Company | Queensland Building and Construction Commission

What is a company?

In the eyes of the law, a company is an independent legal entity with many attributes of the natural (human) person.

The Corporations Law provides that it has the separate legal capacity of a natural person, and certain other powers, such as

the power to issue and allot shares
to enter into contracts
to buy and sell property
to borrow funds
to sue and be sued by others.

Companies are registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and allocated a unique Australian Company Number (ACN).

Companies are obliged to keep separate financial records and bank accounts and may also act as trustees of trust funds

Companies under the QBCC Act

Where a company is entering into contracts to carry out building work, it is required to hold a licence.

While there are some exemptions under the QBCC Act, the majority of cases where the value of the building work exceeds $3,300 (including labour and materials), the company will require its own licence under the QBCC Act.

It is not sufficient to employ an individual or have a director who is licensed with QBCC and use their licence number on contracts.

As the company is a separate legal entity, it must have its own licence to carry out building work.