Form 16 certifies that a stage of assessable building work complies with the building development approval. A building certifier or an appointed competent person completes it after the stage inspection, and it becomes the stage record the builder and certifier work from for the next part of the job. Business Queensland lists mandatory stages for new houses including excavation, footings, slab, frame and final, so this certificate usually sits between a finished stage and the work that follows.
This is the current Queensland Form 16. Tradie Forms follows the official section order and maps your answers onto the official PDF layout.
Certifying one aspect of work as an appointed competent person rather than a full stage? Use QLD Form 12
Issuing the final inspection certificate for the whole job rather than a stage? Use QLD Form 21
Most Form 16 problems come from filling it from the job booking instead of from the approval and the inspection just completed. Have these in front of you.
Confirmation of your role
Building certifier for the work, another building certifier, or appointed competent person for this inspection help under Part 6 of the Building Regulation 2021.
The current building development approval
Source for the approval number, land description, and the plans you inspect against.
The approved drawings and revisions
The set you will cite in the basis and references, not a superseded issue from the ute.
The stage that was requested
What the builder asked for, and what is actually complete on site.
Certifier reference and approval numbers
Easy to copy from the wrong job if you do not have the file open.
Aspect certificates you will rely on
Any Form 12 or Form 43 that supports this stage, with enough detail to identify them later.
Photos and site notes from the inspection
Evidence of what you saw, including anything you are not certifying.
Only Name (in Full) blocks the download. Signature and both dates should still be complete before anyone treats the PDF as issued.
Names the stage of assessable building work this certificate covers. Align it with the approval and Business Queensland stage language, not the builder's informal label.
List Stage/s of Building WorkTextOptional
Name the stage in plain terms, for example Footings stage - after reinforcement, before concrete pour or Frame stage, main dwelling only. On larger jobs add the building, unit, area or stage split so the certificate cannot be read as covering work you did not inspect.
Identifies the land subject to the application. Match the approval and title details, not the booking address.
Street AddressAddressOptional
The address on the building development approval. Address search is limited to Queensland and fills the street line, suburb, state and postcode. Check the result against the approval, because search returns the current postal address and a permit can predate a street renaming or a subdivision.
Lot and PlanTextOptional
The legal land description from the approval, title documents, or rates notice. On new estates the street address may not exist in council systems yet, so lot and plan is often the only reliable identifier. Fill it whenever the approval carries it.
Useful
Lot 8 on SP 312456
Too vague
Lot 8, new estate
Local Government AreaTextOptional
The council area. Address search may fill this. Confirm it near a boundary, because the LGA ties the certificate to the right local government record.
Describes the building or structure this stage inspection relates to, including its National Construction Code class.
Building/Structure DescriptionTextOptional
Enough detail to pick the right building on a multi-structure site. Two-storey class 1a dwelling with attached Class 10a garage beats new house. Where several buildings share an address, name which one you inspected.
Class of Building/StructureTextOptional
The NCC class from the approval, such as Class 1a or Class 1a and Class 10a. Keep it consistent with the description above.
States the extent of work covered by this certificate. This is the section that decides how wide the certificate reads later.
Description of Component/s CertifiedTextOptional
Describe what you actually inspected so a builder, certifier or future inspector understands the boundary without ringing you. Name the system, location and exclusions. Do not write wording that covers the whole job when the inspection covered part of a stage.
Useful
Reinforcement and formwork for ground-floor footings, including starter bars and hold-down bolts
Too vague
Footings
If part of the stage is not ready, certify only what you inspected and arrange re-inspection for the rest. A partial inspection written as a complete stage is the costliest mistake on this form.
Records why you are giving the certificate and what you relied on to decide compliance.
Basis of CertificationTextOptional
Name the plans, engineering drawings, inspection method, standards, codes, test results or related certificates that supported the decision. The form asks for the basis and the extent to which those publications were relied upon. Checked on site does not stand on its own later.
Useful
Visual inspection against approved structural plans S-12 rev C and AS 2870-2011 site classification report
Lists the documents that back the basis so someone can reconstruct the file later.
Reference DocumentationTextOptional
Use drawing numbers, revisions, report references, dates and certificate names where available. Where you relied on a Form 12 or Form 43, identify that certificate clearly enough to find it in the job file.
