If you’re running a medium rise building company in Southeast Queensland — Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast — and you’re consistently losing high-rise residential and large-scale commercial tenders to Open Builder licence holders, your licence class is the problem. A Medium Rise Builder licence limits you to Class 2–9 buildings up to three storeys and cannot perform Type A construction on Classes 4–9 buildings. The moment a project exceeds that threshold, you’re out of the running for the head contract regardless of your capability, your team, or your track record.
Upgrading to an Open Builder licence removes that restriction entirely. Open Builder is the highest QBCC licence class for building work — no storey limit, no building class restriction, no type A,B & C building restriction, no ceiling on what your company can contract to build. For a medium rise builder ready to move into high-rise residential, large-scale commercial, or infrastructure-adjacent construction, the medium rise to Open Builder licence is the logical next step.
This post explains what the medium rise to Open Builder licence upgrade requires in Queensland, where most applications run into problems, and how to structure your pathway so you’re not wasting time building an evidence case that doesn’t hold up with QBCC.
What Open Builder Covers That Medium Rise Doesn’t
A Medium Rise Builder licence covers Class 2–9 buildings up to three storeys. Once you move above three storeys on Class 2–9 buildings, Type A construction on Classes 4–9 buildings or take on high-rise residential and large-format commercial projects, you need an Open Builder licence.
In practice, Open Builder unlocks all Calss and Type of buildings:
- High-rise apartment buildings (Class 2) with no storey restriction
- Large-scale commercial, retail, and office buildings (Class 5–6) of any height
- Industrial buildings (Class 7–8) at any scale
- Hospitals, aged care, and institutional buildings (Class 9) of any size
- Mixed-use developments combining residential and commercial at any height
- Type A construction on Classes 4–9 buildings — which Medium Rise specifically excludes
For a medium rise builder whose clients are starting to bring larger briefs, or who is being pushed out of tenders by Open Builder competitors, the upgrade to Open Builder licence is the move that opens the full commercial and high-rise pipeline.
What QBCC Requires for an Open Builder Upgrade
The pathway from Medium Rise to Open Builder is an application to QBCC for a change of licence class. The bar is higher than the Medium Rise upgrade — Open Builder is the top of the QBCC licence hierarchy, and the evidence requirements reflect that. Here’s what you need to satisfy.
1. Qualifications
For an Open Builder licence, QBCC requires a qualification at a level appropriate to the scope of the licence. In most cases, this means an Advanced Diploma of Building and Construction – CPC60220 (Building) or equivalent. Builders holding a Certificate IV CPC40120 or Diploma of Building and Construction CPC50220 (Building) who upgraded to Medium Rise may need to upgrade their qualifications as part of the Open Builder pathway.
The key variable is whether your existing qualification covers the building classes and construction types that Open Builder includes — particularly Type A construction. QBCC’s assessment of qualification equivalency varies, and this is one of the first things to confirm before investing time in your experience case.
2. Supervised Construction Experience on Appropriate Projects
This is where the Open Builder upgrade is most demanding. QBCC requires documented construction experience on projects that are genuinely representative of Open Builder scope — Class 2–9 buildings at scale, including higher-storey projects and construction types not covered by Medium Rise.
For a medium rise builder, this means your experience portfolio needs to include projects that go beyond what your current licence class covers. Specifically:
- Higher-storey projects — experience on buildings above three storeys is essential evidence for Open Builder. If all your documented experience is on sub-three-storey projects, your application will struggle.
- Supervisory role — the experience must be in a genuine supervisory capacity. QBCC is looking for evidence that you were responsible for supervising the construction, not simply working on site or managing a subcontractor relationship.
- Non-overlapping projects — simultaneous projects cannot both count toward your experience time. This catches out builders who have been running multiple projects concurrently and assume all of them count toward the required experience period.
- Documentation — contracts, council approvals, site supervision records, and referee confirmation of your supervisory role across the relevant project types.
3. Referee Reports Aligned to Open Builder Scope
Your referees for an Open Builder upgrade must themselves hold a licence class that is appropriate to the work being verified. A Medium Rise licence holder cannot verify experience on projects that exceed Medium Rise scope. For the Open Builder upgrade, your referees need to hold Open Builder licences — and their reports need to specifically address your supervisory role on projects of appropriate scale and class.
Referee planning is not something to sort out at the end of the process. The right referees, with the right licence class, who can speak to the right projects, need to be identified and engaged early.
Why Medium Rise Builders Often Underestimate This Upgrade
There’s a common assumption among medium rise builders that the step up via the medium rise to Open Builder licence pathway is primarily a paperwork exercise — that years of successful medium rise projects speak for themselves and QBCC will recognise the experience progression automatically.
In practice, the medium rise to Open Builder licence upgrade is one of the more demanding QBCC change-of-class applications because the experience requirements are genuinely distinct. Building a three-storey Class 2 apartment block and building a twelve-storey tower involve fundamentally different construction management challenges, and QBCC’s assessors are looking for evidence that your experience reflects the complexity of Open Builder work.
