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Victorian home builder faces $480k fines for alleged insurance error
Victoria’s building watchdog has filed charges against a Melbourne construction company, alleging multiple breaches of domestic building insurance laws.
According to the Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC), volume builder Glenvill Constructions allegedly took deposits from home owners without having taken out a domestic building insurance (DBI) policy.
The BPC has served several coercive notices on Glenvill Constructions regarding building contracts issued by the builder between 1 March 2024 and 30 June 2024.
The regulator will allege that the company, on 15 occasions, demanded or received money under a major domestic building contract (MDBC) without ensuring that the work was covered by the required DBI.
According to the BPC, the site locations were spread across Melbourne’s outer west, north and regional Victoria, including Geelong and Ballarat.
Even though the builder eventually took out DBI policies before starting the work, they weren’t in place at the time of payment and wouldn’t be for another 30 to 90 days.
The charges followed a BPC insurance audit of volume builders, sparked by the collapse of Porter Davis in 2023.
Following changes to the Domestic Building Contracts Act, it is now an offence for builders to receive money under an MDBC without holding the required DBI.
The penalties for failing to comply are $96,000 for individuals and $480,000 for companies.
The DBI policy provides protection from financial losses arising from incomplete or defective work carried out by a builder who has died, disappeared, or become insolvent.
The BPC has urged consumers to ensure their builder has a valid DBI certificate before making a payment.