What a Building Inspection Actually Covers, and What It Cannot See

The most useful thing you can know before paying for a building inspection is what one actually is. Not the marketing version, the real scope. Pre-purchase inspections in Australia are carried out to AS 4349.1, the Australian Standard for inspection of buildings, and the standard is refreshingly plain about both what an inspection covers and where it stops.

What gets inspected

An AS 4349.1 inspection is a visual inspection of the accessible areas of the property. In a typical house that means:

• The interior. Every room: walls, ceilings, floors, windows, doors, wet areas.
• The roof void. Framing, sarking, insulation and signs of leaks, where there is safe access.
• The subfloor. Piers, bearers, joists, ventilation and moisture, where the house has one and it can be entered.
• The exterior. Cladding or brickwork, windows, eaves, and the condition of paths, steps and surface drainage around the building.
• The roof exterior. Roofing, flashings, gutters and downpipes, within safe access limits.

The report classifies what it finds: major defects, safety hazards, and minor defects in context. A good report also tells you how the property compares with what is typical for its age and construction type, which is often the most useful sentence in it.

What "reasonable access" means

The standard limits the inspection to areas that can be reached safely without dismantling the building or moving the owner's belongings. That phrase does real work:

• A roof void with no manhole, or one blocked by ducting, limits what can be seen up there.
• A subfloor with minimal clearance can only be inspected from its entry point.
• Furniture, stored goods and floor coverings conceal what they sit on.

An honest report lists these access limitations explicitly. Treat that section seriously: an area that could not be inspected is not an area that passed.

What no inspection can see

No inspector can see inside a wall cavity, under tiles, into a concrete slab or behind a built-in wardrobe. A visual inspection cannot certify wiring or plumbing, which are separate trades' territory, and a standard building inspection does not include termite detection, which is its own inspection under AS 4349.3 and well worth booking alongside for established homes.

Anyone who implies their inspection guarantees a defect-free house is overselling. What an inspection genuinely delivers is a materially better-informed decision: the significant, findable problems, found and written down before you commit.

Three questions to ask any inspector

The industry in NSW is unregulated, which makes your questions the quality filter. Ask these of anyone you consider, including us:

1. What standard is the inspection carried out to? The answer should name AS 4349.1 without hesitation.
2. Do you carry professional indemnity insurance?
3. Can I see a sample report? The report is the product. Read one before you buy.

If the answers come back vague, keep looking. If you would like ours, ask through the form below.