How to get on a builder’s subcontractor list

In short

The estimator decides who gets asked to price, the contracts administrator clears your paperwork and the site manager decides if you stay.
Prequalification asks for your licence, insurance, safety system, SWMS, references and sometimes financials.
In Queensland a subcontract can’t set payment later than 25 business days after a claim, and retention is capped at 5% before practical completion.
In NSW a subcontractor is paid 20 business days after a claim unless the contract says sooner.
Answering every invitation and keeping documents current keeps you on the list.

Who keeps the list at a builder

A builder's subcontractor list is rarely one document kept by one person. At a small builder the owner usually holds it, often in their phone, and the site supervisor has a lot of say over who stays on it. At a mid-sized or commercial builder the job is split between three roles, and it pays to know what each one does before you write to anyone.

Role	What they do with subcontractors	What they want from you
Estimator	Prices jobs before they're won and sends trade packages out for quotes	A clear quote on time, with inclusions and exclusions spelt out
Contracts administrator	Issues the subcontract once a job is won, checks your documents and processes payment claims	Complete paperwork, correct claims and no chasing
Site manager or supervisor	Runs the job day to day and reports back on how each trade performed	Turning up when booked, a tidy site and work that doesn't need fixing

Getting on the list means being known to the estimator, cleared by contracts and wanted by site. The estimator is usually the right first contact, because they decide who gets asked to price the next job. Write to them with your trade, the area you cover, the size of job you suit and the fact that your documents are ready, and ask to be added to their invitations for upcoming packages. A made-up example from a painter:

Hi Sam, I run a commercial painting business in Penrith with a crew of six. We do fit-outs, strata repaints and new builds up to about four storeys, and our insurance, licence and SWMS are current. I noticed you're building the medical centre in Kingswood. If you have painting packages coming up in western Sydney, I'd like to be on your list to price them. What's the best way to get set up with your contracts team?
Dan

Our guide to preferred supplier lists covers the general approach, and our page on builders covers what they buy and how they choose trades.

Small builders and big builders work differently

A small residential builder adds you because someone they trust recommended you or your first job went well, and the paperwork might be a short subcontract or a purchase order. The QBCC's advice holds for any size of job: always use a written contract, because a handshake makes it hard to prove what was agreed when there's a dispute about payment.

A large commercial builder is more formal. Expect a prequalification step before you can be invited to tender, a long subcontract on the builder's own terms, a monthly claim cycle with a cut-off date, retention held from each payment and a site induction before you start. There's more admin, but the work tends to come in bigger and steadier packages.

What the prequalification form asks

A builder's prequalification form covers much the same ground at every firm, on paper or online. Put it all in one folder before you start and the form takes an hour instead of weeks.

Section	What they usually ask for
Business details	ABN, legal entity name, GST status, bank details and contacts for accounts
Licence	Your contractor licence number and class. Builders can look it up on the regulator's public register, so make sure the class covers the work.
Insurance	Certificates of currency for public liability and workers' compensation, and sometimes professional indemnity. The builder sets the minimum amounts.
Safety system	Your work health and safety policy, how you train and supervise workers, incident records and induction cards for your crew
SWMS	Safe work method statements for any high risk construction work you do, often with a sample for your trade
References	Recent jobs of a similar size and type, with a contact at the builder or client
Financials	Financial statements or a declaration of turnover, and sometimes consent to a credit check

A SWMS is required for high risk construction work under the WHS laws, and Safe Work Australia's guidance says the principal contractor must obtain it before that work starts on a construction project. The subcontractor is generally the right person to write it for their own workers, so a builder will expect yours to be specific to how you actually do the job. On financials, a Queensland builder may ask about your QBCC minimum financial requirements, because most contractor licensees have to meet them and they set a maximum revenue for the licence. For the cover and licences clients usually expect, see insurance and licences business clients ask for.

The online systems some builders use

Larger builders often run prequalification through a contractor management system instead of a form. Cm3 offers a contractor safety management and prequalification system for construction and infrastructure, where the client sets the minimum insurance it needs from each supplier and the system collects licences and company documents. HammerTech is a construction safety platform, and subcontractors use it to submit SWMS and complete site inductions on their phone before arriving at site.

