Concrete Cancer Repair in Brisbane — questions and answers
Short answers on concrete cancer in Brisbane: who pays in a body corporate, whether you can fix it yourself, when an engineer is needed and what Brisbane City Council asks for. Every rule and dollar figure comes from a government or Council source, listed with its read date. This site sets no prices for the work.
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How much does concrete cancer repair cost in Brisbane?
We set no price, and no government source we read publishes one for the repair. The costs page sets out what changes a job and the Queensland and Brisbane City Council fees and thresholds around it, with the date each was read. The costs page's Concrete cancer repair costs and rules check lists the Queensland and Brisbane City Council rules that apply at your job's value, each with its source.
Who pays for concrete cancer in a body corporate?
Usually the body corporate, where the damage is in common property or in the structure. It must keep common property in good condition and structurally sound, and in a building format plan it must keep foundations and essential supporting framework sound even inside a lot. An exclusive use by-law can change this, so check its wording.
Concrete cancer in a Brisbane unit building
Who keeps it sound, and what has to happen before work starts
Five questions, in the order an owner or a committee meets them, each answered in the Queensland Government's or Brisbane City Council's own words.
The body corporate keeps it sound
structurally sound
the condition the body corporate must keep common property in, to the extent that it is structural
A balcony slab inside a lot is still structure; the tiles are usually the owner's.
Source: Body Corporate and Community Management Standard Module Regulation 2020 (Qld) · read
Owners see two quotations first
2 quotations
the least that every owner must be given copies of before a general meeting votes on major spending
The scheme's own limit for major spending decides when this applies.
Source: Body Corporate and Community Management Standard Module Regulation 2020 (Qld) · read
An engineer does the design
direct supervision
the only way a person who is not a practising professional engineer may carry out an engineering service
Assessing how far the damage runs, or designing the repair, is that kind of service.
Source: Professional Engineers Act 2002 (Qld) · read
A footpath scaffold needs Council approval
20 days
the time the Council says to allow for an outcome on an approval or permit request
Allow the time before the scaffold or hoarding goes up.
Source: Brisbane City Council, Footpath works and permits · read
An older building may have no plans on file
1972
the Council holds no approved plans for multiple dwellings built, altered or renovated before then
A building professional may be needed to establish the original slab design.
Source: Brisbane City Council, Building plans and documents · read
Each figure names its source and the date it was read. None is a quote for your job or a promise about any application.
Process
Can I fix it myself?
Not the structural part in a body corporate building: that is the body corporate's to maintain. More generally, QBCC says building work valued over A$3,300 needs a QBCC-licensed contractor, and any engineering assessment or design must be done by, or under the direct supervision of, a practising registered professional engineer.
Is it concrete cancer or just a crack?
Look for rust. Concrete cancer is steel rusting inside the concrete, and the rust forces cracks open and pushes concrete off. A crack on its own does not automatically mean a building is structurally unsound, so have it inspected rather than judged from a photo.
Timing
How quickly can someone get to me?
We cannot promise a time. It depends on the provider's bookings. Form and phone enquiries are passed to a local provider, who contacts you directly.
What are the noise rules for breaking out concrete?
Brisbane City Council's two pages word this differently. Its Noise restrictions and complaints page says no audible noise is allowed at an affected building between 6.30pm and 6.30am Monday to Saturday, or at any time on a Sunday or public holiday other than a Saturday one; its Out of hours construction approval page instead gives the allowed hours as 6.30am to 6.30pm Monday to Saturday, excluding public holidays. Concrete cutting must be done during the day.
Permits and approvals
Does the repair need Council building approval?
A private building certifier, not the Council, is the assessment manager for a building work application, with the Council acting as a referral agency. Some repairs are exempt under the Building Regulation 2021, but only where they do not change the building's floor area or height and do not affect a structural component other than a minor one; the home owner stays responsible for meeting the standards either way. Scaffold or hoarding on a footpath needs a separate Council permit.
Source: Brisbane City Council, Building certification; Building Regulation 2021 (Qld); Brisbane City Council, Footpath works and permits; read 27 September 2026.
Service area
Which suburbs do you cover?
Brisbane, from New Farm and Fortitude Valley to Kangaroo Point and the inner south and north sides. Four suburbs have a page, New Farm, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane City and Kangaroo Point, each written around a Council permit or rule that changes how a repair is reached. The rest, among them South Brisbane, Toowong, Hamilton and Indooroopilly, are covered on the same terms.
Do you do the repairs yourselves?
No. This site is run by a marketing company, which passes each enquiry to an independent licensed local provider. The provider inspects the job and quotes it, and does any work itself; we hold no licence and have no crews or plant.
Thanks — we have your enquiry. Someone will be in touch shortly. Prefer to talk now? Call (07) 3523 1792.
Last reviewed · Updated · First published