Home Warranty will replace Domestic Building Insurance (DBI) from 1 July 2026 and provide much greater protection for homeowners.
Home Warranty is a mandatory insurance cover builders must purchase on behalf of the homeowner for domestic building projects up to 3 storeys and valued at more than $20,000.
Under the existing DBI scheme, homeowners can only make a claim against their builder in very limited circumstances – when their builder dies, disappears or goes insolvent.
Under Home Warranty, homeowners are also covered where domestic building work is incomplete, defective or non-compliant in cases where the builder is unable or unwilling to complete or fix the work. The maximum cover available is $400,000.
BPC Commissioner and CEO Anna Cronin says Home Warranty is part of a suite of new BPC functions and powers that will better protect consumers and their homes.
"The new cover will save homeowners time and money otherwise spent on legal action recovering out of pocket costs for work their builder is unwilling or unable to fix."
The BPC will be the only provider of Home Warranty with the domestic building private insurance market closed from 1 July.
All existing DBI polices issued prior to 1 July 2026 remain current as per their terms and conditions.
Learn more about the Home Warranty regulations at the Department of Transport and Planning website .
