Queensland system better, says builder who fled north

From Canberra Times, KELSEY MUNRO

FORMER western Sydney builder Colin Greville was so fed up with the home warranty insurance scheme in NSW that he moved to Queensland.

"We were originally insured with HIH but when they went down the gurgler it didn't matter that we had a good record; we couldn't get backing from anybody," he says.

"We were resigned to having a builder's licence which only allows you to build things that don't require home warranty insurance. So we spent a while building pergolas, then we left."

Consumer advocates and builders want a Queensland-style system implemented nationwide. In Queensland a one-stop statutory authority, the Building Services Authority, administers consumer insurance as well as builders' licences and dispute resolution.

(more)