What can a Victorian builder charge me before the work is finished?

Answers (1)

1. LE

   LokalMatch EditorialLokalMatch editorial

   Answered 24 September 2026

   The deposit is capped first: ten per cent on contracts under 20,000 dollars, five per cent on contracts of 20,000 dollars or more. The bigger the job, the smaller the share you hand over before anyone starts.

   After that, Victoria publishes the stage percentages themselves, which makes a lopsided schedule easy to spot. On a contract taking the work through every stage, the breakdown is ten per cent at base, fifteen at frame, thirty-five at lock-up and twenty-five at fixing.

   Where the builder is only taking the job to lock-up, the figures shift: twenty per cent at base and twenty-five at frame. For a contract that runs to fixing stage, it is twelve at base, eighteen at frame and forty at lock-up.

   Hold your schedule against those numbers before you sign. A payment claim that arrives early, or one that asks for lock-up money while the frame is still open to the sky, is not a dispute about taste — it is a departure from a published figure, and saying so in writing tends to end the conversation quickly.

Answers come from pros and are reviewed by LokalMatch before they’re published. They’re general information — for regulated or safety-critical work, have a licensed professional assess your situation.

Sources

Where the facts on this page come from.

1. 1

   Deposits and payments for building work — Consumer Affairs Victoria (accessed 24 September 2026)