How to make a building complaint in Western Australia — Building and Energy explained

If your builder in Western Australia refuses to fix defects or finish work they were paid to complete, the Building and Energy division of DEMIRS (the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety) is your first and mandatory port of call. You must go through Building and Energy before you can escalate to the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT), and the service is free to use.

What Building and Energy handles

Building and Energy is the state government body responsible for regulating the building industry in Western Australia. Its complaint resolution function covers disputes arising from residential building work, including:

• Defective work — building elements that do not meet the required standard of workmanship or do not comply with the approved plans
• Incomplete work — work contracted and paid for that has not been finished
• Contract disputes — disagreements about payment, scope of work, or the terms of a building contract
• Unlicensed building work — work performed by a contractor who was not properly registered

Building and Energy’s powers come primarily from the Building Services (Complaint Resolution and Administration) Act 2011 and the Building Services (Registration) Act 2011. For older matters involving builders registered under the historical scheme, the Builders’ Registration Act 1939 can still be relevant. Understanding which legislation applies to your situation can affect your options, so it is worth checking with Building and Energy directly if your contract pre-dates 2011.

Who can make a complaint

To lodge a complaint with Building and Energy, you generally need to:

1. Have a contract (written or oral) with a registered building contractor for residential building work in Western Australia
2. Be the owner of the property where the work was carried out, or have a direct contractual relationship with the builder
3. Have a genuine dispute about the quality, completion, or terms of that work

The builder must be registered in WA. If the person who carried out your work was not registered and did not hold an appropriate licence, the complaint process is different and may involve referral to another part of Building and Energy for compliance action rather than a dispute resolution outcome.

Time limits — act within six years

One of the most important things to understand is the six-year complaint window. Complaints must be lodged within six years of the date of practical completion of the building work. Practical completion is broadly the point at which your home is finished and fit for occupation, even if minor items remain outstanding.

Six years sounds like a long time, but defects in waterproofing, structural elements, and drainage systems can take years to become visible. Once the six-year window closes, Building and Energy cannot accept your complaint regardless of how serious the defect is. If you are approaching that limit, lodge the complaint first and gather further evidence afterwards.

What “poor workmanship” means in practice

Under WA building law, work must be carried out in a proper and workmanlike manner and must comply with the approved plans, the National Construction Code (NCC), relevant Australian Standards, and the terms of the contract. Work that falls short of those standards constitutes poor workmanship.

In the 2024-25 period, Building and Energy received over 570 active complaints, with poor workmanship and contractual disputes consistently making up the two largest categories. Common defective work complaints include:

• Cracking to render, plasterboard, or masonry beyond acceptable tolerances
• Waterproofing failures in wet areas (bathrooms, laundries, external decks)
• Roof leaks and inadequate flashing
• Doors and windows that do not operate correctly
• Drainage that does not fall to the outlet
• Brickwork with excessive variation in mortar joints or misaligned courses
• Structural elements that do not meet NCC requirements

If you are unsure whether a defect meets the threshold for a complaint, an independent building inspection report from a qualified inspector can provide useful evidence.

Step 1 — attempt to resolve the issue directly with your builder

Before lodging a formal complaint, you must make a genuine attempt to resolve the matter with your builder. Building and Energy will ask whether you have done this, and the quality of that attempt affects how your complaint proceeds.

To do this properly:

1. Put your complaint in writing to the builder, specifying each defect or incomplete item clearly
2. Reference the relevant clause of your contract or the applicable NCC provision if you can
3. Give the builder a reasonable timeframe to respond and to carry out rectification (typically 14 to 28 days depending on the scope of work)
4. Keep copies of every letter, email, and text message
5. Photograph all defects before any rectification work starts, and again after if it is carried out unsatisfactorily
6. Note the date and a summary of any phone conversations in writing and send a follow-up email confirming what was discussed

This paper trail is not just procedural. It becomes the evidence base for your complaint. A well-documented attempt at direct resolution makes your complaint far stronger and speeds up Building and Energy’s process.

Step 2 — lodge a complaint with Building and Energy

If the builder has not responded or has refused to carry out the rectification work, you can lodge a complaint with Building and Energy. The complaint is free to lodge and can be submitted online via the Building and Energy website or by completing the Building Services complaint form and submitting it by email or post.

Your complaint should include:

• Your name and contact details
• The builder’s name, trading name, and registration number (if known)
• The address of the property
• A clear description of each defect or incomplete item — be specific about location, what is wrong, and what standard it fails to meet
• The date practical completion occurred (or your best estimate)
• Evidence of your attempts to resolve the matter directly with the builder, including copies of written communications
• Photographs of each defect, ideally with a date stamp
• A copy of your building contract and any relevant variation orders
• Any independent inspection reports you have obtained

You do not need a lawyer to lodge a complaint, and Building and Energy staff can assist you in understanding the process if you call them directly.

