What a good roofing quote includes
- The business name, ABN, licence number and contact details, matching what's on the licence register
- Your address and a plain description of the job
- Materials by name: tile or sheet type, colour, steel grade near the coast, sarking and insulation
- What happens to the old roof, the gutter debris and the rubbish, and who pays for disposal
- How the roofer will work safely at height, whether that's scaffolding, edge protection or harnesses
- A total price including GST, with the big items broken out
- The deposit amount and payment stages tied to finished work
- A start date, how long the job should take and what happens if weather holds it up
- The workmanship warranty, plus any product warranties to be registered in your name
- Exclusions, such as rotten battens, asbestos testing or taking solar panels off and on
How do you compare two quotes fairly?
Line them up item by item. One quote might include new sarking and valley irons while the other reuses the old ones. One might price the skip and disposal, the other might leave them as extras. The lower total isn't the cheaper job until the scope matches.
Watch the wording. 'Supply and install' isn't the same as 'supply'. A line marked 'allowance' or 'subject to inspection' can grow once the roof is opened up. Ask the roofer what could make the price change, and get the answer written on the quote.
Our quote checker lets you tick off what's on yours.
Contracts, deposits and cooling-off by state
| Written contract needed | Deposit limit | Cooling-off | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | Over $5,000 including GST, with a large job contract over $20,000 | 10% | Five clear business days on contracts over $20,000 |
| Northern Territory | Only for prescribed residential work, which a re-roof isn't | 5% on prescribed work | Not set out in the sources we read |
What else changes the picture?
Victoria's rules are changing. New domestic building contract laws passed in September 2025 and take effect by 1 December 2026. Consumer Affairs Victoria says the current rules apply until then. The new laws let deposit limits and progress payment stages be set in regulations, so check Victoria's deposit rules again after 1 December 2026.
Uninvited deals have their own cooling-off. Anywhere in Australia, if a trader knocks or calls uninvited and the deal is over $100, you get 10 business days to cancel, on top of any building contract rules.
You can lose the building cooling-off. In Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania it doesn't apply if a lawyer advised you on the contract before you signed, or you'd already signed a substantially similar contract with the same builder.
We read the South Australian and Tasmanian figures from archived copies of government pages, because the live sites blocked automated reading. They were current when captured, but check with CBS or CBOS before relying on them.
How should payments work after the deposit?
Progress payments should follow the work, not the calendar. NSW says they must match the work actually done. In Queensland and Tasmania a builder can't claim more than half the price until at least half the work is finished. WA says to pay only for work done or materials supplied, and in SA a builder can only ask for a genuine progress payment for work already performed.
Changes belong in writing as well. NSW, Queensland, WA and Tasmania require variations to be written down and agreed, and ACT Planning says to always get them in writing.
Two clauses are worth a second look. WA bans 'rise and fall' clauses that pass labour or material price rises on to you, apart from a few limited exceptions. In Queensland, cost-plus contracts are only covered by home warranty for defects, not if the job isn't finished, so the QBCC recommends fixed prices. SA caps a builder's margin on a cost-plus contract at 15%.
Quotes that should make you pause
- No licence number, or a licence in a different name from the business quoting
- A deposit above your state's limit, or payment wanted before the insurance certificate
- A pressure clean on a roof that might be asbestos cement
- One vague line such as 'repair roof as required' and a single price
- A big discount that disappears if you don't sign today
- A price that doesn't make clear whether GST is included
- Nothing about the old roof, the rubbish or the gutter debris
If the quote starts with cleaning an old cement roof
A pressure clean is the first line on most restoration quotes. If your roof is cement sheeting on a house built or renovated before 1990, it could be asbestos, and ASSEA says spraying asbestos with high-pressure water is illegal in every state. Don't sign until the roof has been tested. If it is asbestos, the quote should come from someone licensed to deal with it.
Before you sign
Check the licence and insurance
Search the licence number on your state's register and ask for a certificate of currency. Our guide to checking a roofer's licence has every state.
Match the scope to what was said on site
Anything the roofer called 'definitely needed' while standing in your yard should be on the paper.
Check the money against your state's limits
Compare the deposit and payment stages with the table above. If they're over, ask for them to be changed before you sign.
Ask for the contract and consumer guide
Several states require a written contract plus an official guide above set amounts, such as Victoria's Domestic Building Consumer Guide, the NSW Consumer Building Guide and WA's Notice for the homeowner.
Get the insurance certificate if it's needed
Where home warranty cover applies, the certificate should reach you before you pay anything.
Keep copies
Keep the quote, the signed contract, receipts and every written change. In NSW the builder must give you a copy of the signed contract within five business days.
Your part of the paperwork, and the roofer's
You can
- Compare quotes line by line, on the same scope
- Check the deposit against your state's limit
- Ask what's not included, and get the answer in writing
- Agree every change in writing before the extra work starts
- Keep copies of the quote, contract and receipts
Leave to a roofer
- Putting the licence number and ABN on the quote
- Providing the written contract and consumer guide where required
- Arranging home warranty insurance where the job needs it
- Inspecting the roof before giving a fixed price
- Explaining exclusions and what could change the price
What we'd do with a quote in hand
We'd go through it with the roofer on the phone and ask them to explain each line. If something they mentioned on site isn't written down, we'd ask for it to be added. We'd pay no more deposit than the state allows, tie every other payment to finished work, and we wouldn't sign until we knew exactly what was in and what was out.
Want a roofer to take a look?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match it with a Find My Roofer certified roofer who specialises in that kind of work, and they call you to quote. Your number goes to them alone.