder must buy on your behalf before taking a deposit or any other money. It replaced domestic building insurance (which applied over $16,000 and still covers contracts signed earlier), and it also covers incomplete or defective work, up to $400,000.
Building Act 1993 (Vic), Home Warranty from 1 July 2026 (opens in new tab) · Building and Plumbing Commission: domestic building insurance and Home Warranty (opens in new tab)
Check a registered building practitioner (Building and Plumbing Commission) (opens in new tab) is the official, free register run by Building and Plumbing Commission. Then see the public evidence we hold: check the business by name or see the Building and Plumbing Commission public register entries we have found, and browse tradespeople with public evidence.
The deposit cap is 10 percent when the total contract price is under $20,000, and 5 percent when it is $20,000 or more. The cap binds on the final signed contract price.
Domestic building work worth more than $10,000 must be carried out by a registered building practitioner, under a major domestic building contract. Registration is checked with the Building and Plumbing Commission, which took over from the Victorian Building Authority on 1 July 2026.
For contracts signed from 1 July 2026, work worth more than $20,000 needs Home Warranty cover, which the builder must buy on your behalf before taking a deposit or any other money. It replaced domestic building insurance (which applied over $16,000 and still covers contracts signed earlier), and it also covers incomplete or defective work, up to $400,000.
Use the free official register: Check a registered building practitioner (Building and Plumbing Commission). It is run by Building and Plumbing Commission and takes minutes. Checking before you sign costs nothing; skipping it is how most bad hires start.
This is guidance from the public rules, not legal advice. The thresholds bind on your final signed contract price, not an estimate, and state law changes. Check the regulator's current page before you sign or pay anything.
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