State Building Surveyor
The State Building Surveyor is the main source of technical expertise for industry and practitioners in Victoria.
From February 2024, the Building Legislation Amendment Act 2023 established the State Building Surveyor as a statutory appointment with a range of additional functions and powers to strengthen its status and effectiveness.
This redefines the role to provide more direct oversight of the building and plumbing industries.
The role will:
- Be the primary source of technical expertise for building and plumbing work
- Support improvements to building surveyor performance
- Improve technical capability across industry
- Encourage improvements to regulatory oversight and practice
- Provide strategic and regulatory advice on enhancing the standards and requirements of work in the building and plumbing industries and to the building system regulators
- Use data and trends to inform potential system reforms and enabling decisions to be made in relation to strategic and regulatory issues within the building and plumbing industries
- Monitor and report on the performance of Building Surveyors and Councils in the delivery and performance of their building control functions as co-regulatory partners
Frequently Asked Questions
The State Building Surveyor leads the VBA’s Office of the State Building Surveyor, supporting improved building safety and consumer outcomes through a focus on practitioner capacity building, technical advice and building performance oversight.
The State Building Surveyor as a statutory appointment will provide strong leadership, specialist expertise and stakeholder engagement capabilities to manage a team of senior technical professionals. This allows the Office of the State Building Surveyor to monitor building sector performance, identify and manage emerging risks, implement education programs and influence regulatory reforms and process changes to promote sector best practice.
The State Building Surveyor will have the authority to consider issuing Binding Determinations on the technical interpretation of building and plumbing regulations, codes and standards, while supporting improvements to building surveyor practices through reducing compliance and safety risks.
The State Building Surveyor will also have the authority to monitor and report on the performance of building surveyors to drive improvements in discharging their functions and to monitor and provide councils with advice and support in the delivery and performance of their building control functions as co-regulatory partners.
The technical interpretations provided by the State Building Surveyor will provide more clarity to practitioners, saving time and confusion and promoting consistency. The role also focuses on providing expert technical advice, training and education to building and plumbing practitioners, improving their practice and the quality of the built environment.
The State Building Surveyor will be accessible and liaise widely across industry, engaging and presenting at a variety of industry forums.
The State Building Surveyor will have the same strategic direction as the VBA and use data, evidence and intelligence to address areas which pose the greatest risk of harm to consumer outcomes.
By utilising its technical expertise and unique line of sight to industry, the State Building Surveyor will educate and inform practitioners to better deliver quality and compliant work.
For more information about how the VBA regulates Victoria’s building and plumbing industries, visit the VBA’s Regulatory Policy Statement web page.