Quote requests come through a different channel. EstimateOne is a tendering platform for commercial construction, where builders' estimators send trade package invitations to subcontractors and suppliers, and it has free account tiers for subcontractors. If a builder you want to work with uses one of these, ask their contracts administrator which trade categories to register under, and ask whether there's a fee before you pay one.

Payment terms and retentions

Every state has its own security of payment laws, so read the rules for the state the job is in.

Queensland

The Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 and the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 set the rules. A subcontract can't make you wait more than 25 business days after you submit a payment claim, and any longer term is void. If the subcontract doesn't say when payment is due, it's 10 business days after the claim. A "pay when paid" clause, where the builder only pays you once the client pays them, has no effect.

Your payment claim needs to identify the work, state the amount and request payment, and a document marked "invoice" counts as a request. The builder then has to give you a payment schedule within 15 business days (or sooner if the contract says), unless they pay the claim in full by the due date. If they propose to pay less, the schedule must say why.

Retention is the money a builder holds back as security for defects. On a Queensland subcontract the total held in retention and securities can't be more than 5% of the subcontract price before practical completion, and each deduction can't be more than 10% of the payment it comes out of. After practical completion the total held for defects drops to 2.5% of the subcontract price. If the subcontract doesn't set a defects liability period, retention must be released 12 months after practical completion, and holding it without a reasonable excuse is an offence. The builder must also send you a notice before the defects liability period ends. The Act lets you replace cash retention with a bank guarantee or similar security of the same value.

New South Wales

The Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 applies. Unless your contract sets an earlier date, a subcontractor must be paid 20 business days after making a claim, or 10 business days for subcontract work connected with exempt residential work. A contract can set an earlier date but not a later one. You can claim monthly, from the last day of the month in which you first did the work.

If the builder isn't going to pay the full amount, it has 10 business days after receiving your claim to give you a payment schedule with its reasons. If it gives none and doesn't pay, it is liable for the whole claim, and you can apply for adjudication or go to court. If you disagree with a schedule, you have 10 business days from receiving it to apply for adjudication. Building Commission NSW says claims for subcontract work connected with residential construction must include the words "This is a payment claim made under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 NSW", and putting that line on every claim costs you nothing.

Building Commission NSW says up to 5% of the contract value is usually held until you've finished the job and fixed any defects. On projects worth $20 million or more, the head contractor must hold its direct subcontractors' retention money in a trust account with a bank and send each of them a ledger of it, normally every three months.

In either state, check the retention rate, the defects liability period and the release dates before you quote, and price the wait into the job. Put the end of each defects liability period in your calendar so you can claim the retention the day it's due. For pricing the rest of the job, see how to quote for commercial work.

Staying on the list

Builders judge their subcontractors after every job, and the site manager's view counts for more than anything on your prequalification form.

Answer every tender invitation, even if it's to say you can't price this one. An estimator who hears nothing back may stop asking.
Keep your documents current in the builder's system. An expired certificate can stop you getting through the gate on the day you're booked.
Fix defects quickly, because it protects your retention and your name at the same time.
Claim correctly and on the cut-off date, with the right reference numbers, so the contracts team never has to send a claim back.
Keep in touch between jobs with the estimator and site manager, and introduce yourself to their replacements when people move on.

Finding the right builders and making the first approach is the slow part, and Curlew writes to builders in your area in your business name if you'd rather hand it over.

Sources

Questions people ask

Who should I contact first at a builder?

At a small builder, the owner. At a larger one, start with the estimator, because they decide who is invited to price upcoming packages, then work with the contracts administrator on the paperwork.

Do I have to pay to be prequalified?

Some builders’ systems are free for subcontractors and some charge. Ask the builder which system they use and whether there’s a fee before you register.

Can a builder refuse to pay me until their client pays them?

Not in Queensland, where a pay when paid provision has no effect under the security of payment law. NSW’s security of payment law sets due dates for payment claims that don’t depend on the builder being paid first.

How much retention can a builder hold?

In Queensland, no more than 5% of the subcontract price before practical completion and 2.5% for defects after it. In NSW your subcontract sets the rate, and Building Commission NSW says up to 5% is usual.

What happens if a builder ignores my payment claim?

In both Queensland and NSW the builder has a set time to give you a payment schedule. If it gives none and doesn’t pay by the due date, you can apply for adjudication or recover the amount through the courts.