Booking a pest inspection: what gets checked and who to trust

What an inspection covers

A timber pest inspection checks a property for termites, borers and wood decay, working through the interior, the roof void, the subfloor and the yard wherever access allows. The output is a written report — a good one has photos and clear locations, not just a page of ticked boxes. For a purchase, that report should meet the relevant Australian Standard and usually lands within a day.

The most common upgrade is a combined building and pest inspection, done in one visit and cheaper than booking each separately. The building side covers structural and general condition; the pest side covers timber and termites. For a home purchase, bundling the two is the sensible default.

Access shapes what can be checked. Tight subfloors, sealed roof voids and cluttered rooms limit visibility, and a thorough inspector will note what they couldn't reach rather than pretend it's all clear. Thermal cameras, moisture meters and movement sensors add confidence on trickier properties, sometimes for a small premium.

How the cost works

The band on this page runs from a routine annual pest inspection at the low end to a combined building-and-pest package for a large home at the top. The estimate here adjusts for the inspection type and property size, and bundling building and pest into one visit is the clearest way to keep the total down when you're buying.

Regional travel and fast turnaround for an auction deadline can add to the fee, so mention timing when you book. What you shouldn't do is choose purely on price — the cheapest inspection is poor value if the report is a checklist with no detail behind it.

Choosing the right inspector

Pest inspection isn't a building-licence trade, but the inspector should hold a recognised timber pest qualification and carry professional indemnity insurance — ask for both, because a report is only as good as the person standing behind it. Read a sample report before booking; the detail, the photos and the clarity of the findings tell you what you're paying for.

A trustworthy inspector is candid about what they couldn't access and specific about what they found. If termites turn up, get any treatment quoted separately rather than accepting a bundled fix sight unseen — the inspection and the remedy are different services, and mixing them creates an incentive you don't want.

Mistakes to avoid

For a modest fee, a pest inspection can save a fortune — but only if you use it properly.

• Choosing on price alone and getting a tick-box report with no photos or detail
• Not checking the inspector's timber pest qualification and insurance
• Skipping the report entirely on a house you already own — annual checks catch termites early
• Booking pest-only when a combined building-and-pest visit costs less than two separate ones
• Accepting a treatment quote bundled into the inspection instead of getting it priced separately
• Ignoring the inspector's notes on areas they couldn't access