Painter Did a Shocking Job and Won’t Fix It? Bill Them for the Redo

You paid $5,600 to have the inside of the house painted. It looked okay the day they left. A week later, in daylight: roller marks on every wall, drips on the doors, patches of old colour showing through, paint splatters on the floorboards, and a whole ceiling with visible lap lines. The painter came back once, “touched up” two walls, and now says “that’s just how paint looks, mate” and has stopped answering.

That is not how paint looks. Another painter has quoted $3,800 to sand back and redo it. Here’s how that becomes the first painter’s bill.

Painting has a standard, and the law enforces it

There is an actual Australian Standard for painting (AS/NZS 2311), and the building industry guides on “tolerances and standards” say what an acceptable finish looks like: no visible defects from a normal viewing position in normal light. Under the Australian Consumer Law:

• Section 60 – due care and skill. Roller marks and drips are lack of skill.
• Section 61 – the work must be fit for its purpose and match what was agreed (two coats, a certain colour, a clean finish).
• Section 267 – if they fail to fix it in a reasonable time, you can have someone else do it and claim the cost from them.

One written chance to fix

You’ve probably already given them a verbal chance. Make it formal: email a list of the defects (room by room), photos, and a deadline of 7 to 10 days to rectify. Say clearly that if it isn’t fixed by then, you’ll engage another painter and recover the cost under s 267.

Do not pay any “final payment” that’s still outstanding until the work is right.

Get an independent opinion

Have a second painter (or a building inspector, around $300 to $500) write a short report on the defects. It doesn’t need to be fancy. “Finish does not meet AS/NZS 2311, requires sanding and two further coats, estimated cost $3,800” is all a tribunal wants.

The Letter of Demand

When the deadline passes, a formal Letter of Demand sets out the defects, the report, the rectification quote, the ACL sections, and a 14-day deadline before the tribunal. Painters in New South Wales, Queensland and some other states need a licence for jobs over a threshold.

If they still ignore you, file. Tribunal fees are small, you don’t need a lawyer, and the photos speak for themselves.

You paid for a finished house. You got a job that needs finishing. That’s their cost, not yours.

Claim Done drafts your Letter of Demand for $49. Done in about 5 minutes. You approve it before it is sent.