The investigation and conciliation process

Once your complaint is lodged, Building and Energy assigns it to a building surveyor or inspector. The process typically follows these stages:

1. Acknowledgement and initial assessment — Building and Energy reviews the complaint to confirm it falls within their jurisdiction and that the six-year limit has not passed
2. Conciliation — a case manager contacts both you and the builder to try to reach an agreed resolution without the need for a formal inspection
3. Site inspection — if conciliation does not resolve the matter, Building and Energy can carry out a site inspection to assess the disputed work against the required standard
4. Findings — Building and Energy issues findings based on the inspection, identifying which items constitute defective or incomplete work
5. Rectification opportunity — the builder is given the opportunity to carry out the rectification work identified in the findings

Timeframes vary depending on the complexity of the complaint and the volume of work Building and Energy is managing, but straightforward complaints can move through conciliation within a few months. More complex matters involving multiple defects or uncooperative builders can take longer.

Building and Energy investigators have the power to enter a property to carry out inspections, require the production of documents, and direct builders to attend meetings. This is a genuine enforcement body, not just a mediation service.

Building and Energy outcomes — rectification orders and repayment directions

If conciliation fails and Building and Energy determines that defective or incomplete work has occurred, it can issue:

• A rectification order — a formal direction to the builder to carry out specified work to a required standard within a set timeframe
• A repayment direction — a formal direction to the builder to repay money to the homeowner where, for example, work has not been completed or cannot be rectified

A builder who does not comply with a rectification order or repayment direction faces serious consequences, including disciplinary action against their registration and referral to SAT.

If Building and Energy cannot resolve it — escalating to SAT

If Building and Energy is unable to resolve the complaint through conciliation and investigation, either party can apply to the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) to have the matter heard. SAT is WA’s equivalent to VCAT in Victoria, NCAT in New South Wales, or QCAT in Queensland.

SAT hears contested building disputes as a tribunal, not a court. It operates with less formality than the court system and is designed to be accessible without legal representation, although parties can bring lawyers if they choose.

At SAT, a tribunal member hears evidence from both sides and can make binding orders. Outcomes at SAT can include orders for rectification, compensation, or repayment. There are filing fees for SAT applications, which vary depending on the value of the claim.

SAT can also hear applications for review of Building and Energy decisions, so if you believe Building and Energy has made an error in assessing your complaint, you have recourse.

Home indemnity insurance — when this is the right pathway instead

If your builder has become insolvent, has died, or has disappeared and cannot be located, the complaint resolution pathway through Building and Energy may not be available or practical. In these situations, home indemnity insurance (HII) is the relevant mechanism.

In WA, home indemnity insurance is mandatory for most residential building contracts where the contract price exceeds $20,000. The insurance covers homeowners where the builder cannot complete or rectify work due to insolvency, death, or disappearance. Claims are made directly to the insurer, not to Building and Energy.

If your builder is still trading but simply uncooperative, Building and Energy is the right pathway and home indemnity insurance does not come into play.

Master Builders WA

Master Builders WA is the peak industry association for commercial and residential builders in WA. While it is not a government body and cannot issue enforceable orders, Master Builders WA offers a dispute resolution service for disputes involving members.

If your builder is a Master Builders WA member, contacting the association may produce a quicker resolution in some cases, as members are expected to abide by the association’s code of conduct. This can be pursued in parallel with the Building and Energy process, but it does not replace it.

Practical tips for a strong complaint

The homeowners who get the best outcomes from the Building and Energy process tend to share some common habits:

• Photograph everything before handover — walking through your home at practical completion with photos of every room, every junction, every penetration, and every wet area creates a dated baseline that is invaluable later
• Write defect notices in specific language — “cracking to the render on the north-facing external wall between the garage door and the front window, extending approximately 600 mm diagonally from the top of the window frame” is far stronger than “cracks in the render”
• Get an independent building inspection — a report from a registered building inspector adds significant weight to your complaint and helps identify defects you might not notice yourself
• Keep a defect log — record the date each defect first appeared, how it has changed over time, and any weather events or other circumstances that might be relevant
• Do not allow rectification works without written scope — if your builder offers to fix something, agree on the scope and timeframe in writing before they start, so there is no dispute later about what was promised
• Respond promptly — Building and Energy case managers work through high complaint volumes and slow responses from homeowners can delay your own matter

Tip: Checka lets you log defects with photos, voice notes, and location tags directly on site, then export a structured defect report you can attach to your Building and Energy complaint form. It takes minutes to set up on the day of your handover inspection.

Key takeaways

• Building and Energy (DEMIRS) is the mandatory first step for building complaints in WA — you must go through this process before escalating to SAT, and the service is free.
• You have six years from practical completion to lodge a complaint, but acting early strengthens your case and preserves evidence.
• Document everything — written communications with your builder, photographs of every defect, and an independent inspection report all significantly improve your chances of a successful outcome.
• Building and Energy can issue binding rectification orders and repayment directions against registered builders who carry out defective or incomplete work.
• SAT is the next step if Building and Energy cannot resolve the dispute — it functions as WA’s building disputes tribunal with powers to make enforceable orders.
• Home indemnity insurance applies only when your builder is insolvent, deceased, or has disappeared — for a builder who is trading but uncooperative, the Building and Energy pathway is the right one.