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Professional Indemnity Insurance – What you need to know

The VBA will accept professional indemnity insurance policies containing exclusions for non-compliant building materials from 12 August 2019, following the release of Ministerial Order No. S 293.

The most recent Ministerial Order released on 11 July will come into effect on 12 August 2019. It will enable the VBA to accept specific conditional insurance policies, as outlined in Ministerial Order No. S 293 Thursday 11 July 2019. When you submit your registration, please ensure your indemnity insurance meets current requirements and keeps you covered.

VBA Registration (Five-year Renewal)

Submit your building surveyor or inspector application prior to the expiry date.

As long as the VBA has received your application to renew your building surveyor or inspector registration prior to the expiry date, you can continue to practise while your renewal is processed.

Annual Fee and Insurance

  • Submit – Annual Fee and Insurance form by the due date.
  • Process – We will validate and lodge your form.
  • Review – We will check your insurance and compliance.

From 12 August 2019:

  • Payment – Annual fee payment charged.
  • Response – Card and letter sent to you as confirmation.

Insurance

Practitioners must hold the required insurance upon application, as per section 171E (1)(b) of the Building Act 1993.

Ministerial Reform

The minimum insurance requirements now allow for policies (for building surveyor and building inspector practitioners) with exclusions on cladding.

The VBA will consider policies that meet the minimum requirements as compliant.

We understand that unencumbered insurance may be available. Practitioners should seek or obtain these policies, as it is better for you and the community.

Policies

When you submit your application, please attach your full policy.

The VBA will be requesting you provide proof of updated insurance prior to expiry to ensure practitioners are covered at all times.

Business

Practitioners require insurance during the transition period. If you have concerns about coverage during the transition period, you may wish to consider:

Transfer

You can elect to transfer your function to another registered building surveyor, provided you have the consent of the new registered surveyor and the property owner.

Relevant information, including transfer forms, is available on our website.

More information

To assist you during this change, please contact the VBA via the below contact points:

Telephone: 1300 815 127
Email: piinsurance@vba.vic.gov.au
Opening hours: 8.30am to 5pm

Download a summary of these Professional Indemnity Insurance changes (PDF, 399.01 KB)