Which way does your ground fall

In short: Site not graded away from the building, recorded on Austral jobs at frame and at handover.

What grading does

Takes surface water away from the building instead of holding it against the footing.

Site not graded on an Austral job at frame stage, and grading still required at lock-up and again at handover on others.

Ground that stays wet at the footing is the primary conducive condition we record. Moisture next to timber is most of the invitation.

Water held at the footing on reactive clay is also what drives differential movement, which is what cracks walls.

Regrading, and making sure downpipes actually discharge somewhere. Cheap, and frequently left to last.

Written by the Owner Inspections team from inspections carried out in Austral. Licensed building practitioners, NSW Fair Trading licence 366177C.

More building and pest guides for Austral

7 July 2026 · 6 min read

Termites choose the path of least resistance, and we build it for them.

21 July 2026 · 5 min read

The honest answer, which is also the useful one.

4 August 2026 · 5 min read

A safety requirement that gets treated as an accessory.

Questions Austral owners ask about this

Why does it keep appearing at handover?

Because final grading is one of the last things done and one of the first things skipped when a builder is pushing to complete.

Is this my problem or the builder's?

At handover it is theirs. Raise it while it is still on their list.

Does it matter if I am landscaping anyway?

Yes, because your landscaper will work to the levels they find. Getting the base grading right first is cheaper than correcting it later.

What about the silt pits?

We record those full of soil at completion on Austral jobs. A blocked pit is a drainage system that is not working from day one.