In Queensland, checking a building inspector's licence is a short, free search on the QBCC public register at qbcc.qld.gov.au: search the inspector's name or licence number, and confirm the result shows a current "Completed Residential Building Inspection" licence. If they are also carrying out the timber pest side of a combined inspection, check for a separate current "Termite Management" licence too — it is not the same licence and is easy to assume is covered when it is not. The whole check takes under a minute, and it is worth doing before you book, not after.
Why it is worth checking before you book
A pre-purchase building and pest inspection report is a document you rely on to make a decision involving real money, often before a cooling-off period runs out. The QBCC licence is what confirms the person writing that report has met the regulator's requirements to carry out this kind of inspection work. It says nothing about how good the report will be — that comes down to the individual — but it is the one objective, verifiable fact you can confirm yourself in under a minute, for free, before you hand over any money.
The QBCC licence search, step by step
- Go to qbcc.qld.gov.au and find the licence search tool (listed under "Check a licence" or similar on the QBCC site).
- Search by the inspector's full name, or by their licence number if you already have it — CYTE's number, for example, is 1519 2537.
- Check the licence class shown against the result. For a building inspection you want "Completed Residential Building Inspection". For the timber pest side, look for a separate "Termite Management" licence.
- Check the status shows the licence as current, not expired, suspended or cancelled.
- Confirm the name on the licence matches the person who will actually attend and sign the report — not just a company name.
Two licences, not one
The part most buyers get wrong is assuming "licensed inspector" is a single qualification that covers everything. It is not. A building inspection and a timber pest inspection are two separate types of work under two separate QBCC licence classes — Completed Residential Building Inspection for the building side, Termite Management for the timber pest side. A reputable inspector carrying out a combined building and pest inspection personally should hold both. If only one shows up on the register, worth asking directly who is doing the other half of the job, and whether they are licensed for it.
Our FAQs cover the licence question in more detail, alongside the other questions worth asking before you book.
What the search will not tell you
A current licence confirms the person is entitled to do the work. It does not tell you whether they personally attend every job or outsource it, what tools they use, how quickly you will get the report, or whether they carry insurance. Those are separate, reasonable questions worth asking directly before you book — the licence search is the starting point, not the whole picture.
Our about page sets out CYTE's own licensing, standards and inspector background in full, as a working example of what to look for.
Our guide on choosing a building and pest inspector sets out the fuller checklist, including these questions.
If the business operates under a company name
Some inspection businesses trade under a company name, with the licence held by the company and an individual nominee responsible for the work. The register search still works the same way — search the company name as well as the individual's — but the point of checking does not change: the person actually attending on the day and signing the report is the one whose licence matters, not just the business name on the invoice or the van. Worth confirming the name before the day of inspection, not after.
Crossing the border into Northern NSW
Buying in Northern NSW, including Tweed Heads and Byron Bay? Building work there sits under a different regulator to Queensland, not the QBCC — worth checking that whoever you engage holds the correct licence for that side of the border specifically, rather than assuming a Queensland licence carries across. CYTE holds a separate NSW Builders Licence (393998C) and NSW EPA Licence (5117051) for exactly this reason.
Red flags worth noticing
A search that returns no result for the name given is the clearest one. Beyond that: a licence class that does not match the work being offered (a building licence but no timber pest licence, on a job sold as a combined inspection), a licence showing as expired, suspended or cancelled, or a name on the register that does not match the person who turns up on the day. Any of these is worth a direct question before you book, not after a deposit has changed hands.
None of this takes long, and none of it costs anything. For a decision that usually involves hundreds of thousands of dollars and a tight cooling-off window, a one-minute licence search before you book is a small amount of certainty for very little effort.
To arrange a combined building and pest inspection, call 0431 114 815 — QBCC licence 1519 2537, checkable at qbcc.qld.gov.au. The fixed price is confirmed before you book, and the written report is with you the same day.