Sign contracts and make payments

Entering into a contract

Once your funding application is conditionally approved, you will receive a Certificate of Conditional Approval from the Queensland Government. This means you can enter into a building construction contract with your chosen licensed contractor.

The Certificate of Conditional Approval contains:

• the funding value
• the nominated licensed contractor
• requirements/conditions
• evidence required at the completion of the works
• next steps to finalise payments.

A building contract is a legal document between a homeowner and licensed builder. While the RHF is not a party to this contract, the contract is very important to the program as it sets out the responsibilities of a builder and the scope of work they will undertake for a property.

Scope of work refers to the details of what building works is to be undertaken and includes details around materials, quantities, labour and costs. A detailed scope of work is required by the Value for Money team (VfM) to make an assessment and produce the VfM certificate.

If works cost more than $3,300, you will need a written contract and it is the responsibility of the licensed contractor to draft the contract.

Read further information for licensed contractors about entering into a contract.

It is your responsibility as the homeowner to make sure the contract is filled out properly before you sign it.

Some things to keep in mind include:

• make sure you have read the contract in full
• make sure that scope is sufficiently referenced as part of the contract:
  • sign the VfM approved quote as part of the contract itself (eg. through docusign), or;
  • reference the VfM approved quote as a document in the contract with a reference number and date of quote. or;
  • reference the VfM certificate  as a document in the contract, with a reference number and date of certificate. or;
  • for home raise, reference the architectural and engineering drawings as documents in the contract, with a plan number and date of drawing.
• make sure the progress payments (milestones) are described in full at each stage
• seek legal advice before signing to ensure you are aware of your rights and obligations.

Once you are happy with the contract terms and conditions, you will submit the contract via the QRIDA portal or by email to RHAS@qrida.qld.gov.au.

If you’re unable to submit your contract online, you can post it to:

Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority
GPO Box 211
BRISBANE QLD  4001

QRIDA will review the building contract and provide you with a Letter of Offer.

You will review the letter and sign and return it to QRIDA via the portal or by email to RHAS@qrida.qld.gov.au.

At this point, the works can commence.

The Letter of Offer contains:

• the approved financial assistance amount
• co-contribution amount (if applicable)
• eligible works payment table that provides a breakdown of milestones and payment amounts
• details of the approved licensed contractor
• terms and conditions.

Variations to approved work

If there are any variations to the approved works under the Letter of Offer, you will be required to submit a Variation Request form to QRIDA, together with any supporting information such as a revised quote, scope of works and relevant photos.

You should wait until your variation is approved before you commence the variation work.

Variation requests will be processed as quickly as possible, upon receipt of all the relevant information.

There will be some variations where it is impractical to obtain prior approval, for example where there is an immediate ‘make safe’ obligation. In these cases, the contractor will still be required to provide the necessary supporting information to you to enable you to seek funding approval, including the summary of work, detailed breakdown of costs and the reason works could not stop.

Payments incorporating variations will not be authorised without a Value for Money assessment undertaken by the Queensland Government. The new Value for Money assessments ensure the revised scope of works still meets eligibility requirements and represents value for money. RHF will not pay for non-approved or non-resilient works.

Please email the QRIDA team for a copy of the Variation Request form. Once this has been completed, please return it by email to the same email address, RHAS@qrida.qld.gov.au

How payments are made

In most cases, payments will be made directly to the building contractor. However, if you have already paid for resilience works, you may eligible to be reimbursed directly by the Queensland Government.

Payments made directly to the licensed contractor will follow the agreed milestones set out in the building construction contract and confirmed in the Letter of Offer. The number of payments will depend on the value of the works.

For the licensed contractor to be paid, you will need to submit a Milestone Claim Form via the QRIDA portal certifying that the works for that milestone have been completed, together with invoices from the building contractor.

You will submit a Milestone Claim Form for each and every completed milestone.

The Milestone Claim Forms are sent out with the Letter of Offer.

Outcomes report

At the completion of the work, the licenced contractor is required to certify their work by providing you with the relevant certification.

For Home Raise, licensed contractors are to provide you with a Form 21 Final Inspection Certificate from a licensed certifier incorporating the full scope of work and evidence that the new habitable floor level meets or exceeds both the assessed flood level and 2021–2022 flood event level.

For Resilient Retrofit works, licenced contractors are to provide you with one or more of the following forms, as appropriate for the scope of works: Form 30, Form 43, Form 4 , Form 12 and Form 21.

You will provide the relevant certification form/s with your final milestone payment form.

More information about certification requirements is available in Support for licensed contractors.

Before final payment is released, the Resilient Homes Fund may attend your home to undertake an inspection of completed works. The Resilient Homes Fund will provide you with a summary of the works approved and completed through the Fund.

Co-contribution payments

Co-contributions will take place at agreed milestones, detailed in the Letter of Offer.

If you are making co-contributions, you will make your agreed share of the payments directly to the licensed contractor at the agreed milestones.

You will then send evidence of these payments (e.g. receipt from the contractor) via the QRIDA portal before the Queensland Government can release their share of the co-contribution for that milestone to the contractor.