The VBA Plumbing Technical Bulletin is a quarterly newsletter that provides Victorian plumbing practitioners with up-to-date information about legislative and regulatory changes, education opportunities and industry trends, with a focus on the technical aspects of their trades.
Each newsletter is sent to plumbing practitioners and industry bodies, along with engineers and subscribers.
Welcome to the fourth and final edition of the Plumbing Technical Bulletin for 2024.
A new regulator with new powers
Last month, the Minister for Planning Sonya Kilkenny announced an overhaul of the building and plumbing regulator, with a new more powerful watchdog – Building & Plumbing Commission – to oversee Victoria’s building and plumbing industries.
The new regulator will deliver more protections for Victorian homebuyers, giving them peace of mind whether they’re building, buying or renovating a home.
These reforms put consumers at the core of the building and plumbing system – right where they should be.
This is exciting news as for the first time, the regulator will bring together all aspects of building quality control – regulation, insurance and dispute resolution – into a single agency.
The Victorian Building Authority (VBA), Domestic Building Disputes Resolution Victoria (DBDRV) and the Domestic Building Insurance (DBI) function of the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority (VMIA) will form the new regulator, which will be given tough new powers to protect consumers and hold practitioners to account.
As someone who has worked in this industry for more than three decades, I understand and have seen many of the frustrations practitioners and consumers have with the system. The Government has listened and made the necessary changes to forge a better path for construction in Victoria.
These reforms are significant and I’m incredibly excited to see where they take us.
Legislation will be introduced to Parliament in early 2025 to enable the integration of these new functions. We will keep you updated through our website and industry communications.
Learn more by visiting the VBA website .
Kind regards,
Steven Baxas
State Building Surveyor
In this edition…
Compliance certificates for incomplete work must be issued when requested
Licensed plumbing practitioners are reminded that when a compliance certificate is required, it cannot be withheld if the work is incomplete and has been requested in writing.
This must be done within five working days of the request, regardless of whether payment has been received.
Updated guidelines for the inspection and compliance of bedding materials
The VBA has updated its guidelines for the inspection and compliance of bedding materials.
The updates introduce consistency in assessing compliance and rely on objective supportive documents.
Using licensed plumbing practitioners when installing a heat pump
The VBA has been made aware that, in some instances, practitioners have been working outside of their licence or registration when installing heat pumps.
All prescribed plumbing work is required to be performed by a plumbing practitioner who is accredited by the VBA to do that work, or by an apprentice working under the supervision of a plumbing practitioner licensed by the VBA to do that work.
Intro text: The VBA has compiled a fact sheet with answers to the questions asked during the Water ingress in buildings: Balconies, roofs and drainage (Research insights) Practitioner Education Series webinar on 24 October 2024.
Thank you to all that attended, and we hope you find this fact sheet useful.