Links the certificate to the building certifier's file and the development approval.
Building Certifier Reference NumberTextOptional
The certifier's own job or file reference for this approval. Take it from the current certifier correspondence, not from an old certificate on a different lot.
Building Development Approval NumberTextOptional
The approval number on the building development approval. If you are on site without it, the building certifier or the builder's approval pack is the source. Do not invent a number from an invoice or quote.
Your details as the building certifier or appointed competent person completing this certificate. Under Part 6 of the Building Regulation 2021 a person must be assessed by the relevant building certifier as competent to give inspection help for the stage work.
Name (in Full)TextRequired
The full legal name of the person who inspected and is signing. This is the only field that blocks download. It must be the person who can stand behind the certificate, not the company contact who booked the job.
Company Name (if Applicable)TextOptional
The trading or company name when you work through a practice. Leave blank for a sole practitioner who is not trading under a company.
Contact PersonTextOptional
Who the builder or certifier should ring about this certificate. Often the same as the name above.
Business Phone NumberTelOptional
Daytime business number for the practice or office.
Mobile NumberTelOptional
Mobile for on-site contact. Fill at least one phone field so the certificate is usable without the job file.
Email AddressEmailOptional
The address that receives follow-up on this certificate.
Postal AddressAddressOptional
Postal address for the inspector or practice. Address search is limited to Queensland. Confirm the result before you leave it.
Licence Class or Registration Type (if Applicable)TextOptional
The licence class or registration type that covers this inspection help, for example Building certifier. Match what appears on your licence card or QBCC record.
Licence or Registration Number (if Applicable)TextOptional
The number on that same licence or registration. Licence check against the QBCC register can fill the name field; confirm the result matches the person who inspected before you keep it.
Save this section as Inspector to prefill it on your next Form 16.
Signs and dates the certificate as the building certifier or appointed competent person. The signature attests that the stage described is compliant with the building development approval on the basis stated above.
SignatureSignatureOptional
Sign as the person named in Inspector. Add the signature when the rest of the certificate is correct, not before the stage and components are settled. You can use a saved signature.
Inspection DateDateOptional
The date the stage inspection actually happened. Today and Yesterday shortcuts are there because this is usually filled on site or the next morning. No date field on this form accepts a future date.
Certificate DateDateOptional
The date the certificate is issued. A different event from the inspection when you write up later the same day or the next morning. Two identical dates can be correct for a same-day issue, but two copied dates from an old PDF are not.
The signature lands on page 2 of the official PDF in the stamp box under the declaration.
Stage inspection or as requested does not tell a later reader which Building Regulation stage you certified. Use the approval stage language and any location split.
Writing components wider than the inspection.
Certifying frame when you only saw the main dwelling frame makes the certificate claim work you did not inspect. Name the system, location and exclusions.
Leaving the basis as checked on site.
The form asks what tests, plans, standards or publications you relied on. Name them, or the certificate cannot be reconstructed from the file.
Taking the approval number from an invoice.
Quotes and invoices are raised early and often carry a superseded reference. Take the building development approval number from the current approval document.
Signing when you are not the appointed person for this help.
Form 16 is not a generic builder sign-off. The certifier must have assessed competence for the stage work before an appointed competent person signs.
Copying both dates from an old certificate.
Inspection date and certificate date are separate events. Carry-over from a previous PDF is a common way both end up wrong.
Leaving site without the approval pack open.
Certifier reference, approval number, lot and plan, and drawing revisions are hard to reconstruct from memory. Photograph or open the pack before you leave.
Give the signed PDF to the builder and the building certifier as the job process requires. Do not assume one will pass it on.
Name the file so the stage is obvious.Form 16 - 45 River Terrace - frame.pdf survives a search months later. A file named only by address will be read as if every stage is covered.
File it with the approval pack. Keep the finished PDF beside the approval, the drawings and revisions relied on, inspection photos and site notes, and any Form 12 or Form 43 aspect certificates you used.
Tell the builder in writing which stage it covers. A short note in the email or job software stops the certificate being filed as broader than intended.
Track stages still outstanding. A job can carry several Form 16 certificates before Form 21 at the end. Form 16 does not replace the final inspection certificate.
Check the current Business Queensland requirements for your job. Retention and lodgement expectations sit with the building certifier and the approval process.
