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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.


Building Legislation Amendment (Domestic Building Insurance New Offences) Bill 2023

      Building Legislation Amendment (Domestic
      Building Insurance New Offences) Act 2024
                               No.          of 2024


                       TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Clause                                                                  Page

Part 1--Preliminary                                                        1
 1       Purposes                                                         1
 2       Commencement                                                     2
Part 2--Amendment of the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995              3
 3       Definitions                                                      3
 4       Building work to which this Act applies                          3
 5       New Part 3A inserted                                             4
Part 3--Amendment of the Building Act 1993                                 6
 6       Purposes                                                         6
 7       Offence to work as building practitioner or engineer without
         required insurance                                               6
 8       Insurance for domestic building work to be provided by
         designated insurers                                              6
 9       Insurance for domestic building work                             6
 10      Grounds for immediate suspension                                 7
 11      Power to obtain information or documents                         7
 12      Meaning of authorised person in this Subdivision                 7
 13      New section 234DA inserted                                       8
 14      Proceedings for offences                                         9
 15      Ineligibility for registration                                   9
 16      Offences by partners                                             9
 17      Offences by bodies corporate                                     9
 18      Statute law revision                                             9
Part 4--Repeal of this Act                                                 10
 19 Repeal of this Act                                                    10
                               ═════════════
Endnotes                                                                  11
 1       General information                                              11




                                        i
     Building Legislation Amendment
    (Domestic Building Insurance New
           Offences) Act 2024  
                    No.          of 2024

                           [Assented to                          ]


The Parliament of Victoria enacts:

                Part 1--Preliminary
     1 Purposes
             The purposes of this Act are--
              (a) to amend the Domestic Building Contracts
                  Act 1995--
                   (i) to insert offences for a builder to
                       demand or receive money under a
                       major domestic building contract if the
                       builder has not ensured that the


                             1
Building Legislation Amendment (Domestic Building Insurance New
                       Offences) Act 2024
                        No.      of 2024
                      Part 1--Preliminary


                       domestic building work to be carried
                       out under the contract is covered by
                       insurance; and
                  (ii) to make other miscellaneous and
                       consequential amendments; and
            (b) to amend the Building Act 1993--
                   (i) to amend the purposes of that Act to
                       include regulating builders, and
                       enforcing offences under the Domestic
                       Building Contracts Act 1995, in
                       relation to demanding or receiving
                       money under a major domestic building
                       contract if the builder has not ensured
                       that the domestic building work to be
                       carried out under the contract is
                       covered by insurance; and
                  (ii) to provide that investigation and
                       enforcement powers may be exercised,
                       and proceedings may be commenced, in
                       relation to the contravention of certain
                       provisions of the Domestic Building
                       Contracts Act 1995; and
                 (iii) to provide that builders who are found
                       guilty of certain offences against the
                       Domestic Building Contracts
                       Act 1995 may become ineligible for
                       registration for a period of time; and
                  (iv) to make other miscellaneous and
                       consequential amendments.
  2 Commencement
       (1) Subject to subsection (2), this Act comes into
           operation on a day or days to be proclaimed.
       (2) If a provision of this Act does not come into
           operation before 28 November 2024, it comes into
           operation on that day.


                              2
Building Legislation Amendment (Domestic Building Insurance New
                       Offences) Act 2024
                        No.      of 2024
 Part 2--Amendment of the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995



   Part 2--Amendment of the Domestic
       Building Contracts Act 1995
  3 Definitions
       (1) In section 3(1) of the Domestic Building
           Contracts Act 1995, for the definition of builder
           substitute--
           "builder means a person who, or a partnership
                which, carries out or intends to carry out
                domestic building work;".
       (2) In section 3(1) of the Domestic Building
           Contracts Act 1995, for the definition of major
           domestic building contract substitute--
           "major domestic building contract means a
               domestic building contract under which the
               amount of money that a builder will receive
               for the carrying out of domestic building
               work is more than the amount fixed by the
               regulations;".
  4 Building work to which this Act applies
           After section 5(1)(g) of the Domestic Building
           Contracts Act 1995 insert--
          "(ga) the managing or arranging of the carrying
                out of work referred to in paragraphs (a) to
                (g);".




