Hiring a building designer is one of the most significant decisions you’ll make in your build or renovation. The right person will save you money, time, and stress. The wrong one will cost you all three. These 15 questions cut through the sales pitch and reveal what you actually need to know.
1. What is your QBCC licence number?
This is non-negotiable and should be the very first question. In Queensland, it is illegal to provide building design services without a current QBCC Building Design licence. If a designer can’t give you their licence number immediately, stop the conversation there.
Once you have the number, spend 30 seconds verifying it at qbcc.qld.gov.au. Search by licence number, confirm the status is “Current,” check the licence class matches what they’re claiming, and look for any conditions or restrictions on the licence. A good answer: they give you the number immediately and invite you to check it. A red flag: hesitation, vagueness, or “I’m in the process of renewing it.” See our full guide on what a QBCC licence means for homeowners.
2. Do you hold any other licences or qualifications?
This question separates generalist designers from those with deeper expertise. A builder’s licence — which requires substantial construction experience and financial vetting by QBCC — means the designer understands how buildings are actually built, not just how they look on paper. Architectural qualifications (a registered architect on the team, or completed architectural studies) indicate a broader design education. A background in sustainable design, structural understanding, or project management all add genuine value.
A good answer: specific additional qualifications with evidence. A red flag: “I’ve been doing this for years” with no formal credentials beyond the minimum QBCC licence.
3. How many projects similar to mine have you completed?
Experience with your specific project type matters enormously. A designer who predominantly does small commercial fitouts may not have deep experience with the nuances of residential council approvals on the Gold Coast. One who mostly does basic additions may struggle with a complex multi-level custom home.
Ask specifically: “Can you show me three to five projects similar to mine in scale, budget, and type?” A good answer includes examples with photos, addresses you can look up, and some narrative about the challenges of each. A red flag: generic portfolio photos with no specific comparable projects, or resistance to showing documentation beyond renders.
4. Can you provide recent client references?
Any competent, confident building designer will offer references willingly. Ask for clients from the last 12–18 months — not a client from eight years ago who happens to be a mate. When you speak to the reference, ask: Did the project stay close to the quoted fee? Were council approvals smooth? How did the designer handle problems when they arose? Would you use them again?
A red flag: reluctance to provide references, references who are vague about specifics, or references who only speak about renders and renders (“the drawings looked great”) without mentioning how the actual build went.
5. What does your process look like from start to finish?
A professional designer should be able to walk you through their process clearly: initial brief and site visit, concept design, developed design (your feedback stage), council lodgement, working drawings, and construction documentation. Each stage should have defined deliverables and review points where you provide input.
What you want to understand: when do you get to provide feedback? How many rounds of revisions are included? Who handles council if they ask for more information? What triggers the move from one stage to the next? Our article on working with a building designer gives you a full breakdown of what each stage involves so you can assess their answer properly.
6. Who will actually be designing my project?
In larger firms, the person you meet at the initial consultation may not be the person who designs your home. Your project may be handed to a junior drafter who you never speak to. This isn’t always a problem — many practices run this way effectively — but you should know upfront.
Ask directly: will you personally be designing my project? If not, who will be? Can I meet them? A good answer is transparency about who does what. A red flag is a vague answer like “the team handles it” without clarifying who your actual point of contact will be.
7. How many projects are you currently running?
This tells you about availability and how much attention your project will receive. A solo designer juggling 25 active projects will not give your home the attention it deserves. A good rule of thumb: ask what their typical project load is and whether they have capacity to take yours on without delay.
A good answer: honest about current workload and realistic about timelines. A red flag: “I can start immediately” when they seem extremely busy, or vague reassurances about “always having time for clients.”
8. How do you handle communication and feedback?
Miscommunication is one of the leading causes of design projects going off the rails. Understand upfront: how will you communicate — email, phone, in-person meetings? What are their typical response times? How are design review meetings structured? How do they capture your feedback and confirm it in writing?
A good answer: clear communication protocols, written confirmation of decisions, structured review meetings at defined stages. A red flag: “just call me anytime” with no structured process — this sounds flexible but usually means decisions get made verbally and then disputed later.
9. Will you provide a written fee proposal with a clear scope?
Professional designers always provide this before work begins. The fee proposal should specify exactly what is included: how many design concepts, how many revision rounds, what documentation is produced, who handles council correspondence, and what is explicitly excluded (engineering, energy assessment, survey, etc.).
