Hiring a pool builder in Queensland: licence, contract and deposit

To hire a pool builder in Queensland, check they hold a QBCC Swimming Pool Construction, Installation and Maintenance contractor licence. A pool job worth more than $3,300, including labour, materials and GST, also needs a written contract, a capped deposit and home warranty insurance paid by the builder.

What licence does a pool builder need?

The QBCC licence class is Swimming Pool Construction, Installation and Maintenance. It comes in three versions, and each covers different work:

• Construction: building concrete pools and spas, from the dig and steel through to tiling, coping, pool fencing and paving.
• Installation: putting in fibreglass, prefabricated and above-ground pools and spas, including the pool fencing and paving.
• Maintenance and accessories: repairs and pool equipment such as heaters. It doesn’t cover building a new pool.

Open the builder’s licence and check it is the right version for your pool, and that it is a contractor licence. Only a contractor licence lets someone sign a contract with you. Search pool builders on this site, then confirm on QBCC’s licence search.

QBCC suggests getting several pool builders to inspect your site, give a written quote and explain their warranties. Check each builder’s licence history before you accept a quote.

Who else will work on my pool?

A pool licence doesn’t let the builder do every part of the job.

• Plumber: the pool licence covers the pool’s own pipework, such as filtration and solar heating. Plumbing and drainage need a separate licence, for example connecting backwash to the drains. Search Plumbing and Drainage licensees.
• Electrician: only a licensed electrician can wire the pump, lights and heater, and install the bonding that stops the pool becoming live if something goes wrong. Electricians are licensed by the Electrical Safety Office, not QBCC. Check them on the electrical licence search.

The Electrical Safety Office says the electrician should come while the pool’s steel is still exposed, before the concrete is poured or sprayed, so the bonding can be connected and tested. Leaving a wire sticking out of the shell for later is unsafe because the shell can’t be tested properly. Ask your builder when the electrician is booked, and ask the electrician for a certificate of test when they finish.

What should a pool quote include?

Quotes are hard to compare because each builder leaves out different things. QBCC suggests you agree on these before you compare prices:

• shape, size, depth and where the pool sits on the block
• interior finish
• the number of inlets, skimmer boxes and drains
• the filtration equipment, its size and where it goes
• extras such as lights, cleaners, ladders and handrails
• whether the price includes the pool fence, paving and landscaping
• the home warranty insurance premium

Also ask whether the price covers building approval, taking away the soil, a temporary fence, and the electrician and plumber. A quote that leaves these out isn’t cheaper. See comparing quotes.

What must be in a pool building contract?

A pool job over $3,300 needs a written contract. QBCC notes that some builders use pool contracts from the Swimming Pool and Spa Association (SPASA). Whichever contract is used, QBCC says it should include:

• drawings, and the size, shape, water depth, interior finish, filtration and access
• the amount and timing of each progress payment
• what happens if the builder finds rock during the dig, or the job is held up by wet weather
• warranties on the pool and the equipment

You have 5 business days to cool off after you get a signed copy of the contract. For a job of $20,000 or more, the builder must also give you QBCC’s Consumer Building Guide before you sign. See building contracts and cooling-off.

QBCC says that to be fully covered by home warranty insurance, you should agree to a fixed-price contract, not a cost-plus contract.

How much deposit can a pool builder ask for?

• $3,300 or less: no more than 20%
• $3,301 to $19,999: no more than 10%
• $20,000 or more: no more than 5%

The deposit usually includes the home warranty premium, which the builder pays to QBCC for you.

QBCC allows up to 20% only where more than half the contract price is custom work made off site. Its examples are things like made-to-measure cabinets, windows and sheds. If a pool builder asks for more than the normal limit, ask them to explain in writing why, and check with QBCC on 139 333 before you pay.

If you pay more than the legal deposit, you can’t get the extra back through home warranty insurance if the builder goes broke.

How should progress payments work?

Each payment must match the work done. QBCC’s example: the builder can’t claim more than 50% of the price, including the deposit, until at least 50% of the work on site is finished.

Tie payments to stages you can see, such as the dig finished, the shell in place, tiling and coping done, and handover. Never pay more than the contract says, or before a payment is due. Paying early reduces your home warranty cover.

What if the dig hits rock?

Read how your contract handles rock before you sign, and ask the builder how they would charge for it.

Any extra charge is a variation. The builder must put it in writing, and you must agree in writing before that extra work starts. They can’t ask you to pay for it before it starts. See variations and extra charges.

What happens at handover?

When the pool is finished, your builder must show everyone who will look after it how to keep the water clean and run the filter and chlorinator. Don’t make the final payment until the pool is certified and the equipment works. See pool fence rules while your pool is built for the certificate you need before filling.