What iCIRT is, and why it matters when you choose a builder

Building a home is one of the largest commitments most people ever make. The hardest thing to judge at the start is also the most important: whether the builder you choose will still be standing, financially and professionally, to finish the job well. iCIRT exists to answer exactly that question.

What iCIRT is

iCIRT, the independent Construction Industry Rating Tool, is a star rating of building professionals. It was created in response to the building quality problems that shook confidence in New South Wales construction, and it is run independently rather than by builders rating themselves. Practitioners are scored from one to five stars based on an assessment of their track record, financial position, capability and conduct.

A rating of three stars or more is regarded as trustworthy. The assessment is rigorous and entirely voluntary, so relatively few builders hold a strong rating. The ones who do have chosen to put themselves under independent scrutiny, and have passed it.

What it actually measures

iCIRT looks well beyond whether a builder can build. It examines whether the business is financially sound enough to see a project through, whether its history shows reliability, whether the right experience and systems sit behind it, and whether the people running it have a clean record.

In other words, it measures the risks that matter most to you and are hardest to see from the outside. The things a glossy portfolio will never tell you.

Why it matters on a build of this scale

The biggest risk on a custom build is not a crooked wall that can be fixed. It is a builder who runs out of money, cuts corners under pressure, or walks away partway through, leaving an owner with an unfinished residence and little recourse. Failures like these have cost New South Wales owners dearly over the past decade.

An independent rating is the closest thing there is to reassurance that the builder you are trusting with millions has been checked by someone with no reason to flatter them. It does not make a build risk-free. It removes the risks you would never have seen coming.

What it means that SHORE is rated

SHORE holds a 4-star iCIRT rating. It means an independent body has examined our finances, our track record and our conduct, and judged us trustworthy to deliver.

We were never required to put ourselves forward for that scrutiny. We did it because anyone trusting us with their home deserves to know exactly who they are dealing with, on evidence rather than on our word.

The one question worth asking

When you are deciding who to trust with your build, ask whether they are iCIRT rated, and what their rating is. It is one of the few questions about a builder whose answer you do not have to take on faith.

The build behind the address. From concept to handover.