# QLD Form 12 (https://dev.tradieforms.com.au/docs/form-guides/building/qld/qld-building-form-12-aspect-inspection)

Form 12 is the aspect inspection certificate for an appointed competent person. It records the aspect you inspected, the property and building, the extent of work covered, the basis and references you relied on, and your details so the building certifier can use it when deciding whether the relevant stage is complete. [Business Queensland explains](https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/building-property-development/building-construction/approvals-inspections/competent-persons-cadets) that a building certifier may use a competent person for aspect inspection help only after assessing and appointing that person for the type of help.

This is the current Queensland Form 12. Tradie Forms follows the official section order and maps your answers onto the official PDF layout.

Signing as a QBCC licensee for aspect work rather than as an appointed competent person? Use [QLD Form 43](https://dev.tradieforms.com.au/docs/form-guides/building/qld/qld-building-form-43-aspect-certificate)

Certifying a whole stage of building work rather than one aspect? Use [QLD Form 16](https://dev.tradieforms.com.au/docs/form-guides/building/qld/qld-building-form-16-inspection)

Looking for the plumbing and drainage Form 12 specialist work statement? That is a different form. Use [QLD PDR Form 12](https://dev.tradieforms.com.au/docs/form-guides/plumbing/qld/qld-form-12-specialised-work)

> **Warning**
>
> Only complete this certificate if the building certifier has appointed you as a competent person for this inspection help. Tradie Forms prepares the PDF; it does not decide whether you are competent or whether the certifier can rely on the certificate.

## Before you start [#before-you-start]

Almost every Form 12 rework comes from reconstructing the inspection after you leave site. Have these in front of you before you type.

- **Your appointment for this aspect** - Confirm the building certifier appointed you as a competent person for this inspection help, not only a casual site request.
- **The building development approval** - Source for the property description, approval number, and building certifier details.
- **Plans, specifications and standards on site** - The drawings, product documents, test results and publications you will name in basis and references.
- **A clear decision on extent** - Exactly which rooms, floors, systems or parts of the aspect you inspected and are willing to certify.
- **Your licence or registration details** - Class or type and number, checked against the current card or QBCC record where they apply.
- **The date the certifier asked you to inspect** - From the request or appointment correspondence, not from memory after the job moves on.

Name blocks the download. Sign and date the certificate before you send it to the building certifier.

## Aspect [#aspect]

Names the aspect of building work this certificate covers. It has to match what you inspected and what you were appointed to inspect.

- **Aspect of Building Work (Text, Optional)** - Use the aspect language from the appointment and the work in front of you. The official form gives examples such as waterproofing, tiling, glazing, energy efficiency, emergency lights, exit signs, smoke detection and air-conditioning. Narrow the line when you only inspected part of a trade.
  
  - **Useful** - Wet area waterproofing to level 2 bathrooms
  - **Too vague** - Waterproofing

A broad label can make the certificate read as covering the whole trade when you only inspected one area or system.

## Property [#property]

Identifies all land the subject of the application. Match the building development approval, not the booking system or an invoice.

- **Street Address (Address, Optional)** - The site address on the 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 an approval can predate a street renaming or a subdivision.
- **Lot and Plan (Text, Optional)** - The legal land description from the approval, title documents, or the property's rates notice. On new estates the street address may not exist in council systems yet, so lot and plan is the reliable identifier. Fill it whenever the approval carries it.
  
  - **Useful** - Lot 8 SP312456
  - **Too vague** - new estate block
- **Local Government Area (Text, Optional)** - The council area for the land. Address search may fill this. Confirm it near a boundary, because the LGA is part of how the job is filed against the approval.

## Building [#buildingStructure]

Describes the building or structure and its National Construction Code class so the certifier can place the aspect on the right job.

