The best builders in Brisbane

Two things push Brisbane renovation prices up. Older timber houses in the inner suburbs cost more to extend than a brick house in the outer ring, and raising a Queenslander to build underneath is a big job of its own. Quantity surveyors RLB put Queensland tender price growth at 5% in 2025, with another 5% forecast for 2026.

Consumer guide figures are indicative. RLB rates exclude GST, land, site works and professional fees. The ABS average is a Queensland figure, not a Brisbane one.

Compare builders on the lists for renovation builders in Brisbane, new home builders in Brisbane and commercial builders in Brisbane, or read our building costs guide for how to budget.

Brisbane City Council's character properties are mainly buildings from before the end of 1946. Many sit in the Traditional building character overlay, which aims to keep the pre-1947 look of the street. Houses built before 1911 have to be kept, and extensions should not alter their original parts.

• In the overlay, you generally need planning approval for external extensions.
• Extensions that involve demolishing part of a pre-1947 house may be assessed against the overlay's demolition and design codes.
• Raising a house in the overlay generally doesn't need planning approval where the new height is no more than 9.5 metres (Council notes these rules can change).
• Internal-only renovations are unlikely to need planning approval.

Look your property up on Council's mapping before you brief a designer. If you're unsure, Council's planning line is 07 3403 8888. A builder who regularly works on Queenslanders will know these codes well; ask how many character renovations they have taken through approval in the last two years.

Building approval (formally a development permit for building work) comes from a licensed building certifier, not Council. Extensions, raising and renovations all need it. The certifier checks the plans, issues the approval and inspects the work at set stages. Builders often engage the certifier on your behalf, but you can appoint one yourself.

Planning approval comes from Brisbane City Council, and only when the design doesn't meet every acceptable outcome of the relevant City Plan code, or an overlay such as the character overlay applies. In that case you lodge a development application with Council.

Everything above is Brisbane City Council's City Plan. Greater Brisbane spreads across several councils, so if your block is outside the Brisbane City Council area, check that council's planning scheme instead.

Queensland's rules kick in early. Any residential building work over $3,300 (labour, materials and GST) needs a QBCC licensed contractor, a written, signed and dated contract, and QBCC home warranty insurance. That covers a bathroom as much as a new house.

• Home warranty insurance is arranged by the builder, who collects the premium from you and pays it to QBCC before work starts. It covers you if the builder doesn't finish, doesn't fix defects, or the building suffers subsidence, up to $200,000 for each category of loss ($300,000 with optional extra cover). It does not apply to commercial work.
• Deposits are capped: 10% for work from $3,301 to $19,999, and 5% for $20,000 or more. A builder asking for more is breaking the rules.
• Progress payments have to match the work done. For example, no more than 50% of the price (deposit included) until at least 50% of the work is finished.
• Cooling-off is 5 business days, starting the day after you receive the signed contract (and, for jobs of $20,000 or more, the QBCC Consumer Building Guide). Pulling out can cost you $100 plus the builder's reasonable out-of-pocket costs.
• Disputes go to QBCC first. QCAT will only hear a building dispute after QBCC has dealt with it.

Our home warranty insurance guide compares Queensland with the other states.