Victorian Building Authority (VBA) has collected $2 million in fines from practitioners after ramping up its recovery process for outstanding penalties

More than $1.5 million in fines were collected from builders and building surveyors and more than $530,000 from plumbers in the period from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2024.

The record amount is the result of VBA disciplinary action taken against builders, building surveyors and plumbers over the last two financial years for a range of offences under the Building Act 1993.

“The message to practitioners is crystal clear, a penalty is not just a piece of paper, we will pursue you through the courts if you don’t pay up. Collecting these fines and holding builders and plumbers to account drives better performance and conduct and acts as a deterrent,” VBA commissioner and chief executive Anna Cronin says.

The crackdown on outstanding penalties is part of wider reforms underway to prioritise and protect consumers and improve the VBA’s regulatory effectiveness. The offences include non-compliant work, fraudulent conduct, failure to comply with rectification notices and failure to be appropriately licensed or registered.

The payments result from streamlining processes, including a targeted strategy to ensure practitioners with unpaid fines are held to account.