The short version
A house in Albury and a house in Wodonga can be the same age, on the same clay, with the same rotted red gum stumps, and the paperwork for fixing them is different from the first phone call. In New South Wales the regulator is Building Commission NSW, the licence applies from $5,000, the written contract from $5,000 and the large job contract from $20,000, Home Building Compensation from $20,000, and the approval route is often exempt development if the house is not heritage listed and is not being raised. In Victoria the regulator is the Building and Plumbing Commission, registration applies at any value for restumping, the major domestic building contract from $10,000, Home Warranty insurance from $20,000, and a building permit is needed on every job. Even the word changes: Victorians say reblocking, New South Welshmen say restumping. This page lays the two side by side and explains how a builder from one side works on the other. The detail for each state is on its own page: Albury and Wodonga.
Why it matters here more than anywhere
Every operator this site's research found with a local base is on the Victorian side of the river, and no Albury-based restumper was found in the directories. That means an Albury job may well be done by a Wodonga builder, who is registered with the Building and Plumbing Commission for a trade that NSW regulates under a different Act with a different threshold and a different insurance scheme. It also means the builder quoting on a South Albury cottage has, on a Monday, been working under rules that do not apply on Tuesday. None of that is a problem if the builder holds the right coverage for the side the house is on and the contract is written for that state. It is a problem if a Victorian contract, a Victorian notice of cover and no NSW licence turn up for a house in Lavington.
What changes when the job crosses the river
| Item | Albury side (NSW) | Wodonga side (VIC) |
|---|---|---|
| Regulator | Building Commission NSW, under the Home Building Act 1989. | Building and Plumbing Commission, under the Building Act 1993. It replaced the Victorian Building Authority on 1 July 2025. |
| Licence or registration | Contractor licence for residential building work over $5,000 labour and materials incl GST. Restumping sits under general building work; underpinning and piering is its own category. Penalties $22,000 individual, $110,000 company. | Registration with the Commission at any job value for restumping or reblocking. The $10,000 general threshold does not apply. |
| Written contract | Required over $5,000. Small job contract $5,000 to $20,000; large job contract with the 17-item checklist over $20,000. | Major domestic building contract required over $10,000 under the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995. |
| Insurance | Home Building Compensation cover of at least $340,000 over $20,000, in place before work starts or any deposit is taken. | Home Warranty insurance over $20,000 from 1 July 2026, taken out by the builder after signing; before that date, domestic building insurance over $16,000. |
| Approval | Restumping without increasing the height is listed as exempt development under the Codes SEPP, subject to its standards; not on a heritage item or in a conservation area; raising the house is a planning matter. | Building permit from a registered building surveyor on every job, because the repair exemption excludes underpinning or replacement of footings. Most works also need City of Wodonga's Road Reserve Works Permit. |
| Who checks | The council says the owner is responsible for checking the exempt standards are met. | The surveyor inspects at set stages and closes the permit. |
| The word | Restumping. | Reblocking. |
The one thing that does not change is the ground. Soil reports we have seen for two Wodonga-side estates classify the sites as Class M under AS 2870, one of them M-D, and the Bureau of Meteorology's Albury Airport station records the hot dry summers and cold winters that work that clay on both banks. No Albury-side soil report has come our way, and this site does not state a class for any address. The clay guide has the detail.
Automatic Mutual Recognition, both directions
A Victorian builder working in Albury. The NSW Government's page on working interstate and mutual recognition says Automatic Mutual Recognition lets a holder of a Victorian licence or registration carry out the same work in NSW, provided the home-state licence covers that work, and provided they notify Building Commission NSW before starting. It applies to individual licences only, not to companies, and there is an alternative Home Building Mutual Recognition application for those it does not suit. The practical test is whether a Victorian registration limited to re-stumping and re-blocking covers what NSW calls general building work for a restump, and whether it covers underpinning and piering at all, which is a separate NSW category. That is a question for Building Commission NSW, and the builder should be able to show the notification.
A NSW builder working in Wodonga. The Building and Plumbing Commission's page on automatic mutual recognition says individual practitioners, but not building surveyors, have been able to use AMR in Victoria since 1 January 2022. They need a current home-state licence, must lodge the ADR Notification form before starting, and must meet Victoria's insurance and financial requirements. Companies are excluded. An Albury builder with a NSW general building licence can therefore reblock in Wodonga as an individual after notifying, but still needs the building permit from a surveyor and still must take out Home Warranty cover over $20,000, because those sit with the job, not the person.
