AS 4349.3 · 22–38 pp typical

Pest & Timber Pest Report Explained — Plain-English Analysis (Australia)

Timber pest reports to AS 4349.3 are dense, defensive documents written by inspectors who know that the one finding they miss is the one that ends in litigation. That’s good for the inspector and frustrating for you. "Evidence of past termite activity" can mean anything from a dead colony behind the plasterboard to an active infestation chewing through your bearers right now. We separate current activity from historical, fungal decay from borer damage, conducive conditions from actual damage, and tell you which findings need a licensed pest manager tomorrow vs. which can wait.

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What the report actually tells you

What’s in a pest & timber pest report, plainly.

A timber pest report covers the three main wood-destroying organisms found in Australian housing: subterranean termites (Coptotermes, Schedorhinotermes, Nasutitermes), wood borers (Lyctus, Anobium, Queensland pine beetle), and decay fungi (brown rot, white rot, wet rot). It documents current and past evidence of each, plus "conducive conditions" - subfloor moisture, earth-to-timber contact, poor ventilation - that make infestation more likely. What it rarely tells you plainly: whether the finding is in a load-bearing element, what treatment actually costs in AUD, and how confident the inspector is. Our analysis adds all three.

Common findings & what they cost

What we see in a pest & timber pest report — with AUD ranges.

These are the five most common finding types we extract from pest & timber pest reports, in descending severity. Each line is what the inspector flagged (in their words), translated into buyer-relevant English, and costed against current Australian trade rates.

Critical Active termite mudding in subfloor bearer; live activity noted. $3,500–8,000 treat + repair

Major Fungal decay in rear wet-area skirting; moisture source upstream not resolved. $1,800–4,500

Moderate Borer frass visible in roof battens (Lyctus); limited distribution. $900–2,200

Moderate Earth-to-timber contact at stump base; conducive condition, no damage yet. $400–1,000 remedial

Minor Past termite evidence; capped and treated per invoice on file. no action

Negotiation · buyer’s checklist

Red flags & the questions to ask.

Red flags that usually kill a deal

Any live termite activity - "active" is the keyword to search for
Fungal decay in load-bearing timbers (bearers, joists, wall studs)
Subfloor moisture readings >20% combined with earth-to-timber contact
No evidence of prior termite barrier or chemical treatment on an older property

Questions to ask your vendor / agent / strata manager

Is there a current termite management system (barrier, monitoring, chemical) with a warranty?
Has the subfloor been inspected and cleared of debris and earth-to-timber contact?
What is the moisture source driving the decay finding, and has it been fixed?
Can the vendor provide past treatment invoices to confirm the "historical" activity is actually historical?

How ReportWise analyses this

Five passes. One engine. Pest & Timber Pest reports included.

Your pest & timber pest report runs through the same five-pass pipeline as every other type we analyse: extract (OCR + structured parsing), classify (severity tagging against AS 4349.3), cost (AUD ranges against current Australian trade rates), translate (jargon to plain English), and validate (cross-check against the original so nothing is fabricated or omitted). Standard tier delivers in under sixty minutes; Premium tier in under thirty minutes or fifty percent refunded. Read the full method or compare tiers.

FAQ · Pest & Timber Pest reports

Answers we give every week.

Q.01What does "evidence of past termite activity" really mean?

"Past" usually means old workings, dead termites, or capped-off mud tubes where treatment has occurred. It’s not automatically a deal-breaker - the colony may have been fully eradicated and the damage superficial. But "past" findings need an invoice-backed treatment history, a structural assessment of the affected timbers, and ideally a current warranty from the pest manager.

Q.02Should I get a separate pest and building inspection, or a combined report?

Combined (AS 4349.3) reports are efficient and common. The inspection itself is the same - visual, non-invasive, same-day. A separate standalone pest report adds value only when you want a second opinion on a known termite history or you’re buying a high-risk property (riverbank, dense vegetation, timber deck abutting the slab).

Q.03Is termite damage covered by building insurance?

Almost never. Australian building and contents insurance policies explicitly exclude termite damage. That makes the pest report’s findings - and any treatment warranty you can get the vendor to transfer - more important, not less.