Getting Quotes and Engaging Contractors as a Committee

Engaging a contractor is the point where a committee actually spends the scheme's money — other people's money, raised through levies, on a job the owners will hold you responsible for. A strata manager used to run this quietly: they had a book of trades, a template scope, and a feel for a fair price. Self-managed, it's on you. And the failure modes are expensive. Accept a single verbal quote and you have no evidence you tested the price. Give three contractors three different descriptions of the job and their quotes aren't comparable. Hire the cheapest without checking their licence and you can void the scheme's insurance. Approve a figure above your spending limit and it's your personal problem when an owner challenges it. This guide covers the procurement half of a repair — from "we need someone to fix this" to a signed engagement — so that every job you put out, from a $400 plumber to a $60,000 repaint, runs the same defensible way.

This is the sequel to Handling a Common Property Repair: From Report to Resolution, which walks the whole lifecycle of a repair. That guide covers triage and confirming responsibility; this one goes deep on the quoting and engagement in the middle.

Why procurement is a governance issue, not just a shopping trip

Getting a quote feels like an errand. It isn't. When a committee spends the scheme's funds, it's spending money it holds on trust for every owner, and it can be held to account for spending it carelessly. Sound procurement is how the committee shows it acted reasonably:

• It proves you tested the price. Two or three comparable quotes are your evidence, at the next AGM, that the winning number was fair — not a mate's rate or the first figure someone happened to get.
• It keeps the scheme's insurance intact. Engaging an unlicensed contractor for licensable work (electrical, plumbing, gas, structural) can breach the terms of the strata insurance policy and leave the scheme exposed if something goes wrong.
• It stops one owner's preference driving the spend. "My brother-in-law can do it" is not a procurement process. A consistent method protects the committee from the perception — or the reality — that a contract was steered.
• It survives a handover. The quotes, the scope, and the signed engagement are the record the next committee inherits. Without them, the scheme has a paid invoice and no idea what was agreed.

Step 1: Write the scope before you ask anyone for a price

The single most common procurement mistake is ringing three contractors and asking them to "have a look and quote". You'll get three quotes for three different jobs, and you can't compare them. One prices a patch, one prices a full replacement, one includes making good and one doesn't — and the cheapest is cheapest because it's doing the least.

Fix this by writing a short scope of works first, and giving the same one to every contractor. It doesn't need to be an engineering document. It needs to say, in plain terms:

• What the problem is and where — with a photo, and the location precise enough that a stranger could find it.
• What outcome you want — "make the roof watertight", "resurface the full driveway", not just "fix the roof".
• What's included and excluded — does the price cover making good, removal of the old material, cleanup, and disposal?
• Any constraints — access hours, resident notice, working around a tenant, a heritage overlay, matching existing finishes.
• When you need it done — and whether that's a hard deadline (before the wet season) or a preference.

Writing this down forces the committee to actually decide what it wants, which is half the battle. It also means the quotes you get back are like-for-like, so the comparison is real rather than an illusion.

Step 2: Decide how many quotes to get

How many quotes you need is part judgement, part law. The size of the job drives it, and in several states a legal threshold makes a minimum number mandatory once the spend crosses a set figure.

• Small and emergency jobs — one competent, licensed contractor is fine. Don't hold up a $200 repair chasing three quotes; the cost of the delay outweighs the benefit.
• Mid-sized jobs — get two quotes as a matter of good practice, even where it isn't legally required. It's a sanity check on price and something concrete to show owners.
• Large jobs and major works — get two or three written quotes on an identical scope. Several states require at least two once the spend crosses a prescribed threshold, and it's simply sound governance regardless of the legal position.

Two practical cautions. First, don't split a large job into smaller ones to duck a quote requirement or your committee spending limit — that's precisely the manoeuvre the rules exist to prevent, and it reads as exactly what it is. Second, more quotes isn't automatically better: three genuine, comparable quotes beat six rushed ones, and chasing quotes you'll never seriously consider wastes contractors' time and yours.

The thresholds that make quotes mandatory differ by state, and they change. The callouts below cover the largest jurisdictions — always confirm the current figure against your own legislation.