The builders who run into trouble are typically those who:
- Have strong medium rise track records but haven’t documented their supervisory role clearly on projects above three storeys
- Have worked on larger projects in a subcontractor management or project management role rather than as the licensed supervising builder
- Have referees who hold Medium Rise licences and can’t verify the higher-scope experience
- Are targeting Open Builder without first confirming whether their qualifications cover Type A construction
None of these are insurmountable. But they all add time to the upgrade pathway if they’re not identified and addressed early.
Using a Nominee to Access Open Builder Work Now
If your company is ready to take on Open Builder projects but you don’t yet hold the personal licence to support it, a QBCC nominee supervisor arrangement with an Open Builder licence holder allows your company to carry out that work immediately — compliantly — while you build the experience record needed for your own upgrade.
This is the same framework that applies at every stage of the licence class ladder, and it’s the practical solution for medium rise builders who are ready to move into the market before their personal upgrade application is complete.
Under this arrangement:
- Your company can bid and win Open Builder projects
- You manage those projects in a genuine supervisory capacity, building documented experience toward your personal Open Builder upgrade
- Your nominee provides the Open Builder licence coverage and supervisory oversight required by QBCC
- The experience you accumulate on those projects becomes the evidence base for your personal medium rise to Open Builder licence application
At Builders Helping Builders, we place experienced Open Builder nominees with building companies across Southeast Queensland who are making this transition. The arrangement is structured to keep your projects compliant from day one while you build the experience portfolio needed to qualify personally.
Common Issues in Medium Rise to Open Builder Licence Applications
Experience limited to sub-three-storey projects. If your documented experience under your Medium Rise licence has been primarily on buildings at or below the three-storey threshold, QBCC will question whether it genuinely demonstrates Open Builder competency. The upgrade pathway needs to include documented experience on higher-scale projects.
Qualifications not covering Type A construction. Open Builder scope includes Type A construction — high-rise and complex commercial buildings built to the highest fire-resistance level under the National Construction Code. If your qualification doesn’t cover this, upgrading your qualification may be a prerequisite for the Open Builder application.
Supervisory role not adequately documented. QBCC distinguishes between being present on a project and supervising it as the responsible licensed builder. Statutory declarations from referees without supporting project documentation — contracts, site supervision records, QBCC correspondence — are rarely sufficient on their own for an Open Builder upgrade.
Referee licence class mismatch. This is the single most common reason Open Builder upgrade applications are delayed. Your referees must hold Open Builder licences and must be verifying experience on projects within Open Builder scope. A Medium Rise referee can’t validate your Open Builder experience, regardless of the quality of the relationship.
Targeting Open Builder when Medium Rise scope is sufficient. Not every builder who wants to grow needs an Open Builder licence. If your target projects are Class 2–9 up to three storeys and type B on Classes 4–9 buildings Medium Rise covers you. Open Builder is necessary when you’re regularly working above three storeys or on Type A construction. Being clear on the right target class before investing in an upgrade application avoids wasted time and effort.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to hold a Medium Rise licence before applying for Open Builder?
No. The Medium Rise licence is not a mandatory prerequisite for Open Builder. If you have the qualifications and experience to support an Open Builder application directly, you can apply without holding Medium Rise. However, for most builders, the progression through licence classes reflects the natural development of their experience.
Does upgrading to Open Builder affect my existing licence to do medium rise work?
No. Open Builder includes all the scope of Medium Rise and Low Rise. Upgrading adds what you can do — it doesn’t remove anything from your existing licence coverage.
Can I take on Open Builder projects while my upgrade application is being processed?
Yes, provided your company has a nominee supervisor who holds an Open Builder licence. The nominee arrangement covers your company’s operations independently of your personal licence status.
How long does the medium rise to Open Builder licence upgrade take?
The timeline depends on how much relevant experience you already have documented, whether your qualifications need upgrading, and QBCC’s application processing timeframes. Every medium rise to Open Builder licence upgrade is different — a licensing readiness check is the most efficient way to get a clear picture of your current position and what a realistic upgrade timeline looks like.
What are the financial implications of upgrading?
There are QBCC application fees associated with a change of licence class. Beyond that, the primary investment is time — in building the experience record, preparing the application, and managing referee engagement. We don’t discuss specific fees in this post; speak to us directly for a full picture of what’s involved.
Ready to Start Your Open Builder Upgrade Pathway?
If you’re a medium rise building company owner in Southeast Queensland and you’re ready to move into high-rise residential and large-scale commercial work, the first step is getting a clear picture of where your experience and qualifications sit against QBCC’s Open Builder requirements.
Our licensing readiness check will assess your current position, identify what’s missing, and map a practical pathway forward — whether that’s placing an Open Builder nominee to start taking on larger projects immediately, or preparing a direct upgrade application based on experience you’ve already built.
