Advertisements
An advertisement in connection with building work must comply with the guidelines stated in the Queensland Building Services Authority Act 1991 (QBSA Act).
What constitutes an advert?
An advert is regarded as:
Yellow Pages advertisements
Adverts on the side of vehicles
Newspaper ads
Radio and television advertising
On hold advertising (when waiting to speak to someone on the phone)
Posters
All other types of advertising
Brochures and Flyers
Websites
What should be included in an advert to make it comply?
Where the advert is in written material it must display in an easily legible and reasonably prominent form:
Your name
Your licence number
Where the advert is spoken it must contain in an audible and clear form (as clear as the rest of the advert):
Your name
Your licence number
Does an unlicensed person have to comply with the legislation - if so what do they have to do?
Yes - An unlicensed person must comply with the QBSA Act and are required to state in their advertisment the value of building work they are entitled to carry out without a licence. Examples of statements that comply with these requirements include:
"Can not perform building work valued in excess of $3,300"
"Can not perform building work valued at more than $3,300"
"Only work valued at $3,300 or less"
For advertisements expressly limited to pastoral and agricultural fencing an appropriate statement would be:
"Can not perform building work valued in excess of $27,500"
If the advertisement refers only to fencing and is not limited to pastoral and agricultural fencing it must contain the following value statement:
"Can not perform building work valued at more than $3,300"
Note: The following types of work require a BSA licence regardless of value - building design, plumbing and drainage, gas fitting, termite inspections and reports and pre purchase building inspections. Unlicensed contractors are not able to perform this work and any advertisement by an unlicensed contractor for this type of work must state - "cannot perform building work in excess of $0". For Hydraulic services design, only work to a value of $1,100 or less can be performed without a licence so an acceptable statement for this type of work would be "only work valued at $1,100 or less".
Can BSA's logo be used on advertising?
No - BSA's logo is artwork protected by the Copyright Act 1968. If you are using the logo you should immediately cease using any documents that contain this image and destroy them. If you are using the logo in published advertisements (e.g. Yellow Pages) you should write to BSA, providing evidence, that the publishers have been contacted and a request made to remove the logo in the next edition.
Will BSA Investigate Non Compliance with Advertising Requirements?
Yes - click here to find out more.
