Victorian Building Advisory

The Victorian Building Authority (VBA) is undergoing a comprehensive restructuring aimed at creating a more efficient, accountable regulatory framework for Victoria’s building industry. As part of this shift, the VBA’s current multi-member board is being dissolved, and a sole Commissioner role has been established. Anna Cronin, who has been the CEO of the VBA since July 2023, will step into this position in March 2024. This change follows concerns about the VBA’s effectiveness in managing industry compliance and consumer protection, as well as its internal workplace environment, which was under scrutiny after various incidents, including issues with inspection practices and regulatory oversight failures during recent builder collapses​

In place of the VBA’s current structure, a new Building and Plumbing Commission will be established to consolidate several functions under one agency. This commission will integrate building quality control, consumer protections, and insurance administration into a streamlined regulatory body. Additional oversight elements, such as a new “Building Monitor” to advocate for consumers and a “State Building Surveyor” for technical guidance, will also be introduced to enhance regulatory transparency and support building industry standards across Victoria​

This reform aims to provide Victorian residents with better safeguards against building faults and increased accountability within the construction industry. The changes are expected to improve consumer trust by addressing systemic issues in compliance and by implementing new, centralized structures for dispute resolution and enforcement across the industry.

I believe the already struggling and in-effective VBA is to be replaced with a new building authority, how-ever, this is going to be the same as the the previous replacement of the previous building authority, and we expect to see more confusion, more ineffective compliance and support for both industry, trades, builders and general public. What we will see is more red tape, more expense’s, more delays and less results.