In both directions the state the house is in governs the contract, the insurance and the approval. Mutual recognition moves the licence across the river; it does not move the rules.
What a Wodonga builder needs for an Albury job
- NSW coverage. Either a NSW contractor licence or an AMR notification to Building Commission NSW lodged before starting, for the right category. Over $5,000 this is not optional.
- A NSW contract. Written over $5,000; the large job contract with the 17-item checklist over $20,000. A Victorian major domestic building contract is the wrong document for a house in Lavington.
- Home Building Compensation. Over $20,000, a certificate for at least $340,000 before work starts or a deposit is taken. A Victorian notice of cover is not it.
- The exempt development check. Like for like, no change in height, and the address is not a heritage item or inside one of Albury's 16 conservation areas. If it is, the council and clause 5.10(3) of the Albury LEP come first.
- No building permit. There is no surveyor to issue one for exempt work, which can feel odd to a Victorian crew. The contract and the subfloor photos are the record.
What an Albury builder needs for a Wodonga job
- Victorian registration or AMR. Registration with the Building and Plumbing Commission at any job value, or, for an individual, the ADR Notification lodged before starting. A company cannot use AMR.
- A building permit. From a registered building surveyor, before the first hole, with drawings and any engineer's design the surveyor asks for.
- A Victorian contract. A major domestic building contract over $10,000.
- Home Warranty. Over $20,000, taken out by the builder after signing, with the Commission's notice of cover to the owner.
- Council permits. City of Wodonga's Road Reserve Works Permit where the job touches the road reserve, from 104 Hovell Street on 02 6022 9300.
How a home owner checks both registers
- Ask which state the quote is written for. It should match the house, not the builder's postcode.
- Check the NSW register. The NSW licence verification service shows the licence and the categories it covers. For an AMR builder, ask to see the notification to Building Commission NSW.
- Check the Victorian register. The Building and Plumbing Commission's practitioner search shows the registration and its class. For an AMR builder, ask to see the ADR Notification.
- Match the insurance to the state. Home Building Compensation certificate for an Albury job over $20,000; Home Warranty notice of cover for a Wodonga job over $20,000.
- Match the approval to the state. Exempt development check, or a heritage application, in Albury; a building permit number in Wodonga.
The towns either side
The same split runs out along the river and into the hills. Corowa, Howlong and Jindera are in New South Wales, under Federation and Greater Hume councils, so the NSW licence, contract and exempt development rules apply there as they do in Albury, with each council's own heritage list in place of Albury's. Beechworth, Yackandandah and Rutherglen are in Indigo Shire, and Tallangatta in Towong Shire, so the Victorian building permit, registration and Home Warranty rules apply as they do in Wodonga. Beechworth and Yackandandah are gold-era heritage towns, so ask Indigo Shire about overlays before you start, and Tallangatta was relocated in the 1950s for the Hume Weir. This site has not verified council controls, overlays or fees for those towns individually; the Corowa, Howlong and Jindera and hill towns pages give the state rules by reference and point you to the local council for the rest.
What mutual recognition cannot do
It cannot cover a company; both schemes are for individual licence holders, so a Wodonga company quoting on an Albury house needs a NSW licence in its own right. It cannot turn a Victorian registration limited to re-stumping into a NSW underpinning and piering licence; that is a separate category and a question for Building Commission NSW. It cannot replace the notification, which must be lodged before work starts in either direction. It does not change the contract the job needs, the insurance that goes with it, or whether an Albury job is exempt or a Wodonga job needs a permit. And it cannot be assumed from a builder's say-so; both registers are public, and the notification should be shown on request.
Check the current rules before you rely on this
This page describes how licensing, contracts, insurance and approvals for restumping differ between the New South Wales and Victorian sides of the Albury-Wodonga border and how mutual recognition works between them. It describes the rules in general terms as they stood in October 2026. Standards, forms, thresholds and fines change.
The authoritative sources are NSW Government, working interstate and mutual recognition, Building and Plumbing Commission, automatic mutual recognition, NSW Government, general building work licence, Victorian Building Authority, clarification of registration requirements for domestic builders, Service NSW, home building compensation cover and Building and Plumbing Commission, domestic building insurance. Where anything here differs from those sources, they are right and we are not.
We are not certifiers, building surveyors, engineers, planners or lawyers. For what applies to your house, ask a licensed builder, a certifier or building surveyor, or your council (City of Wodonga on 02 6022 9300 or Albury City Council).
Accurate at the time of writing, October 2026. Always check the source before relying on it.