The Victorian Government has introduced a slew of reforms with a view to transform the Victorian Building Authority (VBA) into a more integrated and powerful body.

The Australian Institute of Architects (the Institute) has welcomed the move with the Institute’s Victorian Chapter president David Wagner saying that the changes would benefit homeowners and improve the health of Victoria’s building industry. The reforms allow Victoria’s building regulator to conduct more inspections, enforce repairs for defective work, and improve the mandatory insurance system.

“These changes are essential for rebuilding consumer trust and raising standards in the building industry, particularly the housing market,” said Wagner. However, he also expressed concern that many of the reforms only apply to homes over three storeys.

“The existing mandatory domestic building insurance has been outdated for some time, many new homes are being built within multi-residential blocks and towers,” he said. “Making insurance a genuine safety net by expanding beyond three storeys and being a first resort system will revolutionise the confidence of the community.”

The proposed 50% increase in building inspections will address substandard practices and promote an industry culture centred on quality, Wagner noted. Another welcome change mooted by the government would make developers accountable for projects post-handover through bonds and a decennial liability insurance scheme.

“The Institute advocates extending this approach to all builders, ensuring mandatory contractual guarantees for all projects – this would incentivise builders to address defects directly or provide financial means for consumers to hire alternative trades,” said Wagner. “The Institute’s ABIC contracts afford this protection to consumers, and we believe it should be adopted as industry practice.”

Wagner also called for improved licencing and mandatory continuing education throughout a tradesman’s working life, ensuring all trades can provide consistent work with ever evolving regulatory requirements.

“Many building issues involve failed waterproofing, yet membrane waterproofing contractors are currently not required to be insured and are not regulated through a licencing system,” he said.

“Improved licencing and education as well as mandatory trade insurance would improve building standards and reduce the amount of poor work that needs remediation.”

Commending the state government’s commitment to a more effective building regulator, Wagner also underlined the need for continued efforts to address other regulatory gaps. “The most effective strategy for addressing construction defects is to prevent them from occurring in the first place – this is crucial as Victoria prepares to meet the challenge of constructing up to 80,000 new homes annually to accommodate its growing population.”

Branko Miletic

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