Guide · pre-purchase

The report you want before you buy is not a treatment.

QBCC says a pre-purchase building inspection and a pre-purchase timber pest inspection are separate recommendations. One looks for major defects. The other looks for timber pests. Ordering “a pest inspection” without saying which document you mean is how the quotes stop being comparable.

What QBCC says AS 4349.3 covers

On the April 2024 note, Part 3 of AS 4349 sets minimum requirements for a non-invasive timber pest inspection of the house and the property within 30 metres. QBCC describes it as visual, including non-marking sounding and moisture assessment. The pests in that definition include subterranean and dampwood termites, borers of seasoned timber and wood decay fungi. Drywood termites and mould are outside it.

The report should comment on present or past activity and damage, signs of earlier treatment, how susceptible the building is, conditions that could raise the chance of activity, and where more investigation is needed. QBCC also says the result is limited by access, weather, concealment and what the owner tells the inspector. A clear report is not a warranty that activity will not be found later.

What it is not

AS 3660.2:2017, on the Standards Australia preview, says it is not for a pre-purchase timber pest report. That standard is for managing subterranean termites in and around existing buildings, including colony control and treatment certification. If the contract you are offered is “install a barrier” or “start baiting”, it is not this inspection.

The building inspection QBCC pairs with the purchase is AS 4349 Part 1, by a QBCC-licensed person, looking at general condition and major defects. A timber pest report does not replace it. Working with someone who lacks the licence can affect Queensland Home Warranty Insurance. That is QBCC’s general warning, not a finding about a particular contract.

The only dollar figure tied to an inspection here

Jets advertises $285 for a 1–4 bedroom inspection. That is one supplier’s bedroom band. It may be a pre-purchase product or a maintenance visit. The advertisement, as recorded for this site, does not say which standard the report follows. Ask. Do not assume GST is included. Houses with more than four bedrooms are discussed on the Brookfield, Pullenvale and Fig Tree Pocket page, where the census share of four-or-more-bedroom dwellings is high and the split above four bedrooms is not published.