Contractor Deposit Recovery WA — How to Get Your Money Back Through Court

You paid a contractor a deposit and they disappeared — or started the work, did a fraction of it, and stopped returning calls. You want your money back, and sending angry texts hasn't worked. Here's how to recover a contractor deposit up to $10,000 through the WA Magistrates Court.

Court or Building Commissioner?

This is the first question, and getting it wrong wastes your filing fee.

If your dispute is a straightforward money claim — you paid a deposit, the contractor didn't do the work, and you want the money back — you file a minor case claim (Form 4) in the Magistrates Court. This covers unregistered tradespeople, landscapers, cleaners, and anyone who took your money and didn't deliver.

If the dispute involves defective building work by a registered builder — shoddy renovations, structural defects, waterproofing failures — it likely falls under the Building Services (Complaint Resolution and Administration) Act 2011. Those complaints go to the Building Commissioner (part of Building and Energy within the Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety), not the Magistrates Court. Confirm the correct forum before filing; a request to refund or transfer a court fee requires Registrar approval.

The dividing line: is this about money that was taken and not returned, or about the quality of work that was done? Deposit recovery = Magistrates Court. Building defect remedy = Building Commissioner.

Building Your Case

For a deposit recovery claim, you need to prove three things:

1. An agreement existed. A written contract is ideal, but a text message confirming the quote, an email accepting a price, or even a bank transfer with a clear description can establish the arrangement.
2. You paid money. Bank statements, receipts, or transfer confirmations showing the deposit amount and date.
3. The contractor didn't perform. Photos of the unfinished or untouched site, text messages showing the contractor going silent, or testimony from a neighbour who witnessed the contractor never showing up.

Identifying the Contractor

Don't file against "Dave the Plumber." If the contractor operates as a sole trader, you sue them by their full legal name — "David John Smith trading as Dave's Plumbing." If they operate through a company, you need the exact registered name and ACN from an ASIC search.

Check the ABN Lookup first. It tells you whether the ABN belongs to an individual, a partnership, or a company, and gives you the registered business name. For companies, run an ASIC company extract to get the registered office address — that's where you serve the claim.

Filing and Serving

Send a letter of demand by registered post, giving 14 days to return the deposit. If they don't pay, file Form 4 through the eCourts Portal. In your statement of claim, state the agreement, the deposit paid, the failure to perform, and the demand letter that was ignored.

Serve the sealed Form 4 on the contractor personally (or by post to their registered office if they're a company). They get 14 days to respond. Most contractors who've genuinely taken a deposit and run don't respond — making default judgment your likely outcome.

The WA Minor Case Claim Guide covers contractor deposit claims with a step-by-step process, including the ASIC search, demand letter framework, and what to do if the contractor files a counterclaim saying they did partial work.

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