Building variation template, filled in online
What your state's law asks a variation to contain, and a form that puts it in writing for both parties to sign.
A building variation template needs the parts your state's Act asks for, and the states differ. Victoria (section 37(1)), Queensland (Schedule 1B, section 41(2)) and Tasmania (section 18(2)) list what a variation must contain; Western Australia asks for all of its terms, its cost and its date, signed by the builder and the owner (section 7(1)); New South Wales asks that it is in writing and signed by or on behalf of each party (Schedule 2, Part 1, clause 1(2)); and South Australia treats a variation as a contract of its own, in writing and signed by both parties (sections 3 and 28). In the ACT and the Northern Territory, the building contract's variation clause governs.
The form on this site is that template, filled in online: it asks for what the state of the site requires, prints that state's statement, and both parties sign it from the link in their email.
Not legal advice — your contract's own variation clause matters too.
What a variation must contain, by state
Each row is a part of the document and each column a state or territory. Where a state's Act requires a part, the cell names the section; "Not required by the Act" means the Act doesn't list it, though a clear variation still says it.
| On the document | NSW | VIC | QLD | WA | SA | TAS | ACT | NT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A description of the change | Not required by the Act | Required (section 37(1)) | Required (Schedule 1B, section 41(2)) | All of its terms (section 7(1)) | All of its terms (section 28) | Required (section 18(2)) | The contract's clause governs | The contract's clause governs |
| Why it's needed, when the builder asks | Not required by the Act | Required (section 37(1)) | Not required by the Act | Not required by the Act | Not required by the Act | Required (section 18(2)) | The contract's clause governs | The contract's clause governs |
| The date it was asked for | Not required by the Act | Not required by the Act | Required (Schedule 1B, section 41(2)) | Not required by the Act | Not required by the Act | Not required by the Act | The contract's clause governs | The contract's clause governs |
| The estimated delay | Not required by the Act | Required (section 37(1)) | Required (Schedule 1B, section 41(2)) | Not required by the Act | Not required by the Act | Required (section 18(2)) | The contract's clause governs | The contract's clause governs |
| Any permit or approval it affects | Not required by the Act | Whether a variation to any permit is needed (section 37(1)) | Not required by the Act | Not required by the Act | Not required by the Act | The permit consent attached (section 21) | The contract's clause governs | The contract's clause governs |
| The price change | Not required by the Act | Its cost and its effect on the contract price (section 37(1)) | The change, or how it will be worked out (Schedule 1B, section 41(2)) | Its cost (section 7(1)) | All of its terms (section 28) | The change, or how it will be worked out (section 18(2)) | The contract's clause governs | The contract's clause governs |
| When an increase is paid | Not required by the Act | Not required by the Act | Never before the varied work starts (Schedule 1B, sections 41(2) and 41(3)) | Not required by the Act | Not required by the Act | How progress payments are affected (section 18(2)) | The contract's clause governs | The contract's clause governs |
| Agreed and signed in writing | Required (Schedule 2, Part 1, clause 1(2)) | Required (sections 37(2) and 38(5)) | Required (Schedule 1B, section 40(5)) | Required (section 7(1)) | Required (sections 3 and 28) | Required (section 19) | The contract's clause governs | The contract's clause governs |
| The owner's copy | Not stated for variations | Not specified | Required (Schedule 1B, sections 40(2) and 40(3)) | Required (section 7(2)) | Required (section 28) | Required (section 20) | The contract's clause governs | The contract's clause governs |
The totals on a worked example
Variation 3 on a fictional job: large-format porcelain tiles in place of the ceramic tile allowance in the living and kitchen. The form adds the priced lines, takes GST at 10% and moves the contract price on by the total, and the document prints them in this order.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Supply and lay large-format porcelain tiles, living and kitchen | +$6,200.00 |
| Omit ceramic tile allowance | −$1,900.00 |
| Net change (ex GST) | +$4,300.00 |
| GST 10% | +$430.00 |
| Total change (inc GST) | +$4,730.00 |
| Original contract price | $412,500.00 |
| Revised contract price (inc GST) | $417,230.00 |
Filled in online instead of on a pad
A blank template leaves the sums and the signatures to you. The form adds up the priced lines, takes GST at 10%, and works from the contract price before this variation to the revised contract price, the same way on every document.
