Infringement notices
The VBA has the power to issue infringement notices to licensed plumbers and building practitioners for many plumbing offences.
The penalties listed below are set out in Schedule 5 of the Building Act. Each penalty is less than the penalty that would be imposed if an offence went before a VBA Plumbing Inquiry.
The value of a Penalty Unit is set by the Department of Treasury and Finance and indexed annually – see Indexation of fees and penalties.
The amount of a fine is rounded to the nearest dollar.
The collection and enforcement of infringement notices is managed by Fines Victoria.
| Section | Description of offence | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| 221ZH(2) | Licensed plumber fails to provide compliance certificate to client and notify VBA compliance certificate issued within 5 days of completing work. | 5 penalty units |
| 221ZI(1) | Licensed plumber signs compliance certificate that fails to state the prescribed information. | 3 penalty units |
| 221ZLA | A building practitioner must give the owner (or their agent) a compliance certificate for plumbing work completed on the owner’s property within 5 days after the day the building practitioner (or their agent) received it. | 1 penalty units |
| 221ZO(2) | Licensed plumber fails to give water authority a required plan of sanitary drain prior to signing compliance certificate, and/or fails to indicate on compliance certificate that the plan has been given to the water authority. | 2 penalty units |
| 221ZP(3) | Licensed plumber fails to ensure sanitary drainage and other work is ready to be inspected at time they have given to the VBA or fails to be present on site at time they have given to the VBA, without reasonable excuse. | 3 penalty units |
| 221ZPA(1) | Licensed or registered plumber fails to provide client with document that provides their name, licence/registration number and business address, prior to commencing works. | 1 penalty units |
| 221ZPA(2) | Licensed or registered plumber fails to provide client with document that has a brief description of the required insurance for that work. | 1 penalty units |
If you have received an infringement notice
Please refer to the Fines Victoria website for information about the infringements process.
Note: the Fines Victoria website is currently unable to accept payments online or manage infringement fines. Until this issue is resolved, the following options are available.
To pay your fine in full
You can pay the infringement notice in full through Fines Victoria using one of these payment methods:
- Phone: Call (03) 9200 8111 or 1300 369 819 (for regional callers) between 8am and 6pm on weekdays.
- Mail: Send a cheque or money order (do not send cash) to Fines Victoria, GPO Box 2041, Melbourne Vic 3001.
- In person: Present this notice to Fines Victoria, Ground Floor, 227 William Street, Melbourne Vic 3000 between 9am and 5pm on weekdays.
To request a payment extension
- Call Fines Victoria on (03) 9200 8111 or 1300 369 819 (for regional callers) or
- Visit the website for further options.
To request a payment arrangement
- Call Fines Victoria on (03) 9200 8111 or 1300 369 819 (for regional callers) or
- Visit the website for further options.
To apply for internal review
Download the Application for Internal Review and follow the steps in the form.
For more information see Request a review website.
To request that the matter be dealt with in court
Complete the form on your infringement notice and follow the instructions on the form.
For more information see Go to Court website.