Pre-purchase building inspections
The short answer
Pre-purchase inspections are governed by AS 4349.1, which requires a signed inspection agreement before you inspect, defines what counts as safe and reasonable access, and sets out how the report must separate major defects, minor defects and safety hazards. A safety hazard must be reported as a major defect.
The agreement comes before the inspection
Section 2 of AS 4349.1 requires a pre-inspection agreement covering scope, limitations and fees, signed before the inspection happens. This is the part most often skipped and the part that causes the most trouble afterwards, because it is what defines what the buyer was and was not paying you to look at.
Safe and reasonable access is defined, not judged
The standard sets actual dimensions rather than leaving it to opinion: a roof access opening of 400 by 500 mm, a crawl space of 600 by 600 mm, a 3.6 m ladder limit, and a 30 m site rule for what counts as part of the property. If you could not get in, that is a restriction of access, and it belongs in the report as a restriction rather than as a clean pass.
Restrictions are not defects, and defects are not restrictions
A roof space you could not enter is an area not inspected. It is not a finding. Conflating the two is the single most common way these reports mislead a buyer, because a report with no defects listed in the roof space reads very differently depending on whether you were actually in there.
A safety hazard is always a major defect
The standard is explicit. Whatever else you think of it, if it is a safety hazard it goes in the major defects list. The conclusion also has to place the property in context: incidence of major defects and of minor defects compared with similar buildings, and overall condition given its age and type.
It is not a compliance certificate
The report must say so. It advises a purchaser on condition at the inspection date. It does not certify compliance with anything. Queensland also requires a licensed inspector, and the ACT works differently again, since there the vendor supplies a statutory building report instead.
Who is responsible for what
The purchaser engages the inspector, and the report goes to them. Occasionally a vendor or agent commissions one. The inspector carries the professional responsibility for the findings and for the limitations being stated clearly.
What the report should record
- Client, property address, date and time, weather at inspection and recent weather
- Whether the property is occupied by owner or tenant
- A structured description of the building: type, storeys, approximate age, roof covering and frame, external walls, floor construction, footings, linings
- The pre-inspection agreement reference, and confirmation it was accepted before the inspection
- Areas inspected, and every area not inspected with the reason
- Findings across interior, exterior, roof exterior, roof space, sub-floor and the site within 30 m
- Major defects and safety hazards as one list, minor and other defects as another
- Any further inspections recommended: timber pest, electrical, plumbing, structural engineer, asbestos, pool safety
- A conclusion placing major and minor defect incidence against similar buildings, plus overall condition
- Crack widths in mm with the damage category where cracking is reported
What commonly goes wrong
- No signed pre-inspection agreement, which is a breach of the standard itself
- Areas not inspected recorded as if they passed
- A safety hazard written up as a minor defect
- A conclusion with no comparison to similar buildings, which the standard asks for
- The report presented or read as a compliance certificate
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Common questions
What standard covers pre-purchase building inspections?
AS 4349.1-2007. Appendix C is the report format for freestanding homes, Appendix B for strata.
Is a pre-inspection agreement compulsory?
Yes. Section 2 of AS 4349.1 requires a signed agreement covering scope, limitations and fees before the inspection takes place.
What counts as safe and reasonable access?
The standard sets dimensions: a 400 by 500 mm roof access opening, a 600 by 600 mm crawl space, a 3.6 m ladder limit, and a 30 m site rule. Anything beyond that is recorded as a restriction of access.
Does a pre-purchase report certify the building complies?
No, and it must say so. It advises on condition at the inspection date only. The ACT is a separate case, where the vendor supplies a statutory building report instead.
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Last reviewed: September 2026. General information for tradespeople, not legal advice. Standards and regulations change. Governing references for this page: AS 4349.1-2007 Inspection of buildings Part 1: Pre-purchase inspections, Residential buildings. Confirm the current position with your state building regulator before you rely on it.