The building industry has been the subject of negative commentary for some time.

The Victorian government has announced a new more powerful building and plumbing watchdog, the Building & Plumbing Commission, that will oversee the industries across the state from 2025. Bringing together the Victorian Building Authority (VBA), Domestic Building Disputes Resolution Victoria (DBDRV) and the Domestic Building Insurance (DBI) function of the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority (VMIA), the new regulator will deliver stronger protections for Victorian homeowners and create a new one-stop shop to regulate Victoria’s building and plumbing industries.

With the establishment of the new regulatory body, the Victorian Building Authority (VBA) has published this independently commissioned report into seven of the VBA’s most complex and challenging consumer cases, some of which span more than 10 years.

The objectives of the review were to: 

• examine how the VBA has responded to the complainants involved in the 7 case studies; 
• review interactions between the VBA and complainants, practitioners and other agencies; 
• identify regulatory improvements that could be made through improved regulatory practices, amendment to legislation or further policy development. 

The report makes 20 recommendations, some of which relate to VBA policies and practices and others which require the Government’s consideration. Some of the key recommendations include:

Recommendation 1: The VBA should develop a policy and training for all staff on dealing with complainants that is trauma informed and reflects the great strain that many complainants are experiencing. 

Recommendation 8: The government should consider statutory mechanisms to ensure that the related entities or directors of builders or developers who become insolvent can be held liable for the defective work of the failed company. 

Recommendation 9: Enhancements to the Act’s anti-phoenixing laws should be made. The VBA should be given additional powers to suspend builders who have been directors of companies which have gone into external administration. The Queensland laws and proposed reforms to the NSW laws (including the obligations placed on all license holders) should be considered as part of policy development in this area. 

Recommendation 14: Amend the Building Act to mandate that registered design practitioners must declare that their designs are compliant at the time they submit them to the RBS for substantive review.