A "termite inspection" can mean two different reports written to two different Australian Standards, and knowing which one you need is the thing to settle before you ring anyone for a quote.
If you ring around asking for "a termite inspection", you can be quoted for two genuinely different pieces of work.
One is a check on a building that already exists and that someone lives in or owns: is there termite activity, is there damage, is there a management system in place and is it still doing its job. That work sits under AS 3660.2, the termite management standard for in and around existing buildings and structures, which Standards Australia published a revision of in 2017.
The other is a pre-purchase timber pest report, which is written for a buyer deciding whether to exchange contracts. That one is written to a different document: AS 4349.3-2010, Inspection of Buildings, Part 3: Timber Pest Inspections, and it covers a broader pest range than termites alone.
Same two words in the search bar, two different scopes. Settle which one you need first, and the rest of the conversation, including what the job involves, gets much simpler.
| Point of comparison | AS 3660.2:2017 | AS 4349.3-2010 |
|---|---|---|
| Full title | AS 3660.2, Termite management, Part 2: In and around existing buildings and structures. Revised by Standards Australia in 2017. | AS 4349.3-2010, Inspection of Buildings, Part 3: Timber Pest Inspections. |
| What it covers | Detecting, treating and eradicating subterranean termite infestations, and installing and maintaining termite management systems, in existing buildings. | Inspection of buildings for timber pests, across a broader pest range than termites alone. |
| Typical purpose | Checking a building that already exists and that someone lives in or owns: activity, damage, and whether a management system is still doing its job. | A pre-purchase report for a buyer deciding whether to exchange contracts. |
| Pest range covered | Subterranean termites. | Termites, seasoned-timber borers and wood decay fungi. |
Sources: Standards Australia, Australia's termite management standard revised, and ABLIS (business.gov.au), AS 4349.3-2010.
The distinction matters because the pre-purchase report is not just a termite check with a different cover page. AS 4349.3-2010 covers timber pests more broadly: termites, seasoned-timber borers and wood decay fungi. AS 3660.2 is the technical standard for detecting, treating and eradicating subterranean termite infestations, and for installing and maintaining termite management systems, in existing buildings.
A common claim online is that your pre-purchase report is "done to AS 3660". It is an understandable mix-up, and it is wrong. If you are buying, ask which standard the report is written to and expect to hear AS 4349.3 named.
For a pre-purchase timber pest report, NSW Government guidance says the report should evaluate the accessible internal, external, roof-space, subfloor and boundary timber elements of the property. That is the shape of the walk-through: inside room by room, around the outside of the building, up into the roof space, under the floor where there is one, and out to the fences, retaining walls, stumps and garden timbers on the boundary.
The same guidance says the report should note evidence of past treatment or damage. That is why an inspector cares about a drilled-and-plugged slab edge, a bait station bracket screwed to a fence, or a patched skirting board. Old work is not a red flag by itself. It is history, and history tells you where to look hardest.
"Conducive conditions" is the phrase that trips people up. It does not mean termites are present. It means the property has features that make termite attack more likely, and NSW guidance gives moisture, poor drainage and timber-to-soil contact as examples.
Most of these are things you can walk out and look at yourself this afternoon.
Finding a few on your own place is normal. They are maintenance items, not a verdict. But they are also the cheapest part of the whole business to fix, and they are the part nobody needs a licence to notice.
No inspector sees through a plasterboard wall, and no honest report pretends otherwise. A subfloor can be too low to enter. A roof space can have no hatch. Stored boxes, a fixed bath panel, a full wardrobe or a locked shed all put areas out of reach on the day.
When you read your report, go to that section first.
That is why the report should state clearly which areas were inaccessible, and whether further invasive inspection is needed. When you read your report, go to that section first. It tells you what the findings do and do not cover, and it tells you whether there is a second step to consider before you commit to anything.
If you are buying, this is also the section to hand to your conveyancer or solicitor. A pre-purchase timber pest inspection is not legally mandatory in NSW, but it is recommended before you exchange contracts, which puts the report where it belongs: as a decision tool, not a box to tick after the fact.
We do not publish fees in an article, because the sensible number depends on the property in front of us. What changes the work is scope, and scope is physical:
When you compare quotes, compare those four things rather than the headline figure. A cheaper number that skips the subfloor is not cheaper, it is smaller.
"What does a termite inspection cost?" It depends on which report you need and on the property: size, access, whether there is a subfloor and roof space to enter, and whether you want termite-focused work on an existing building or a full timber pest report for a purchase. Ask for the quote against a described scope, not against the words "termite inspection".
"Termite inspection near me: what should I check before booking?" Three things. Which standard the report will be written to, whether the roof space and subfloor will be physically entered or only viewed, and whether you receive a written report that records inaccessible areas and any recommendation for further invasive inspection, as NSW guidance describes.
"Do I need one if I have not seen anything?" Seeing nothing is not the same as there being nothing. A Newcastle home can look immaculate and still have a termite history in the subfloor or the roof void, which is the whole reason those spaces get looked at. If you did see something, a warm humid night and a swarm of winged insects is a recognised event: winged reproductive termites fly from the nest on warm humid nights to mate and start new colonies, shedding their wings afterwards. A pile of shed wings on a windowsill is worth a proper look rather than a guess.
"Is it compulsory?" Not legally, for a pre-purchase inspection in NSW. It is recommended before exchanging contracts, which is a different and more useful thing: it is advice about making a good decision with your own money.
Go back to where this started: two words in a search bar, two different reports. Once you know which of the two you are after, most of the confusion falls away.
If you own the place and want to know where you stand, you are after an existing-building termite check under AS 3660.2. If you are mid-purchase, you are after a pre-purchase timber pest report under AS 4349.3, booked before you exchange contracts.
If you own the place, our inspections page is the place to begin, and you are welcome to ask Nobbys Pest & Termite which standard your report will be written to before you book anything. It is a fair question, and the answer should be immediate. If you are buying, we do a pre-purchase timber pest inspection (termites and borers), with a written report.
Tell us about the property and what you've noticed, and we'll come back to you to lock in a time.
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