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Building Legislation Amendment (Domestic Building Insurance New
                       Offences) Act 2024
                        No.      of 2024
 Part 2--Amendment of the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995


  5 New Part 3A inserted
           After Part 3 of the Domestic Building Contracts
           Act 1995 insert--

             "Part 3A--Offences related to
            major domestic building contracts
            and domestic building insurance
          43A Definition
                 In this Part--
                 domestic building insurance, that covers
                     domestic building work, means
                     insurance that--
                        (a) relates to the carrying out of the
                            domestic building work; and
                        (b) a builder is required, by an order
                            under section 135 of the Building
                            Act 1993, to be covered by within
                            the meaning of section 135(6) of
                            that Act; and
                        (c) complies with section 137AA of
                            that Act.
          43B Offence for builder to demand or receive
              money under major domestic building
              contract without ensuring that work is
              covered by domestic building insurance
            (1) A builder who has entered into a major
                domestic building contract for the carrying
                out of domestic building work for which the
                builder is required to be covered by
                insurance by an order under section 135 of
                the Building Act 1993 must not demand or
                receive money from the building owner
                under the contract, or from a person acting



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Building Legislation Amendment (Domestic Building Insurance New
                       Offences) Act 2024
                        No.      of 2024
 Part 2--Amendment of the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995


                 on behalf of the building owner, if the
                 builder--
                  (a) knows that the builder has not ensured
                      that the domestic building work is
                      covered by domestic building
                      insurance; or
                  (b) is reckless as to whether the builder has
                      ensured that the domestic building
                      work is covered by domestic building
                      insurance.
                 Penalty: 500 penalty units, in the case of a
                          natural person;
                            2500 penalty units, in the case of a
                            body corporate.
            (2) A builder who has entered into a major
                domestic building contract for the carrying
                out of domestic building work for which the
                builder is required to be covered by
                insurance by an order under section 135 of
                the Building Act 1993 must not demand or
                receive money from the building owner
                under the contract, or from a person acting
                on behalf of the building owner, if the
                builder has not ensured that the domestic
                building work is covered by domestic
                building insurance.
                 Penalty: 240 penalty units, in the case of a
                          natural person;
                            1200 penalty units, in the case of a
                            body corporate.".




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Building Legislation Amendment (Domestic Building Insurance New
                       Offences) Act 2024
                        No.      of 2024
          Part 3--Amendment of the Building Act 1993



   Part 3--Amendment of the Building
             Act 1993
  6 Purposes
           After section 1(d) of the Building Act 1993
           insert--
          "(da) to regulate builders, and enforce offences
                under the Domestic Building Contracts
                Act 1995, in relation to demanding or
                receiving money under a major domestic
                building contract if the builder has not
                ensured that the domestic building work to
                be carried out under the contract is covered
                by domestic building insurance within the
                meaning of that Act; and".
  7 Offence to work as building practitioner or engineer
    without required insurance
       (1) In section 136(1) of the Building Act 1993 omit
           "or managing or arranging the carrying out of".
       (2) In section 136(2) of the Building Act 1993 omit
           "or manage or arrange the carrying out of".
  8 Insurance for domestic building work to be
    provided by designated insurers
           In section 137AA(1) of the Building Act 1993
           omit "or managing or arranging the carrying out
           of domestic building work".
  9 Insurance for domestic building work
       (1) In section 137A(1) of the Building Act 1993 omit
           "or managing or arranging the carrying out of
           domestic building work".




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Building Legislation Amendment (Domestic Building Insurance New
                       Offences) Act 2024
                        No.      of 2024
          Part 3--Amendment of the Building Act 1993


       (2) After section 137A(2) of the Building Act 1993
           insert--
         "(2A) An order under section 135 may require a
               builder to be covered by insurance relating to
               the carrying out of domestic building work
               only in the circumstances specified in the
               order including if the cost of carrying out the
               domestic building work will exceed an
               amount of money specified in the order.".
 10 Grounds for immediate suspension
           After section 180(b)(i) of the Building Act 1993
           insert--
          "(ia) section 43B(1) or (2) of the Domestic
                Building Contracts Act 1995; or".
 11 Power to obtain information or documents
       (1) After section 227G(1)(a) of the Building
           Act 1993 insert--
          "(ab) if the authorised person is the Authority, and
                the Authority has reasonable grounds to
                suspect that an offence has been committed
                under section 43B(1) or (2) of the Domestic
                Building Contracts Act 1995; or".
       (2) After section 227G(1)(b) of the Building
           Act 1993 insert--
          "(ba) if the authorised person is the Authority, to
                determine whether section 43B(1) or (2) of
                the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995
                has been complied with; or".
 12 Meaning of authorised person in this Subdivision
       (1) In the heading to section 227I of the Building
           Act 1993, after "in this Subdivision" insert "and
           interpretation".




