Builder deposits: Queensland
The limit here is 5% if the contract price is $20,000 or more; 10% between $3,301 and $19,999; 20% at $3,300 or less. What is true everywhere — and why the cap is not the protection — is on the main page.
Queensland has the most tiered deposit rules in the country, and one extra rule that the others mostly lack.
Four answers, depending on the job
The cap steps with the contract price rather than sitting at one figure, and there is a separate answer again for prefabricated work. Where more than half the contract value is work performed off-site — made-to-measure cabinetry, windows, sheds, cladding — the cap is 20% whatever the price. The reasoning is straightforward: the builder has to buy materials and commission manufacture long before anything appears on your block.
The halfway rule is the one to remember
Separately from the deposit, a contractor cannot claim more than 50% of the contract price — the deposit counts toward it — until at least half the on-site work is complete.
That single rule does more practical work than the deposit cap. A deposit is one payment at the start; the halfway rule governs the whole first half of the job, and it is the thing that stops a payment schedule from being front-loaded. If the stage payments in a contract would put you past the halfway mark in money before you are past it in built work, the schedule is the problem, not the individual payment.
As in New South Wales, a deposit above the lawful limit is not recoverable under the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme, so overpaying costs you the protection as well as the money.
Queensland: the numbers
- Contract price $20,000 or more
- 5% maximum deposit
- Contract price between $3,301 and $19,999
- 10% maximum deposit
- Contract price $3,300 or less
- 20% maximum deposit
- More than half the work performed off-site
- 20% maximum deposit, at any contract price
- The halfway rule
- No more than 50% of the contract price — deposit included — until at least 50% of the on-site work is done
Read from QBCC, Deposits and progress payments on 13 October 2026. We publish the date we read it so you can see how old this is — these limits change, and the QBCC is the authority on what applies to your contract.
Questions about Queensland deposits
What is the maximum deposit in Queensland?
5% where the contract price is $20,000 or more, 10% between $3,301 and $19,999, and 20% at $3,300 or less. Where more than half the work is performed off-site it is 20% at any price.
What is the halfway rule?
A contractor cannot claim more than 50% of the contract price, deposit included, until at least half the on-site work is complete. It governs the whole first half of the job rather than a single payment.
What happens if I pay more than the cap?
An unlawful deposit is not recoverable under the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme. Overpaying costs you the protection as well as the money, and it should be reported to the QBCC.