Step 3: Check the contractor before you check the price

The cheapest quote from the wrong contractor is the most expensive decision a committee can make. Before a quote even counts, verify the contractor is someone the scheme can safely engage. For each contractor you're seriously considering, confirm:

• They're licensed for the work. Electrical, plumbing, gas, and most structural building work require a trade or builder's licence in every state. Ask for the licence number and check it against the relevant state regulator's public register — don't take the number on the letterhead on faith. Using an unlicensed contractor for licensable work can void the scheme's insurance and leaves the committee personally exposed.
• They carry public liability insurance — typically $10–20 million — and, for licensable building work, any required home/building warranty insurance. Ask for a current certificate of currency, and check the amount and the expiry date, not just that a certificate exists.
• They hold workers compensation cover if they have employees on site. If a worker is injured on your common property and the contractor is uninsured, the exposure can flow back to the scheme.
• They've done this kind of work before. Ask for two or three references from comparable strata jobs, and actually call one. A contractor who's great on freestanding houses may never have dealt with an owners corporation, shared access, or a body-corporate approval process.

Keep the certificates and licence details on file with the quote. This is a five-minute check that prevents the single most damaging procurement failure in self-management.

Step 4: Compare quotes on more than the bottom line

With comparable, verified quotes in hand, resist the urge to simply pick the lowest number. Read each quote for what it actually includes:

• Is the scope identical? Re-check that the cheap quote isn't cheap because it's doing less — excluding making good, disposal, or a component the others include.
• What's the breakdown? A quote that itemises labour, materials, and any provisional sums is easier to trust and to question than a single lump figure.
• How firm is the price? Note any provisional sums, exclusions, or "subject to inspection" clauses that could blow out once work starts. A firm fixed price and a loose estimate aren't the same offer.
• What are the payment terms? Be cautious about large deposits before any work is done. Progress payments tied to milestones, with a portion held until completion, protect the scheme.
• Timeframe and warranty. When can they start and finish, and what warranty do they offer on the work? A longer wait for a better contractor is often the right call.

Then record why you chose the one you did. If you didn't pick the cheapest, a one-line note of the reason ("chose quote B — licensed for the roof work, cheapest quote excluded making good") is exactly the record that answers an owner's question at the AGM before it becomes a complaint.

Step 5: Approve the spend within your authority

You can't engage anyone until the spend is approved by whoever has the authority to approve it — and a committee's power to spend is not unlimited. There are broadly three tiers:

1. Within the committee's spending limit. The committee can approve routine repairs and maintenance up to a limit set by the legislation, by a cap the owners have resolved at a general meeting, or both. Record the decision as a committee resolution or a minuted vote.
2. Above the committee's limit. The spend goes to a general meeting for the owners to approve by resolution. Remember: you can't split a big job to stay under the limit.
3. Beyond what the funds hold. If the job is bigger than the money available, you're likely into special levy territory — itself a general-meeting decision. Don't spring these; plan and communicate them.

Before you approve, confirm two things:

• Which fund pays. Routine, recurring repairs come from the administration fund; large, capital, or one-off works come from the capital works fund (the sinking, maintenance, or reserve fund, depending on your state). Drawing from the wrong fund distorts your budgeting. See Admin Fund vs Capital Works Fund: What Can You Legally Spend from Each?.
• Whether the money's actually there. Approving a $40,000 job when the fund holds $9,000 isn't an approval — it's the start of a special-levy conversation. Check the balance first.

Step 6: Put it in writing — the engagement

Approval is a decision; the engagement is the agreement. Don't let a contractor start on a handshake and a verbal price. A written engagement — even a short one, or the contractor's own quote accepted in writing with the terms confirmed — should capture:

• The scope — the same scope you quoted from, so there's no drift between what you asked for and what you're paying for.
• The price, and whether it's a fixed price or an estimate, including how variations (extra work discovered mid-job) will be priced and approved. Variations are where budgets quietly blow out; agree up front that none proceed without the committee's written sign-off.
• The payment terms — deposit (if any), progress payments, and a final payment held until the work is inspected and accepted.
• Timeframe — start date, completion, and what happens if it slips.
• Insurance and licence — confirmed as a condition of the engagement.
• Site conditions — access, hours, resident notice, cleanup, and making good.

