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Topic hub
AS 4349.1, the limits of a report, how to brief an inspector, and what happens when a defect is missed.
The usefulness of a building inspection depends less on the photographs than on the standard, the brief, and the honesty of the limitations. A report that quotes AS 4349.1 can be judged against it. A report that names no standard is a brochure.
This hub is the method: AS 4349.1 explained, what a report is not, how to brief an inspector, and missed defects and duty of care.
Visual inspectors owe reasonable care, not omniscience. When a defect is missed, the paper trail matters more than social-media outrage.
James O'Halloran · 19 June 2024
Access, timing and a short list of worries will do more for the quality of a report than any instruction to “make it pass”.
Priya Nair · 14 May 2024
The list of things an AS 4349.1 report does not cover is not fine print for its own sake. It is the difference between a useful document and a false sense of safety.
Tom Reardon · 8 April 2024
A pre-purchase building inspection in Australia is not a warranty and not a certificate of compliance. It is a visual report written against a standard most buyers never read.
Maya Chen · 12 March 2024