Is your build the minimum standard?

Great point Peter. Obviously that can work very well however checking the quality (several times) during the build and on completion by comparison with display (a house that is occupied and furnished) may be inconvenient and may become annoying for the owners

I was also concerned with builders that either do their own designs (with unqualified draftees) and many do not necessarily employ professional designer either in house or out sourcing it. So you can have a double whammy of poor design plus lack of display that easily becomes a triple whammy with poor execution.

There are many small builders that will employ professional designer such as Peter and will get a quality design but equally there are many that do not so you have to be careful and yes there are many smaller builders that do a good job despite not having a display home but your trick is to get the right one.

It would depend upon how specific the specifications were.
If I was building a home based upon seeing a display home I would have a stipulation in the contract that the finish is to be to the quality of the display home.

What if the quality of the display home is terrible?

A building inspector would have a field day with the Rawson homes display in Orange for example! We were shocked.

Ultimately I expect quality of work to match what a builder or contractor would do in their own house.

No Need, you are already protected by law, Domesctic contracts Building Act 1995 section 6

So you get the display standard or the minimum standard(Australian Standards) whichever is higher

It's a state law in Victoria but there would be something similar in other states or in common law
For example: If a builder has a display then he says" come and see this is what I do, this is what you will get" and incites you to enter building contract.
The display becomes agreed standard
Builder then cannot then give you something less and the law in Victoria is very specific about that.

This is why I brought about this thread, for people to understand that if there is no display standard, what are you getting?
A promise in the cloud? Then it reverts to the minimum standards that are covered by BCA, Australian Standards and the implied warranties.

Just to give you an example, when I was QS on a major hospital project we had a panel of brickwork specially constructed as reference of quality of brickwork for the rest of the job.

Standards are important and it is important to define them, that's why specification is very important and not just a bundle of useless paper.

The Act deals with display home contract so it is somewhat different to your situation but:

If the builder has used stock photos(not of his own work) and represented it as his own then that is misrepresentation and a breach of contract, yes you should (subject to your legal advice) have a valid claim under common law and remedy is award of damages.

building-expert
There is so many things wrong with your post, i have read some nice answers from you, but this one is just wrong, im sorry i had to comment.

I'm a builder and i don't have display home, and don't need one, and I've been building homes since 2006.

Calling a display house a point of reference is very wrong. Everything you see on a display home is EXTRA, and even if you ask any project builder to build you the same house as their display house they will refuse to, there is just too many extras in their display homes, just try and you will see that im right, many of my clients did it.
Display house is built carefully to be used as display for marketing purposes, they use interior designers to select all the furniture and choose all the colours so it all looks attractive, tradies are carefully selected to get best workmanship, all materials used are upgraded and you don't get it as standard, house is much bigger then what you will get in your tender, it might have the same house name, but not the the same area.

End of the day, your house will not look nothing like a display house, not will you have the same finishes, supervisor or tradies building it. Its all marketing.

Areas are bigger then in your base price, they stretch the house so it feels spacious when you walk in.
Kitchen, wet areas, floor coverings, brick types, window sizes, woodwork, appliances, light fittings and everything else you see on display house is upgraded, and there is no reference unless you select all those products, and that is 1 in 100 and be prepared to be ripped off big time to upgrade all that.
House is oriented properly in display home, and 90% of other project homes don't have proper orientation.
And there is many other facts, display house is not reference and anyone thinking so is VERY WRONG.

End of the day you will get a house as described in your building Tender, and according to MINIMUM BCA standards, i have seen many Project homes and this is what you are getting, many of them don't even comply.

That phone call to ring previous client and ask him few questions about the builder is more important then 10 of their great marketing homes.

Bez uvrede Mr. Branko.

No Arrogance here my friend.

I'm talking about standards and workmanship plus the extras, it all comes as one package which you wont get.
If its unclear, please read again.

I am well aware that display homes are dollied up for marketing, that they have extras or your house may be different size and there may be exclusions in your contract, but that's not the point. It comes down to two promises. Promise to build for a promise to pay. Contract is specification of the two promises.

If you have entered building contract seeing builder's a display home than that display becomes representation of what you will get and part of the promise in regard to workmanship. That's not my opinion, that's the law.

So as a builder if you are using the best tradesmen and best materials in your display knowing that you have no intention of delivering the same on the other houses you build you are engaging in misrepresentation and it's much more serious than just marketing tricks. Anyone deliberately engaging in misrepresentation and breach of law is not fit and proper person to hold builder's registration and you may loose it.

bez uvrede (no offence) veseli, you need to get some re education because as a registered builder you are supposed to know all this.