The Victorian Building Authority (VBA) has ramped up its recovery process for outstanding penalties with $2 million in fines collected from practitioners over the past two financial years.
The monetary number is a result of VBA disciplinary action taken against builders, building surveyors and plumbers for a range of offences under the Building Act 1993. These offences include non-compliant work, fraudulent conduct, failure to comply with rectification notices and failure to be appropriately licensed or registered.
“The message to practitioners is crystal clear – a penalty is not just a piece of paper – we will pursue you through the courts if you don’t pay up,” VBA commissioner and chief executive Anna Cronin says.
“Collecting these fines and holding builders and plumbers to account drives better performance and conduct and also acts as a deterrent.”
More than $1.5 million in fines were collected from builders and building surveyors and more than $530,000 from plumbers in the period from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2024.
The crackdown on outstanding penalties is part of wider reforms underway to prioritise and protect consumers and improve the VBA’s regulatory effectiveness.
The $2 million preceded a $250,000 penalty handed down to Aycon Constructions and nominee director Seyit Ayranci in July. That record VBA penalty came after Aycon was immediately suspended in April for carrying out domestic building work without the required insurance.
For more than 25 years, Rockstar Sealing has been at the forefront of natural stone care, delivering complete, ...
VELUX Australia & New Zealand has launched the VELUX Walk-On Skylight, a new daylighting solution designed to help ...
Australia’s new home market is showing signs of a sharper slowdown, with sales falling for a fourth consecutive ...
Stockland has secured approval for a 478-home apartment development on the former Jetstar headquarters in Melbourne’s Collingwood, marking ...
A hospital façade has a lot to do. It needs to protect a building from the elements, meet ...
Specifier Source is brought to you by the same company that publishes Home Design, Grand Designs Australia Magazine, Kitchens & Bathrooms Quarterly Magazine, Outdoor Design Source, Build Home, CompleteHome and many more.