If you are buying a Melbourne house with timber in it — which is most of them — a timber pest inspection is one of the few documents that can change a price before you sign. The standard that describes that job is AS 4349.3-2010, Inspection of buildings Part 3: Timber pest inspections. It is about termites, borers of seasoned timber and fungal decay present at the time of the inspection.
A termite-only inspection written to AS 3660.2 is a narrower job. Industry agreements commonly say that termite-only reports are not recommended for pre-purchase. This site agrees with that caution. If an advertisement says “termite check” and the contract needs a timber pest report, ask which standard will be on the cover.
What the report will not do
It will not see through a locked hatch, a stacked shed or a slab with no void. AS 4349.3 defines reasonable access; if a crawl space is blocked, the report should say so. It will not guarantee the house is clear next summer. Termites move. The VBA still talks about regular inspection after you own the place.
It is also not a building report. The VBA’s pre-purchase advice is to use a registered building practitioner for the building walk. Pest and building are complementary, not duplicates.
How to read the findings
Live termites, old workings, conducive conditions (damp, timber-soil contact, bridged barriers), borer in pine, and fungal decay in a bearer are different sentences. Ask the inspector to show you the photo. Ask whether a chemical or physical system is documented and whether a durable notice exists. The VBA chemical-systems note is what “compliant system” has to mean for new work.
Do not let anyone invent a repair quote on this page. Take the report to a licensed technician or a builder as the next trade, not as a panic add-on at the auction.
Related: termites, choosing a licensed technician, eastern suburbs.
Booking details that change the report
Tell the inspector about locked rooms, a dog, a stacked garage and a hatch that has not opened in years. AS 4349.3 is honest about access. A cheap report that never entered the subfloor is a cheap report. The VBA still wants a building practitioner for the building walk — book both if the contract is large enough to hurt.
Reading “no live termites found”
That sentence is about the time of the visit. It can sit next to “timber in contact with soil” and “wet subfloor”. Those conducive conditions are the next conversation with a builder or a licensed technician, not a reason to skip maintenance. See VBA termites.
Selling
If you are selling, do not treat a fresh paint job as a timber pest strategy. An honest report now is cheaper than a dispute after. This page will not coach concealment.
Two reports, two trades
AS 4349.3 is timber pests. A VBA-registered building inspection is the building. Buy both when the money is large. A termite-only AS 3660.2 letter is the narrower document — say the numbers out loud when you book.
“No live termites” beside “timber in soil” is not a clearance. It is a maintenance list. Keep the photos.
Field notes: timber pest reports
What to look for first
Before anyone opens a product, look for this: Whether the cover says AS 4349.3 or only AS 3660.2. Write the date and the room. That note is what you hand a licensed person, not a vibe.
A first look that costs nothing: Whether the hatch, the garage and the wet bathroom were accessed. If you cannot see it safely, stop and photograph from the doorway.
Melbourne houses hide harbourages. Start with this one: Photos of conducive conditions, not only ‘no live termites’. Then decide whether you are still in a DIY sentence.
Before anyone opens a product, look for this: A durable notice or an installation certificate. Write the date and the room. That note is what you hand a licensed person, not a vibe.
A first look that costs nothing: A separate building inspection by a registered practitioner. If you cannot see it safely, stop and photograph from the doorway.
What not to do
Skip this common mistake: Relying on a vendor’s termite-only letter. The archived shopfront loved shortcuts. This rebuild does not.
Do not do this, even if a neighbour swears by it: Treating fresh paint as a timber strategy. If a method is not on a label or an agency page, it is folklore.
The wrong move on this job is Skipping the building report because the pest report felt long. Undo is harder than wait.
Skip this common mistake: Inventing a repair price from this page. The archived shopfront loved shortcuts. This rebuild does not.
The rule you can quote
The official line to keep in your pocket: AS 4349.3 covers termites, borers and fungal decay. Quote the agency, not this domain, if you need a rule to stand up.
When the conversation turns legal, use this: The VBA wants a registered building practitioner for the building walk. We are an editorial site. They are the source.
Read the primary page, then this sentence: Chemical systems on new work follow VBA / APVMA / AS 3660. If they disagree, the agency wins.
How Melbourne housing changes the job
In this kind of Melbourne building: Stump cottages need crawl honesty. Copying a slab plan onto a stump house, or a tower plan onto a cottage, is how people buy the wrong product.
Housing stock does the work here: Slabs need certificate honesty. The suburb name is a weaker clue than the hatch, the chute or the deck post.
Walk the building type, not the postcode: Decks in the east need soil-contact honesty.
After the first night
After the immediate mess: Keep the PDF with the contract file. That is maintenance, not a second panic spray.
The next week is for this, not for a new fog: Fix conducive conditions even when no live termites were seen. If the animal returns, you have information, not a failed personality test.
File this with the house papers: Commission your own report when buying. The next buyer or the next inspector will ask.
Field notes: closer look — the report again
What to look for first
Before anyone opens a product, look for this: Cover standard, access, photos, notice, building practitioner. Write the date and the room. That note is what you hand a licensed person, not a vibe.
What not to do
Skip this common mistake: Vendor letter only. The archived shopfront loved shortcuts. This rebuild does not.
Do not do this, even if a neighbour swears by it: Paint as strategy. If a method is not on a label or an agency page, it is folklore.
The wrong move on this job is Price from this page. Undo is harder than wait.
The rule you can quote
The official line to keep in your pocket: 4349.3 versus 3660.2. Quote the agency, not this domain, if you need a rule to stand up.
When the conversation turns legal, use this: VBA building walk. We are an editorial site. They are the source.
Read the primary page, then this sentence: APVMA systems on new work. If they disagree, the agency wins.
How Melbourne housing changes the job
In this kind of Melbourne building: Crawls, certificates, deck soil. Copying a slab plan onto a stump house, or a tower plan onto a cottage, is how people buy the wrong product.
After the first night
After the immediate mess: Keep the PDF. That is maintenance, not a second panic spray.
The next week is for this, not for a new fog: Fix conducive conditions. If the animal returns, you have information, not a failed personality test.
File this with the house papers: Buy your own report. The next buyer or the next inspector will ask.
A closer walk through this job
AS 4349.3 is the purchase conversation; AS 3660.2 is not a substitute
Buyers in Melbourne are often offered a “termite inspection” when the contract or the lender needed a timber pest inspection to AS 4349.3. Those are different documents. AS 3660 is the termite-management family (new work, existing buildings, and the systems the VBA discusses for chemical products). AS 4349.3 is the inspection standard used when someone is reporting on timber pests for a transaction. Ask for the standard by name, in writing.
The VBA pre-purchase page is the consumer-facing reminder to book inspections before you buy. This site will not invent a fee, a pass/fail rate, or a suburb risk score. If the inspector is also a building practitioner, check the register. If they will apply a pesticide later, that is a Health card — a different credential.
A report is a snapshot. Landscaping that later bridges a chemical system, a leak into particleboard, or formwork left under a slab can change the picture. Do not treat last year’s certificate as a clearance for this year’s sale.
Questions this page is written to answer
Is a visual look from the doorway enough? No. Ask what areas were accessible, what was excluded, and whether moisture or timber-pest evidence was found. Exclusions are part of the document, not fine print to skip.
Does a clean report mean no termites tomorrow? It means the inspector reported what they could see on that date under that standard. Biology continues. Maintenance continues. The termite guide and the VBA termite consumer page are the living-with-the-house layer.
Who should I call if the report is messy? A licensed person for any treatment, a building practitioner for defects, and your conveyancer for the contract. This publication will not pick them.
Related: termites, choosing a licensed technician, eastern suburbs decks.