- **Building/Structure Description (Text, Optional)** - A short description that matches the approval, such as a two-storey class 1a dwelling or a ground-floor tenancy fit-out. Avoid generic labels like `house` when the approval names something more specific.
- **Class of Building/Structure (Text, Optional)** - The NCC class from the approval or plans, such as `Class 1a` or `Class 10a`. The Form 12 appendix points to the National Construction Code classification rather than informal building types.

## Extent [#extent]

Sets the boundary of what this certificate covers. This is the section that most often causes a certifier to send the form back.

- **Description of the Extent of Aspect/s Certified (Text, Optional)** - State what you inspected and where. Name floors, rooms, tenancies or parts of a system so the certificate cannot be read as covering work you did not see. Do not describe the whole trade when only one area was complete.
  
  - **Useful** - Ensuite and main bathroom waterproofing membranes on level 1, including shower recesses and floor wastes
  - **Too vague** - All wet areas

An over-wide extent is not a favour to the builder. It tells the certifier, and anyone reading the pack later, that you certified work outside what you inspected.

## Basis [#basis]

Explains why you can give the certificate. Thin wording here is the usual reason a certifier cannot rely on the form without chasing you.

- **Basis of Certification (Text, Optional)** - Detail the basis for giving the certificate and how far you relied on tests, specifications, rules, standards, codes of practice or other publications. Name the real standards, drawings, product documents or test results that supported the inspection, not a generic paste such as `as per plans`.
  
  - **Useful** - Visual inspection against AS 3740-2021 and approved waterproofing specification WM-04 on structural plans S-12
  - **Too vague** - As per plans

## References [#references]

Lists the documents the certifier can open to follow your basis.

- **Reference Documentation (Text, Optional)** - Identify supporting documents clearly enough to find them in the job pack. The official form uses numbered structural engineering plans as the example. Include document numbers, revisions, drawing titles, dates and report references where they exist. `Plans` alone is not enough on a busy project.

## Certifier [#certifier]

Links the certificate to the building certifier and the development approval this inspection sits under.

- **Building Certifier's Name (Text, Optional)** - The building certifier who appointed you for this inspection help. Take the name from the approval or the appointment request, not from an old email signature that may name a different certifier on the firm.
- **Building Certifier Reference Number (Text, Optional)** - The certifier's reference for this job, from the same approval or request pack.
- **Building Development Approval Number (Text, Optional)** - The approval number on the current building development approval. Do not take it from a quote or a builder's job number, which often predate amendments.

**Saved detail: Certifier** - save this section to prefill it on your next Form 12 for the same building certifier.

## Competent Person [#competentPerson]

Your details as the appointed competent person completing the certificate. Name is the only field that blocks download.

- **Name (Text, Required)** - Your full name as the appointed competent person. This is the name that will sit with the signature on the finished PDF. If you are on site without your usual details, complete Name now and finish the rest before you send the certificate.
- **Company Name (if Applicable) (Text, Optional)** - Your company or trading name when you are completing the certificate for a business rather than only as an individual.
- **Contact Person (Text, Optional)** - Who the certifier should call about this certificate when that is not already obvious from Name.
- **Business Phone Number (Text, Optional)** - A landline or main business number the certifier can reach during ordinary hours.
- **Mobile Number (Text, Optional)** - A mobile the certifier can use if they need a quick clarification on site notes or extent.
- **Email Address (Text, Optional)** - An email that reaches you for this job. Prefer a monitored address over a generic inbox that delays certifier questions.
- **Postal Address (Address, Optional)** - Your postal address for the certificate. Address search is limited to Queensland. Check the result after search, especially after a business move.
- **Licence Class or Registration Type (if Applicable) (Text, Optional)** - The licence class or registration type that applies to this inspection help, such as a QBCC trade contractor class. Leave blank only when no licence or registration applies to the appointment.
- **Licence Class or Registration Number (if Applicable) (Text, Optional)** - The matching licence or registration number. Use Licence check against the QBCC register to fill the licence class and name when those details are current, then confirm both against your card or renewal notice.
- **Date Request to Inspect Received from Building Certifier (Date, Optional)** - The date you received the inspection request from the building certifier. Take it from the appointment or request correspondence. Today and Yesterday shortcuts are there for same-day or next-morning completion. The field does not accept a future date.

