Building defects: the ACT
In the ACT it is 6 years structural, 2 years non-structural — on work over $12,000. Why the insurance does not help while the builder is still trading is on the main page.
The ACT splits the warranty the usual way and then draws an unusually specific line around what it covers.
The exclusions are the thing to read first
Six years for structural elements, two for non-structural, from the completion day — defined as the day the work is completed or the day the contract ends, whichever is later. External walls and their weatherproofing are named as structural, which puts the most common serious defect in the longer category.
But the warranty does not reach paving, fences, retaining walls, outdoor swimming pools, ponds or antennas. On a typical Canberra block that is a meaningful share of what gets built, and a retaining wall is not a trivial item — it is often the single most expensive thing outside the house and the one most likely to fail. Whatever protection applies to it has to come from the contract, because the statutory warranty does not.
Threshold, and what carries over on a sale
The warranty applies to residential building work that requires building approval and costs $12,000 or more. One ACT source words the threshold as "over" $12,000, so if your contract sits exactly on the figure, check it against the legislation rather than against a summary.
If you buy an existing home, you take the unexpired remainder: buy four years after completion and two years of the structural warranty are left. That makes the completion day a question worth asking at purchase, not after something fails.
the ACT: the periods
- Structural elements
- 6 years from the completion day
- Non-structural elements
- 2 years from the completion day
- Completion day
- The day the work is completed or the day the contract ends, whichever is later
- Applies to
- Residential building work requiring building approval and costing $12,000 or more
- Does not apply to
- Work by or for the Territory or the Commonwealth, or by a licensed owner-builder
- Also excluded
- Paving, fences, retaining walls, outdoor pools, ponds and antennas
- If the home is sold
- A later buyer keeps the unexpired part of the period
Read from ACT Planning, Statutory warranties on 13 October 2026. We publish the date we read it so you can judge how current it is. Access Canberra is the authority on what applies to your contract, and a period close to expiry is a reason to get advice rather than to keep reading.
Questions about the ACT defects
How long is the ACT warranty?
Six years for structural elements and two years for non-structural, from the completion day — the day the work is completed or the day the contract ends, whichever is later.
Does it cover my retaining wall?
No. Paving, fences, retaining walls, outdoor pools, ponds and antennas are excluded. Whatever protection applies to them has to come from your contract.
What work is covered at all?
Residential building work that requires building approval and costs $12,000 or more. Work by or for the Territory or the Commonwealth, or by a licensed owner-builder, is outside it.
I bought an existing house. Do I get anything?
You take the unexpired remainder — buy four years after completion and two years of the structural warranty are left. So the completion day is worth establishing at purchase.