Industry Alert – Issuing of Building Permits

The Victorian Building Authority reminds building surveyors to comply with the requirements specified in sections 24A and 24B of the Building Act 1993 before issuing a building permit.

When considering a permit application for building work to be carried out under a major domestic building contract, building surveyors must be satisfied that the name of the person specified as the builder on both the contract and certificate of insurance are identical. (The certificate of insurance must be issued by an insurer providing the required insurance in relation to the building work.)

Building surveyors can verify that these names are identical by examining both an extract of the contract and a copy of the certificate of insurance, in accordance with regulation 36A of the Building Regulations 2018.

This requirement protects the interests of property owners, as it ensures building surveyors verify that the builder named on the (existing) major domestic building contract not only holds the requisite insurance, but is also the builder named on the warranty insurance certificate.

Inclusion of registration numbers

Before 1 July 2018, the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 required major domestic building contracts to state the registration number of:

• the builder, in the case of a natural person;
• the partners who were registered, in the case of a builder trading as a partnership; and
• the directors who were registered, in the case of a builder trading as a corporation.

This obligation did not apply to a body corporate who was party to a contract signed before 1 July 2018, because a body corporate could not be registered under the Building Act at that time.

Obligations from 1 July 2018

Body corporates who are party to a major domestic building contract (e.g. named as the builder) must specify their building registration number and either their Australian Company Number or Australian Registered Body Number on that contract.

In addition, where a builder carries out work on behalf of a partnership, the major domestic building contract must state the names and addresses of each member of the partnership, as well as the registration number of each partner who is a registered builder.

More information

If you have any questions about the issue of building permits, please contact the VBA by emailing technicalenquiry@vba.vic.gov.au.