CHOOSING A DEMOLITION
CONTRACTOR.

1. Check relevant credentials

Ask which practitioner registration, licence, insurance and asbestos credentials apply to the actual work. Verify current registration with the appropriate Victorian authority and ask for relevant details in writing. Requirements depend on the work and contract; a website badge alone is not verification.

2. Ask how the work is planned

Discuss the structure, adjoining buildings, essential services, hazardous materials, access, exclusion areas, dust, noise and public protection. Ask who prepares required work planning and safe-work documents, who supervises, and how changes or unexpected materials are handled.

3. Compare like-for-like quotes

Request a written description of what will be removed and retained, slab and footing treatment, waste and disposal, service disconnections, permits and fees, exclusions, clean-up, handover condition, timing assumptions and variations. Ask what information the price relies on.

A practical contractor checklist

• Provide the address, site photos, drawings and proposed removal boundary to each tendering contractor.
• Ask each contractor to identify unresolved approvals, disconnections and hazard information needed before work starts.
• Compare inclusions and exclusions line by line; ask for unclear items to be clarified in writing.
• Check the relevant registration or licence with the responsible regulator and request current insurance evidence.
• Ask for a contact person, supervision arrangements, work sequence, site protections and handover condition.
• Read the final scope, price, payment stages and variation process before accepting. Keep the agreement and communications together.

In Victoria, demolition permit and practitioner requirements depend on the building and work. The Building and Plumbing Commission provides building permit guidance, and WorkSafe provides demolition planning and risk-control guidance.