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Building companies

Your company must be registered as a building practitioner if you want to do any of the following using your company name instead of your individual name:

  • enter into major domestic building contracts
  • be named as a builder on a building permit for major domestic building work, or any other work costing more than (in most cases) $10,000.
  • be appointed as the relevant building surveyor.

If your company is not registered, you will not be able to the above activities using your company's name.

Serious penalties apply for saying, or implying, that you or your company are registered, if this is not true.

If you enter into a major domestic building contract using your individual name, a building permit cannot be issued unless the name on the contract matches the name on the certificate of insurance.

You can register your company in one or more categories or classes of registered practitioner, but a company can only be registered in a particular category or class if at least one of its directors is registered in that category or class.

Do I need to register my company?

No – you can carry out work using your individual registration.

Partnerships cannot be registered with the VBA.  However, if you operate your business as a partnership, there are additional registration requirements.  Each partner will need to complete a partner declaration form and meet our fit and proper person requirements. For more information, see Partnerships and Fit and proper person – external administration.

Yes – if you want to use a company name to enter into major domestic building contracts.

Domestic builder includes Domestic Builder (Unlimited), Domestic Builder (Limited to a class of work) and Domestic Builder (Manager).

Yes – if you want your company to be appointed as a relevant building surveyor.

You do not need to register your company if you only intend to be appointed as a relevant building surveyor using your individual registration.

You only need to register your company if you want to name your company as the builder on a non-domestic building permit worth more than (in most cases) $10,000.

What happens to your individual registration

You need to keep your individual registration for your company to be, and stay, registered. Your individual registration will not be transferred to a company registration. This means you will need to complete the annual fee and insurance check, and registration renewal, for yourself and your company.

Eligibility

A company can be registered as a building practitioner if each of the following requirements are met:

  • at least one director of the company holds a current registration as a building practitioner
  • the VBA is satisfied that the company and each director of the company meets the prescribed personal and financial probity requirements (including directors who are not registered building practitioners)
  • none of the directors is an excluded person.

An excluded person is someone who is disqualified from registration, or who has previously been disqualified from registration, for a disciplinary reason (for instance, if their registration was cancelled, because they did something illegal under the Building Act). A person will also be excluded where an associate or related body corporate has been disqualified from registration, or if the person is a represented person under the Guardianship and Administration Act 1986.

There is no additional knowledge and experience requirement.

Once registered, the company will become a building practitioner in its own right. It will have the same responsibilities as an individual building practitioner, along with some additional duties and obligations specific to registered companies. You should read about these duties and obligations before you apply to register your company.

Start your company application

Please follow the instructions carefully. Our application process changes from time to time.

To apply for registration as a company, you will need to complete an online application form:

Log in to VBA to:

  • Start a new application OR
  • Continue a draft application

You can start a new application form or find your draft application on the Registration and Licensing page.

Director’s declarations

Every company director must complete a Director's Declaration Form (PDF, 1602.73 KB) and a national police check, regardless of whether they're a registered building practitioner.

If you're a director that holds VBA registration, you must maintain your own registration and continue to meet your annual fee insurance and renewal obligations, in order for your company to remain registered.