**Saved detail: Competent Person** - save this section to prefill it on your next Form 12.

Check saved details after a licence renewal, business address change, or staff change. A prefilled line that is out of date still lands on the official PDF.

## Signature [#declaration]

Sign-off as the appointed competent person. The signature stamps onto page 2 of the official PDF in the signature box.

- **Signature (Signature, Optional)** - Sign as the appointed competent person named above. Use your saved signature when it is current, or draw or upload on site. Sign only after aspect, extent, basis and references match what you inspected.
- **Date (Date, Required)** - The date you sign the certificate. Today and Yesterday shortcuts are available. The field does not accept a future date, so the certificate cannot be dated ahead of the sign-off.

## Common mistakes [#common-mistakes]

- **Completing Form 12 without a certifier appointment.** - The form is for an appointed competent person. A casual site request is not an appointment. Confirm the appointment before you download.
- **Writing a trade name as the whole aspect.** - `Waterproofing` or `Lights` reads as the full trade. Name the system and location so the certifier can see what you actually inspected.
- **Describing extent wider than the inspection.** - An over-wide extent certifies work you did not see. Name the rooms, floors or parts of the system that were complete and inspected.
- **Using as per plans for the basis.** - That line gives the certifier nothing to check. Name the standards, drawing numbers, specifications or test results that supported the inspection.
- **Leaving reference documents as Plans.** - Without numbers, revisions and dates, the certifier cannot find the sheet you mean. Identify each document the way it appears in the job pack.
- **Taking approval or certifier details from a quote.** - Quotes and job cards often predate amendments. Take the building development approval number and certifier references from the current approval or appointment pack.
- **Finishing the certificate away from site.** - Waiting until later means reconstructing extent, basis and references from memory. Complete the form while the plans, photos and inspected work are still in front of you.

## Before download [#before-download]

- You were appointed as a competent person for this aspect inspection help
- The aspect matches the appointment and what you inspected
- The property description matches the building development approval, including lot and plan where it applies
- The extent names location and does not cover work you did not inspect
- The basis and reference documents name real standards, drawings or tests
- Certifier name, reference number and approval number come from the current approval pack
- Your name is complete, and signature and date are ready before you send the PDF
- The PDF preview says exactly what you are prepared to certify

## After download [#after-download]

Give the signed PDF to the building certifier who requested the inspection help. [Business Queensland notes](https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/building-property-development/building-construction/approvals-inspections/competent-persons-cadets) that the competent person gives Form 12 to the building certifier so the certifier can confirm the stage is complete.

- **Name the file so the aspect is obvious.** `Form 12 - 45 River Tce - L2 wet area waterproofing.pdf` will still make sense months later; `Form 12 - 45 River Tce.pdf` will not.
- **File it with the appointment and the documents you relied on.** Keep the certifier request or appointment, the building development approval number, drawings and specifications, photos or inspection notes, and any test or product documents in the same job folder.
- **Keep a copy for your own records.** The certifier holds the pack for the stage decision; you still need your own trail if a question comes back later.

Check the current Business Queensland requirements for your job. Retention and what else the certifier needs sit with the building approval and the certifier's process.

## Related guides [#related-guides]

- **[Form 12 walkthrough](https://dev.tradieforms.com.au/resources/qld-form-12-aspect-inspection-certificate-guide)** - A fuller run through the certificate, appointment checks, and how it works on site.
- **[Form 12 vs Form 15](https://dev.tradieforms.com.au/resources/qld-form-12-vs-form-15-building-certificate-guide)** - When you need an aspect inspection certificate rather than a design or specification certificate.
- **[QLD building certificates workflow](https://dev.tradieforms.com.au/resources/qld-building-certificates-on-site-workflow)** - How Form 12 sits with Form 15, Form 16, Form 21 and Form 43 on a job.