CANBERRA BUILDING INSPECTIONS ACT, & NSW

Open Monday – Friday 9 am – 5 pm

Like other professions, our inspector has both academic, as well as years of practical hands-on building experience in ACT.

At My Canberra Building Inspection ACT our work is in ACT, Canberra and nearby NSW.  We do house inspections in the main. However, we also inspect houses, home units, townhouses, shops, offices, and factories.

Plus, we inspect almost anything you think you can use us for.  We also provide expert witness testimony.

The Legislated House Inspection Package

In ACT, any house put on the market must have its package of building inspections.  However, this can apply to some townhouses as well.  The four inspections in the sale package for ACT are listed below. Other states do not have all this exactly.

It is the vendor who must supply these in ACT. Our price for this basic package for an average house is from $1,697 plus GST. However, our prices are for average sized single storied properties in an average condition with a concrete floor. It is another $275 plus GST extra for a timber floor. They usually have four bedroom and two bathrooms. Contact us at My Canberra Building Inspections ACT.

For home units, most apartments and flats, the purchaser arranges all these as needed.  However, the vendor of these must still get the below energy rating done in ACT.

Here are the five:

1. ACT Building Inspections

The inspection is mostly about the workability of the of the house in relation to its age.  A forty year old house is viewed slightly differently to that of a two year old house.  The structural integrity is looked at, as is a basic workability of the electrical and plumbing items.

On the right is a correct pier. On the left is a pier that is dangerous and was only one of several hastily put together. 

We turn on and off power points and stoves and ovens and hotplates. However, we do not test dishwashers, farm pumps or solar panels.  We check that lights turn on and off. Do the smoke detectors work?  Though, we do not test NBN or security.

For the seller all this assists their sale price when the buyer knows the house works.  Most people are proud of their homes.  If a seller needs help on how to fix some of these items, we can give free advice.  We can also give free professional handyman referrals. See this page.

Our price for just the home inspection alone is $647 plus GST for an average size house.

2. The Termite and Timber Pest Inspections

Here we cover the mandated timber pests, meaning fungi, borer, termites and so on.  With the Canberra cold the wood also sometimes rots as it freezes and expands.  We need to also search for termites, and that they stay out of our home. No one wants an infestation.  Canberra and rural New South Wales are high risk termite prone regions. Fortunately, the cold can keep some of the termite problems down.

Borers in trees also have to be reported.

The inspection will also mention materials found conducive to having termites live there, or being food for termites.  Damp areas in the house are looked at. Please consider valid all warnings in our reports.

Timber Pest inspections should also include not just current termites and other timber pests. The reports should also include previous damage found. Plus, what is seen as conducive material that would encourage future attack. Such conducive material should include stacks of untreated timber, and areas damp under a house, as termites like damp areas. Plus one should report on any materials found in construction that are obviously untreated.

Fungal decay causes backyard fences to fall apart. This is not uncommon, but must go in the report.

Access Restrictions

The report should note the site access and its limitations. Termites have often survived through hiding.

This is a visual inspection only. However, an unobtrusive inspection has its limits.  Furniture can hide pests.  And the inspector does not have a duty to move furniture, timber, bricks or anything else.  He may, however, note what he could not see, and why. Then he can recommend an intrusive test if needed.  But in saying this our inspector is professional. For more information: See this page.

Our price for the Building and Timber Pest Package is $897 plus GST for a concrete floored average house. This also applies to nearby NSW as well as ACT.

3. The ACT Energy Efficiency Rating

This is a report from a computer-program, of which there are different versions in Australia.  Contact us and we will give you our best advice. It is part of the overall mandatory building inspection package for ACT. Those who do the ratings are Building Assessors. Why pay more?

Why The EER report

Newer homes have been built with more energy efficient materials and designs. The report also has a section that shows how an owner can increase the energy efficiency of their home. This is so a buyer can evaluate one home from another. Thus a buyer knows what he or she is buying in relation to energy efficiency.

The report gives ratings in stars. For example, a three star property is not as energy efficient as a four or five star property. There is little room for the building assessor to evaluate the report. It is simply what it is. For more information: See this page.

Much of this blown-in insulation has blown out over the years. It might state there is to be 75 mm on the plans, but there is 25 mm or less now.

4. The Compliance Summary Report

This inspection is to look at what was approved by the ACT Planning Authority, now known as Access Canberra. In New South Wales we do these reports. We simply compare what was approved to be there to what is there now. Were all building additions approved? Were all the backyard changes approved? Such as the sheds and pergolas, were they approved or are they exempt from approval? This is all evaluated and put in the report. The report is precise.

We can also do these for commercial buildings. Just ask.

What is looked for are added  unapproved-structures on the site. This affects the buyer, by way that insurance companies generally will not insure added unapproved structures. For more information: See this page.

This inspection is part of the overall overall mandatory building inspection package for ACT.

Commercial Compliance Summary Reports

The Compliance Summary Report is also recommended for all major commercial building inspections. But you must ask for it. Please read this Compliance Summary Report page to understand more.

Some councils make this easy, but the smaller the council in NSW the more difficult it might be. Access Canberra is easy to work with. Why pay more?

5. The ACT Conveyancing File

Then, once all the above is done, the building file history summary is supplied by us, to you. We buy this from Access Canberra and supply a copy of it to you. The vendor then has a copy of this file in the contract for the buyer. A copy should also be at the home during open house, so that any prospective buyer can see items reported. Thus, buyers can read the report and see how compares to what is really there on site.

This conveyancing file includes a summary of all the pages of building plans plans, with their respective approvals stamped on them.

For NSW councils it can be more difficult. However, we always advise that someone obtain these for any buyer. Even the buyer’s legal conveyancer can obtain these.

For more information: See this page.

Commercial Inspections

Commercial inspections can be, as examples, of a shop, motels, offices, factories, or even a medical centre.  These are not uncommon. We have inspected buildings up to ten stories. Existing buildings can be a swiftly inspected. Shops and offices are usually open, without much furniture, with little vegetation. But understand this is only a visual inspection. And it is not a Compliance Summary Report.

We also inspect factories, and even pups, small or big. But if big they may also need an engineer or a professional roofing plumber to check out the roofing. Such professionals will often be recommended on bigger properties with the applicable reasons for that property.

Commercial Inspections can also be a commercial development off-the-plan. This gets more complicated, as that requires plans to be sent to us, and what exactly the buyer is contracting to buy. This can also include looking at common areas, which we would normally not commission to do.  Also, see this page.

Generally a small average shop costs $647 plus GST, but it can cost more depending on the building, its size, and where it is. But most of this work is done on an hourly rate. We recently did a pub a few hours out from Canberra. Most often we work on an hourly rate and we do what you ask for, and if you want more, have questions, that is fine. We just do more work, on that hourly rate until all your questions are answered.

Special Inspections

These inspections are anything from legal needs, insurance, court attendance, a call out for a second opinion, just to know what is happening with their house. Generally these are hourly rated. The report writing is longer and the inspection needs more time on site explaining what is there, and why, with the client.

Often this work is done on hourly rate. The time includes all admin, phone calls, emails, report writing, site attendance and travel.

Some of these inspections are simply because the client is worried about some work done by others. Occasionally these inspections are done for legal cases and they cost more. Some are done for submitting to legal bodies in ACT or NSW. There is also Expert Witness testimony.

Please see this our prices page, and here: See this page.

This client just wanted to know, what was this discolouring from.

Awards for best building inspector in Belconnen and ACT for 2024 & 2025.