The Allan Labor Government and Victorian Building Authority (VBA) are encouraging Victorians to help them crack down on illegal building and plumbing practices across the state by reporting unregistered workers.
From today, Victorians can anonymously dob in unregistered builders and plumbers who operate without proper qualifications, insurance, or compliance with industry standards through a new dob-in form.
Currently, one in 10 complaints received by the VBA involves unregistered workers who often target unsuspecting Victorians through digital platforms including Airtasker, Hipages, and Facebook Marketplace.
These illegal operators can put Victorians at risk of unsafe installations, costly repairs, and a lack of legal recourse and insurance when things go wrong.
A recent inspection blitz by the VBA uncovered 33 unregistered workers across more than 1,100 building sites since mid-October, with five employers also found enabling illegal work. These inspections are part of an ongoing statewide crackdown, informed by public tip-offs, VBA intelligence, and data analytics.
This crack down comes after the Labor Government announced an overhaul of the building regulator, replacing the VBA with a new more powerful watchdog - Building & Plumbing Commission.
The new watchdog will bring together all aspects of building quality control into a single agency, will be given tough new powers to protect Victorian families and their homes, and be resourced to have more boots on the ground with a 50 per cent increase in auditors and frontline inspectors, as part of a $63.3 million investment.
Victorians can dob-in unregistered builders and plumbers anonymously through the VBA's online dob-in form: Report Unregistered Building and Unlicensed Plumbing Work.
Victorians are urged to only hire practitioners who can prove their registration or licensing, they can check worker registration at Find a Practitioner.
As stated by Minister for Planning Sonya Kilkenny
"We're cracking down on unregistered builders and plumbers because they are a danger to everyone-they cut corners, put safety at risk, and leave Victorians out of pocket when things go wrong."
As stated by VBA Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer Anna Cronin
"Victorians need to be aware of the risks they take in hiring those without the proper registration or license; if something goes wrong their only option is court."
As stated by Master Builders CEO Michaela Lihou
"We support the VBA's crackdown on unregistered practitioners. Our members have worked hard to earn their registration and our industry and consumers both deserve to be protected from the efforts of dodgy builders who seem to think they can get away with doing the wrong thing."
