RESOURCES

Download the sub-contractor audit checklist QBFS uses on construction projects across Australia. The checklist is the structural framework — pre-audit prep, structural checks, documentation checks, workmanship checks, and trade-specific sections — set up so a builder's own QA lead can run a defensible audit on a trade.

What's in the checklist

• Pre-audit preparation list (documents to review, scope to define, site coordination)
• Structural checks (materials, install sequence, hold-points, sample testing, measurable spec)
• Documentation checks (mill certs, install certs, conformance evidence, prior NCRs, as-builts)
• Workmanship checks (setting out, joints, terminations, interfaces, finishes)
• Trade-specific sections for waterproofing, structural concrete, fire-rated separation, acoustic separation
• Post-audit workflow (report, NCRs, close-out verification, QA file update)

Who the checklist is for

Three audiences typically use it:

• Builder QA leads. A structured framework for running audits on their own trades.
• Independent consultants. A starting point that gets customised per audit.
• Trades themselves. Many sub-contractors use the checklist to self-audit before the head contractor's QA audit lands.

The checklist is the structure; the audit is the work. A real audit goes deeper than the checklist on whatever the audit reveals.

What's not in the checklist

A few deliberate omissions:

• Health and safety hazard assessment. WHS sits in its own framework. The checklist is quality and construction conformance only.
• Statutory inspection sign-offs. Building certifier inspections sit with the appointed certifier; the audit informs but doesn't replace them.
• Commercial matters. Variations, progress claims, and contract administration are separate from quality audit.

Keeping the checklist focused on quality is what makes it useful.

When a checklist isn't enough

For complex projects, contested trades, or high-risk work, a standard audit checklist isn't enough. The audit needs to be conducted by someone with trade-level construction knowledge, forensic discipline, and report-writing capability, at the depth that a check-box approach can't reach.

QBFS conducts sub-contractor audits on residential, multi-residential, and commercial projects across Australia. The audits go deeper than the checklist on whatever the work reveals, with reports written for the audience that needs them, whether that's a head contractor QA file, developer oversight, or insurer review.

Get help with the audit

If the audit needs to be conducted independently or the project's complexity warrants a deeper review, talk to Paul.

Call Paul on 0407 146 737.

Start With a Call

Best way to start is a phone call. Tell Paul the project, the issue, where you sit in the build cycle. The next step gets sorted on the call: site visit, desktop review, or a referral if QBFS isn't the right fit.