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Building Legislation Amendment (Domestic Building Insurance New
                       Offences) Act 2024
                        No.      of 2024
          Part 3--Amendment of the Building Act 1993


       (2) At the end of section 227I of the Building
           Act 1993 insert--
           '(2) In this Subdivision a reference to "this Act or
                the regulations" is taken to be a reference to
                "this Act or the regulations or section 43B(1)
                or (2) of the Domestic Building Contracts
                Act 1995" if the relevant authorised person
                is a VBA inspector.'.
 13 New section 234DA inserted
           In Subdivision 2 of Division 2A of Part 13, before
           section 234E of the Building Act 1993 insert--
       '234DA Interpretation
                 In this Subdivision--
                  (a) a reference to "a contravention of a
                      provision of this Act or of the
                      regulations" is taken to be a reference
                      to "a contravention of a provision of
                      this Act or of the regulations or of
                      section 43B(1) or (2) of the Domestic
                      Building Contracts Act 1995" if the
                      Authority has applied to the court for
                      an injunction; and
                  (b) a reference to "an offence under this
                      Act or the regulations" is taken to be a
                      reference to "an offence under this Act
                      or the regulations or section 43B(1) or
                      (2) of the Domestic Building
                      Contracts Act 1995" if the Authority
                      has applied to the court for an
                      injunction.'.




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Building Legislation Amendment (Domestic Building Insurance New
                       Offences) Act 2024
                        No.      of 2024
          Part 3--Amendment of the Building Act 1993


 14 Proceedings for offences
           After section 241(3) of the Building Act 1993
           insert--
         "(3A) A proceeding for an offence against
               section 43B(1) or (2) of the Domestic
               Building Contracts Act 1995 may be
               commenced by--
                  (a) the Authority; or
                  (b) a natural person authorised by the
                      Minister or the Authority.".
 15 Ineligibility for registration
           In section 241A(1), (2) and (3) of the Building
           Act 1993, after "1995" insert "or guilty of an
           offence against section 11(1), 40(2) or (3) or
           43B(1) or (2) of the Domestic Building
           Contracts Act 1995".
 16 Offences by partners
           In section 242A of the Building Act 1993, for "an
           offence" substitute "an offence, or if a builder is
           found guilty of an offence against section 43B(1)
           or (2) of the Domestic Building Contracts
           Act 1995,".
 17 Offences by bodies corporate
           In section 243 of the Building Act 1993, after
           "the regulations" insert "or section 43B(1) or (2)
           of the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995".
 18 Statute law revision
           Insert the following heading to section 3 of the
           Building Act 1993--
           "Definitions and interpretation".




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Building Legislation Amendment (Domestic Building Insurance New
                       Offences) Act 2024
                        No.      of 2024
                    Part 4--Repeal of this Act



            Part 4--Repeal of this Act
 19 Repeal of this Act
            This Act is repealed on 28 November 2025.
     Note
     The repeal of this Act does not affect the continuing operation of
     the amendments made by it (see section 15(1) of the
     Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984).
                   ═════════════




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      Building Legislation Amendment (Domestic Building Insurance New
                             Offences) Act 2024
                              No.      of 2024
                                        Endnotes



                                    Endnotes
1 General information
  See www.legislation.vic.gov.au for Victorian Bills, Acts and current
  authorised versions of legislation and up-to-date legislative information.
   
      Minister's second reading speech--
      Legislative Assembly:
      Legislative Council:
      The long title for the Bill for this Act was "A Bill for an Act to amend the
      Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 and the Building Act 1993 and
      for other purposes."




                 By Authority. Government Printer for the State of Victoria.




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