A red flag: starting work on a handshake or a rough verbal quote. This is how fee disputes begin. If a designer is reluctant to put the scope in writing, that tells you something important about how they run their business.
10. What is your fee structure — fixed, hourly, or percentage?
Each structure has implications. Fixed fees give you cost certainty but may mean the designer cuts corners if the project runs long. Hourly rates can be fine but need an estimated total and a cap. Percentage-of-construction-cost fees (typically 4–7% for residential work) align the designer’s interest with the quality of the project but can climb quickly on larger builds.
Ask for a total estimated fee regardless of structure. If they won’t give you a total estimate, that’s a problem. Our full guide on building designer costs on the Gold Coast covers what typical fees look like at different project scales.
11. What additional costs will I have beyond your fee?
A designer’s fee is rarely the end of it. Beyond design fees, you’ll typically need: a structural engineer ($3,000–$8,000), a civil engineer for drainage if required, an energy assessor (NatHERS report, $400–$800), a contour and boundary survey ($800–$2,000), council application fees, and potentially a bushfire or flood report if your block has overlays.
A good answer: a clear, complete list of disbursements with estimated costs. A red flag: “it varies” with no specifics, or a designer who doesn’t mention engineering and survey costs at all — they’re not trying to mislead you necessarily, but it suggests they don’t think about the full picture.
12. What happens if the scope changes?
This is where many designer-client relationships break down. You decide to add a second storey halfway through. Or you change the kitchen layout after developed design is approved. How does the designer handle that — and at what point does it trigger additional fees?
A good answer: a clear variation process. Changes after concept approval that require significant redesign should attract additional fees, and the designer should tell you upfront what those fees are. A red flag: “we’re flexible, we’ll work it out” — this sounds reassuring but often means you’ll get an unexpected invoice months into the project with no clear basis for the charge.
13. How do you consider construction costs during the design process?
This is the most important question on this list. The answer reveals whether you’re dealing with a designer who understands construction or one who designs in isolation from reality.
A red flag answer: “We design what you want, then the builder gives us a price.” This approach routinely produces beautiful plans that cost 30–40% more than the client’s budget. Redesigning is expensive and demoralising.
A good answer: the designer actively manages cost drivers throughout the design — roof complexity, wall-to-floor ratio, wet area placement, structural spans, and material selections. They design TO your budget, not against it. This is exactly what a builder’s licence background brings to design — the knowledge of what things actually cost. See our article on what it costs to build a custom home on the Gold Coast for context on typical build costs.
14. Which builders do you work with regularly?
Established relationships with reputable local builders benefit you in practical ways: builders are more likely to prioritise projects from designers they know and trust, their estimators understand the documentation style, and the designer can give you informed guidance on builder selection when you’re ready to go to tender.
A good answer: specific builders named, with context about why those relationships exist. A red flag: “we can work with any builder” with no specific relationships — it may be true, but it suggests the designer doesn’t have deep involvement in the construction side of their projects.
15. Can I see a sample set of working drawings?
Not renders. Not 3D visualisations. Actual construction documentation — the plans that go to a builder for pricing and then to site for construction. This is the clearest indicator of quality and thoroughness.
Look for: complete dimensioning (can a builder price this without asking questions?), structural information coordinated with engineering, wet area details, window and door schedules, specification notes, and general arrangement drawings that make sense as a set. Thin documentation — a floor plan, an elevation, and a site plan — will generate builder variations. Thorough documentation won’t. A good designer will be proud to show you their drawings. A red flag: only showing renders and visualisations, or drawings that look finished but have large areas of missing information.
For a broader guide to finding the right professional for your project, see our article on how to choose a building designer on the Gold Coast.
The right building designer is qualified, experienced with your project type, transparent about fees and scope, structured in their communication, and grounded in construction reality. These 15 questions will tell you within one meeting whether you’ve found that person — or whether you should keep looking.
Design Science welcomes every one of these questions. David Steadman holds QBCC licences in both Building Design and Building (licence 15277902), has completed projects across the Gold Coast and South East Queensland, and provides written fee proposals before any work begins. Learn more about David’s background or book a $280 consultation.
David Steadman
Licensed Builder & Building Designer
David Steadman is the founder of Design Science, a Gold Coast building design practice backed by over 30 years of hands-on construction experience. One of few Australians holding both a QBCC Builder's Licence and Building Designer licence, David brings a rare combination of design thinking and practical building knowledge to every project.
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