New build stage inspections
The short answer
Stage inspections are contract QA, not statutory inspections. The certifier or building surveyor still does their own at the mandated stages. Yours runs alongside, follows the progress payment stages, and produces a Schedule of Building Defects for the builder.
The stages, and why they follow the payments
Pre-pour slab, frame, lock-up, waterproofing and fixing, then practical completion at the end. That sequence exists because it matches the progress payment stages in most contracts. Inspecting before each payment is what gives the owner leverage, since a defect found after the slab is poured or the walls are lined costs a great deal more to fix.
Yours does not replace the statutory one
Queensland mandates inspections at excavation, footings, slab, frame and final under the Building Regulation 2021, with the certifier issuing a Form 16 per stage and a Form 21 at completion. New South Wales has critical stage inspections by the Principal Certifier, including waterproofing and stormwater drainage. Victoria has RBS mandatory notification stages at footings, slab or base, frame and final. Private stage inspections are contract QA in every state and sit alongside all of that.
Every defect needs a requirement behind it
This is what separates a useful stage report from an argument. A defect should cite the thing it fails: an engineering drawing number, an AS clause, or a tolerance guide clause. "Noggings stagger exceeds 150 mm, AS 1684 cl 6.2.1.5" is actionable. "Noggings look wrong" is not, and a builder is entitled to ignore it.
Frame stage carries the most
It is the stage with the longest checklist and the one where mistakes get buried behind plasterboard. Tie-downs and bracing fixed per the drawings, lintels to all openings over 1800 mm including non-loadbearing walls, supporting studs under every girder truss, stud spacing suited to the lining, and bottom plate overhang within tolerance. Once it is lined, none of it is visible again.
Measurements, not impressions
Anchor and fixing centres, nogging stagger, bottom plate overhang, cavity width, stud spacing, slab cover to reinforcement, frame plumb deviation. All in millimetres. A stage report full of adjectives is worth very little at the point somebody disputes it.
Who is responsible for what
The owner, owner-builder or builder engages the inspector. The report goes to the builder or site supervisor as a defect schedule. The certifier or building surveyor remains responsible for the statutory inspections, which are separate.
What the report should record
- Client, property or lot address, builder, and the stage of works
- Dwelling type, BCA class, construction type, footing type, roofing type
- Inspection date and time, weather, and the engineering drawing set reference
- Each checklist item as pass, fail or not applicable, with a note
- Every failure compiled into a numbered Schedule of Building Defects
- For each defect, the requirement it fails: drawing number, AS clause or tolerance guide clause
- A photograph for every defect
- Measurements in mm where the item is dimensional
- The next stage and its expected date, so the job chains through
What commonly goes wrong
- Defects with no requirement reference, which lets the builder dismiss them
- Frame stage signed off without checking tie-downs and bracing against the drawings
- Lintels missed over openings in non-loadbearing walls
- Waterproofing not verified as certified before tiling starts
- Treating the private inspection as if it replaced the certifier's statutory one
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Common questions
What are the stages of a new build inspection?
Typically pre-pour slab, frame, lock-up, waterproofing and fixing, then practical completion. The sequence matches the progress payment stages in most building contracts.
Do private stage inspections replace the council or certifier inspections?
No. Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria all have their own mandatory stages carried out by a certifier or building surveyor. A private stage inspection is contract QA that runs alongside them.
Why does every defect need a requirement reference?
Because it is what makes the defect actionable. Citing the drawing number, AS clause or tolerance guide clause turns an observation into something the builder has to rectify.
Which stage matters most?
Frame, generally. It has the longest checklist and everything on it disappears behind plasterboard, so an error missed there is the most expensive one to find later.
More Building & Carpentry guides
Practical completion inspections Pre-purchase building inspections All trades
Last reviewed: September 2026. General information for tradespeople, not legal advice. Standards and regulations change. Governing references for this page: NCC 2022; AS 1684 (timber framing); AS 2870 (slabs and footings); AS 3700 (masonry); AS 2589.1 (plasterboard); QLD Building Regulation 2021; state tolerance guides. Confirm the current position with your state building regulator before you rely on it.