Half a million dollars back in the pockets of builders and plumbers

Through the fee relief scheme, the VBA has supported thousands of eligible building practitioners and plumbers by waiving more than half a million dollars in fees associated with their work.

The VBA’s Chief Executive Officer Sue Eddy said supporting those practitioners who were doing it tough through a period of uncertainty was the right thing to do.

“Our economic recovery is being driven by the construction industry. We introduced the fee relief scheme to support those boots on the ground that will literally build our way out of these challenging times.”

More than 2200 practitioners have saved a total of $533,000 in fees since the scheme began in October last year.

For building practitioners, 1633 applications for waivers of registration, application and renewal fees saw more than $373,000 in fees waived.

For plumbers, 573 applications for waiver of the above fees and accreditation and assessment fees saw a total of $160,000 in fees waived.

The fees building practitioners and plumbers can save under the scheme depends on their type of registration or license, with eligible plumbers saving up to $357 and eligible building practitioners saving up to $985.

“We will continue to do everything we can to support builders and plumbers as we all work towards our new normal,” Ms Eddy said.

While JobKeeper concluded on 28 March 2021, building practitioners and plumbers on JobSeeker can still apply before the VBA fee relief scheme concludes on 30 June 2021.

For more information on how to apply, plumbers can access information here and builders here.