Pre-sale building and pest inspections are essential, but right now, every buyer organises and pays for their own.
The Allan Labor Government will put an end to that hassle.
We’ll require vendors to organise and pay for the inspections, and make the reports available to all potential buyers.
Work starts now to develop a mandatory building and pest inspections scheme, with safeguards to protect buyers.
Legislation to implement it will be introduced to Parliament in 2027, under a re-elected Allan Labor Government.
Why new solutions are needed
The information in building and pest inspection reports can make or break the biggest purchase of your life.
But the status quo isn’t working – some potential buyers are paying too much; others face risks by going without.
According to the Consumer Policy Research Centre:
- Building inspections and pest inspections can cost $500 to 600 for both reports
- Around half of all buyers pay for multiple inspections in the process of finding a home
- 17 per cent of buyers pay for seven or more building inspections, spending up to $4,200
- 17 per cent are buying blind with no inspections, often due to the cost and hassle of obtaining them
- Inspections matter: 11 per cent decided not to make an offer on a property after seeing a report.
Under our change, vendors (sellers) would pay for these inspections and make the reports available before sale.
That means the due diligence for your big purchase is more affordable and accessible.
The money you would ordinarily spend on multiple reports can go into your deposit for your eventual home.
And if you still want to organise and obtain your own separate inspections ahead of sale, you can.
How it will work
The Labor Government will develop and implement a mandatory building and pest inspections scheme.
To design it, we will consult with the ACT, the only jurisdiction in Australia with a mandatory scheme. In the ACT:
- Vendors pay for inspection reports – but they aren’t required for some properties like new builds
- Inspections must be completed within 3 months before sale, by professionals who meet key requirements
- Inspections must be undertaken in line with the relevant Australian standard
- After the contract is signed, the vendor can recover the report costs from the successful purchaser.
We will also consult widely with industry.
Our scheme will protect buyers above all, with safeguards to prevent low-quality reports or conflicts of interest.
Work to develop the scheme and its safeguards starts now, with legislation introduced to Parliament in 2027.
Only Labor has new solutions to make life easier, safer and more affordable.