Both parties sign from the link in their email, on a phone or a computer. Each signature is recorded with the time, the device and the consent given, on a signing record at the end of the PDF, and both of you get the signed copy.
Photos, quotes and drawings that back the variation go in after the signatures as numbered annexures, so the document and its substantiation stay together.
Paper and PDF forms
Queensland's regulator publishes free variation documents to use with its contracts: Form 4 with the level 1 renovation, extension and repair contract, and Form 5 with the others. The builders' associations sell carbon pads. Either way, the arithmetic is done by hand and both signatures are collected on site or by print and scan.
What must a variation say?
New South Wales
NSW doesn't prescribe the contents — only that it's in writing and signed by or on behalf of each party (Schedule 2, Part 1, clause 1(2)). A useful one still says what changes, why, the price with GST, the new contract price, any change to the finish date and when it's paid. The stricter states (QLD, VIC, TAS, WA) require most of that by law.
Victoria
Section 37(1): (a) a description of the variation, (b) why it's needed, (c) its effect on the work and whether a variation to the building permit is required, (d) an estimate of any delay, and (e) its cost and effect on the contract price. If a notice is missing any of these, ask for them before you sign.
Queensland
Section 41(2): it must be legible and in writing, describe the variation, state the date of the request for it, estimate any delay, state the change to the contract price (or how it will be worked out), and say when an increase is paid or a decrease accounted for. QBCC publishes a free variation document form laid out this way.
Western Australia
Section 7(1): all of its terms and its cost, its date, and both signatures — and you get a copy before the varied work starts (section 7(2)). Section 8 covers variations caused by unforeseen circumstances or a lawful direction, with a statement due within 10 working days.
South Australia
Section 28, because a variation is a domestic building work contract in its own right (section 3): in writing, all of its terms, legible, signed by both parties, with a copy to you as soon as practicable. A good one also shows the price with GST, the new contract price and any change to the finish date.
Tasmania
Section 18(2): describe the variation, give the reason when the builder is asking for it, estimate any delay, state the change to the price or how it will be worked out, and say how progress payments are affected. Where a permit needs consent, that consent is attached (section 21).
Australian Capital Territory
The Building Act 2004 has no statutory rule for variations, so your building contract's variation clause governs. Get it in writing, priced, and signed by both of you before the work — which is what every state that does legislate asks for.
Northern Territory
The Building Act 1993 has no statutory variation rule either; the contract's variation clause governs. Same advice: in writing, priced, signed by both, before the work.
Sources
- Home Building Act 1989 (NSW): Schedule 2, Part 1, clause 1(2). Read 27/09/2026 and 07/10/2026.
- Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic): sections 37(1), 37(2), 38(5). Read 07/10/2026 and 08/10/2026.
- Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 (Qld): Schedule 1B, sections 40(2), 40(3), 40(5), 41(2), 41(3). Read 27/09/2026 and 07/10/2026.
- Home Building Contracts Act 1991 (WA): sections 7(1), 7(2), 8. Read 27/09/2026.
- Building Work Contractors Act 1995 (SA): sections 3, 28. Read 27/09/2026.
- Residential Building Work Contracts and Dispute Resolution Act 2016 (Tas): sections 18(2), 19, 20, 21. Read 27/09/2026.
- Building Act 2004 (ACT). Read 27/09/2026.
- Building Act 1993 (NT). Read 27/09/2026.
- QBCC, Contract changes and variations. Read 07/10/2026.
Fill in the variation
- $9.90 to send it. Filling it in and the preview PDF are free.
- Both parties sign it. The other party signs from the link we email them, on a phone or a computer — no app, no account.
- Follows your state's rules. It asks for what your state requires and prints its statement, and the PDF ends with a signing record: who signed, when, and from which device.
See a signed example (PDF)A fictional job, signed by both parties.