The termite management plan and the durable notice
Every new Australian building gets a termite management system and a record of it. Finding that record is the fastest way to learn what is protecting the house and when it was last touched.
What is a termite management plan?
It is the record of the termite management system installed in a building: what was put in, where, by whom, when. And how often it needs to be checked. New building work in Australia has to be protected against termites. Whatever was chosen for a particular house (a chemical treated zone, a physical barrier, or a combination) gets documented, not left to memory.
In practice you meet that documentation in two places. There is the paperwork the installer issues, which usually reaches the first owner and often nobody after that. And there is the durable notice fixed to the building itself, which is the part that survives a change of owner, and the part worth hunting for.
Where the durable notice is
It is a small permanent label, deliberately placed somewhere that will still be found decades later. Look in these places before concluding there isn't one:
- Inside the meter box. The most common location by a distance.
- Inside the kitchen sink cupboard, usually on the back of the door or the carcass side.
- In the subfloor access, on a bearer or a pier near the hatch, in a house on stumps.
- Inside the electrical switchboard door, or on a frame member in the roof space near the manhole.
It is easy to miss because it looks like a sticker among other stickers. Once you find it, photograph it. The print fades, and you will want the dates when the next inspection is due.
What it should tell you
| What the notice records | Why it matters to you |
|---|---|
| The type of system installed | A chemical treated zone and a physical barrier age completely differently. One has a service life; the other is permanent but depends on staying visible and unbridged |
| The product or system used | Tells the next technician what is already in the ground, which shapes what can sensibly be done next |
| The installer and their licence | Who to ask about the installation, and evidence the work was done by someone licensed to do it |
| The date of installation | The clock that matters. A treated zone has an expected service life from this date |
| The parts of the building treated | Perimeter, penetrations, or both: and therefore what was left out |
| The recommended inspection interval | Usually annual, and more often in high-pressure areas. See how often to inspect |
What it does not tell you
This is where people most often over-read the notice, particularly during a purchase. A durable notice is a record of what was installed, not evidence of what is happening now. It cannot tell you whether anyone has maintained the treated zone.
It cannot tell you whether a later landscaping job bridged the barrier with a garden bed, whether the slab edge has since been rendered over. Or whether there are termites in the house today. Those are questions for an inspection, and the notice is one of the documents the inspector will want to see.
Nor does having a system mean the house is protected the way owners usually assume. A physical barrier does not kill anything: it forces concealed entry into the open where an inspector can see it. That only works if someone is looking. A chemical treated zone is a band of treated soil that breaks down over years and eventually needs reinstating. Both are designed around the annual inspection, not as a replacement for it.
If there is no notice at all
In an older house this is common and it is not, by itself, alarming. It usually means one of three things. The house predates the requirement, a system exists but its record has been painted over, replaced or lost in a renovation, or there genuinely is no system. You cannot tell which from the absence of a label, and the difference matters. The answer comes from an inspection, not from the meter box.
A licensed timber pest inspector can usually tell from the building itself whether a physical barrier is present at the penetrations and perimeter, and will say so in the report. If a treated zone was installed and no record survives, its age is unknown. In practice, treat it as due rather than current.
If you are buying
Ask for the termite management documentation as part of the same conversation as the building and pest inspection, and read the two together. The notice tells you what was installed and when; the report tells you what condition it is in and what the house looks like today. Either on its own leaves the obvious question open.
Two limits are worth stating plainly. Whether a system was required for a particular building depends on when and where the work was done. What a builder's warranty or an installer's guarantee covers depends on the terms of the documents themselves. Both are questions for the installer, your state building regulator or your conveyancer, not ones to settle from a label.
If anything you find while looking for the notice looks like termite workings (mud on a pier, a tube behind the meter box, a bubbled skirting board), leave it exactly as you found it. Break it open or spray it. And the colony abandons that route and comes back somewhere concealed. The damage carries on out of sight, and you have destroyed the evidence the inspector needs to find the nest.
Durable notice or termite management plan: what is the difference?
They record the same system in two forms. The plan is the installer's paperwork. The durable notice is the permanent label fixed to the building. The notice is the one that survives a sale, so it is the one to look for first.
| Installer's paperwork (the plan) | Durable notice | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Documents issued by whoever installed the system | A small permanent label fixed to the building |
| Where you find it | With the first owner's records, if anywhere | Most often inside the meter box; also the sink cupboard, subfloor access, switchboard door or near the roof space manhole |
| Survives a change of owner | Often not. It usually reaches the first owner and nobody after | Yes. That is what it is designed for |
| What it records | The system, product, installer and licence, date, areas treated and inspection interval | The same core details, in short form |
| What it cannot tell you | Whether the system has been maintained, bridged since or whether there are termites in the house today | |
Neither one replaces an inspection. If you are buying, read whatever you find alongside the building and pest inspection. And take questions about what a warranty covers to the installer, your state building regulator or your conveyancer.
Frequently asked questions
What is a termite management plan?
It is the record of the termite management system installed in a building: the system type, the product used, the installer and their licence, the installation date, the areas treated and the recommended inspection interval. It exists as paperwork issued by the installer and as a durable notice fixed permanently to the building.
Where is the termite management notice in a house?
Most often inside the meter box. The other common locations are inside the kitchen sink cupboard, on a bearer or pier near the subfloor access in a house on stumps, inside the switchboard door, or on a frame member near the roof space manhole.
My house does not have a termite management notice. Is that a problem?
Not necessarily. It may predate the requirement, or the record may have been lost or painted over during a renovation, or there may genuinely be no system. You cannot tell which from the absence of a label, so the answer comes from a licensed timber pest inspection rather than from the meter box.
Does a termite management system mean my house is protected?
It means the house has one layer in place. A physical barrier does not kill termites. It forces concealed entry into the open where an inspector can see it, which only works if someone inspects. A chemical treated zone degrades over years and eventually needs reinstating. Both are designed around a regular inspection rather than instead of one.
Should I ask for the termite management plan when buying a house?
Yes, and read it alongside the building and pest report. The notice tells you what was installed and when; the report tells you what condition the building and the system are in now. Neither answers the other's question.
The notice says the treatment was done years ago. What does that mean?
For a chemical treated zone it means the expected service life should be assessed rather than assumed, because it runs from that date. For a physical barrier, age matters less than whether it has been bridged since: by a garden bed, a path, render over the slab edge or a deck. A licensed inspector reads the date and the building together.
Sources
What this page explains is based on these official sources. If you check one and it does not match what you read here, send it to us and the article gets corrected.
- Standards Australia. Australian Standards (AS 3660 termite management, AS 4349.3 timber pest inspection)
- Queensland Building and Construction Commission. Protect against termites — termite management systems and inspections
- Australian Building Codes Board. National Construction Code
Keep reading
- The building and pest inspection before you buy
- Physical barriers, mesh and slab penetrations
- How often should you get a termite inspection?
- Does home insurance cover termite damage?
- Buying a house with termites: what to check first
- AS 4349.1: what the pre-purchase building inspection standard covers