Do construction (residential and commercial) businesses need to maintain VBA registration as builder / draftsperson / surveyor?

Maintain VBA registration as builder / draftsperson / surveyor. Part 11 of the Building Act 1993 (Vic) requires building practitioners to be registered by the Victorian Building Authority (the Authority under the Act) in the category and class that authorises the work they do. A person must not carry out work of a kind prescribed for a category or class of building practitioner (other than a builder) unless registered in that category or class (s 169D), and must not carry out domestic building work under a major domestic building contract unless a registered builder or licensed building employee (s 169F).

Trigger: Carrying out, or undertaking to carry out, work of a kind prescribed for a category or class of building practitioner in Victoria, or domestic building work under a major domestic building contract.

Rules Mate runs its applicability engine across 9 business structures and 6 size bands for each of the 35 industries it maps. For 34 of those industries the answer for "Maintain VBA registration as builder / draftsperson / surveyor" is no. Construction (residential & commercial) is one of the 1 where the answer is different: yes.

The deciding fact for construction (residential and commercial) businesses: Industry: Construction (residential & commercial)

About the industry: Builders, contractors, and subcontractors covered by the Building & Construction General On-site Award and high-risk WHS.

Compare a professional services (general) business with 6–19 employees structured as a Pty Ltd company: the obligation does not apply (Requires industry: Construction (residential & commercial)).

Each cell is the engine's outcome for a business in construction (residential & commercial) with that structure and size, assuming it sells to consumers and small businesses and holds customer contact details. "Check" means the obligation turns on a fact the industry does not settle.

When due

Registration in the correct category and class must be held before the work is carried out or offered, and for a body corporate a nominee director who meets the licensing requirements must be in place before it carries out or undertakes work.

Evidence to keep

Current registration showing the category and class held; evidence of the prescribed qualification and experience supporting the registration; for a body corporate, nominee director details meeting s 171B; contracts showing domestic building work is done by or under a registered builder; marketing material that accurately states registration.

Maximum penalty

Carrying out prescribed work while unregistered (s 169D), carrying out domestic building work under a major domestic building contract while unregistered (s 169F) and falsely representing registration (s 169) each carry up to 500 penalty units for a natural person and 2,500 penalty units for a body corporate; a body corporate working without a nominee director faces up to 2,500 penalty units (s 169G) (Building Act 1993 (Vic), authorised version 152)

Regulator

VBA

Jurisdiction

VIC only

• Comply with NSW Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020: Only if
• Hold current QBCC licence for QLD building work: Yes
• Asbestos management — workplace + dwelling rules (state): Yes
• Building work — comply with National Construction Code (NCC): Yes
• Comply with the respirable crystalline silica workplace exposure limit (0.05 mg/m³): Yes
• EPBC Act — assess + approve controlled actions affecting MNES: Only if
• All 31 answers for construction (residential & commercial)