Keep the engagement, the quotes (including the ones you didn't accept), the licence and insurance certificates, and the approval decision together as one bundle. That bundle is what protects the committee if the work goes wrong, if an owner questions the spend, or if the same fault recurs and the next committee needs the history.

Common mistakes

1. Asking for quotes without a written scope

Three contractors quoting three different jobs give you three numbers you can't compare. Write the scope once, give the same one to everyone.

2. Hiring on price alone without checking licence and insurance

The cheapest quote from an unlicensed or uninsured contractor can void the scheme's insurance and expose the committee personally. Verify the licence and the certificate of currency before the price matters.

3. Splitting a big job to stay under the limit

Breaking one large job into several small ones to avoid a quote requirement or a general-meeting vote is unauthorised expenditure dressed up. Take the big ones to the owners.

4. Accepting open-ended variations

A fixed price with no agreed process for variations isn't a fixed price. Agree up front that no extra work proceeds without the committee's written approval.

5. Paying a large deposit up front

A contractor demanding most of the money before any work is done is a risk to the scheme. Tie payments to milestones and hold a portion until the work is inspected and accepted.

6. Keeping no record of why you chose a contractor

If you didn't pick the cheapest, the absence of a reason on file is what turns a sound decision into an AGM argument. One line is enough.

Frequently asked questions

How many quotes do we legally have to get?

It depends on your state and the size of the spend. Small and emergency jobs generally need only one competent, licensed contractor. Larger jobs cross a threshold where two (sometimes more) quotes are required or strongly expected. Check the callout for your jurisdiction, and treat two comparable quotes as good practice for anything mid-sized even where it isn't mandatory.

Can we just use an owner's or committee member's business?

You can, but you have to manage the conflict of interest transparently. The member should declare the interest, step out of the decision, and the quote should be tested against others on the same scope. A contract that looks steered — even if the price is fair — damages trust more than it saves money. Get comparable quotes and record the decision.

Do we have to accept the cheapest quote?

No. The committee's duty is to act reasonably, not to always spend the least. A dearer quote from a licensed, insured, experienced contractor on a complete scope can be the reasonable choice. Just record why you chose it.

What if only one contractor will quote?

For a hard-to-fill trade or a remote scheme it happens. Document your genuine attempts to get others, confirm the one quote is licensed, insured, and priced reasonably against any benchmark you can find, and note the circumstances in the approval. A single quote with a clear record beats an artificial second quote from someone who was never going to do the job.

Can the committee approve any spend once we've got quotes?

Only up to the committee's spending limit. Above that limit, the spend goes to a general meeting for the owners to approve — quotes in hand don't change who has the authority to say yes.

Quick checklist

• [ ] A written scope of works exists and goes to every contractor
• [ ] The right number of quotes obtained for the size of the job (and any legal threshold)
• [ ] Every quote is like-for-like — same scope, so the comparison is real
• [ ] Each contractor's licence checked against the regulator's register
• [ ] Certificate of currency (public liability, and warranty/workers comp where relevant) on file and current
• [ ] Quotes compared on scope, terms, and warranty, not just the bottom line
• [ ] The reason for the chosen contractor recorded
• [ ] The spend is within the committee's authority, or taken to a general meeting
• [ ] The correct fund identified, and the balance checked
• [ ] A written engagement captures scope, price, variations, payments, and timeframe
• [ ] The full bundle — quotes, licence/insurance, approval, engagement — is filed together

Related resources

• Handling a Common Property Repair: From Report to Resolution
• Admin Fund vs Capital Works Fund: What Can You Legally Spend from Each?
• Strata Insurance Explained: What Your Scheme Must Cover, and What It Doesn't

This guide is general information for self-managed strata schemes in Australia. It is not legal advice. Quote thresholds, spending limits, licensing requirements, and tender rules differ between states and change over time — always check the strata legislation and regulations that apply to your scheme, and seek professional advice where required.