The building inspection gets the attention, but in South-East Queensland the timber pest inspection is often where the highest-stakes findings live. Termite damage is generally not covered by home insurance — which makes the inspection to AS 4349.3 a critical part of your due diligence.
What AS 4349.3 covers
A timber pest inspection is a visual, non-invasive assessment of the reasonably accessible areas for evidence of three things:
- Subterranean termites — active termites, workings, damage or evidence of previous treatment
- Wood borers — evidence of borer activity in structural and decorative timbers
- Fungal decay — timber decay associated with persistent moisture
Just as importantly, it identifies conducive conditions: the moisture sources, timber-to-soil contact, stored timber, garden beds against walls and poor ventilation that make a property attractive to timber pests in the first place.
What it does not do
No visual inspection can see inside walls or below ground, and an inspection is not a guarantee that no termites are present — it reports the evidence observable at the time of inspection. That is also why the standard recommends regular inspections, at least annually in our climate, rather than a single inspection at purchase.
Every CYTE combined inspection includes the timber pest assessment, with findings in the same written, photo-rich report, delivered the same day.