5 Reasons Why You Must Have Your Builders License in Victoria
So you’ve been in the industry for years, running your own jobs, minding your own business, doing the right thing to keep your customers happy and offering good service and quality work.
Or maybe you’ve been thinking seriously about going out on your own because your sick of working for others and think you can do it better and make more money than you’re currently getting paid.
Well this information is definitely for you to get yourself in a position to avoid costly fines, penalties and even prosecution for the work you’re doing.
Reason #1 – When do I need a Builders Licence in Victoria?
The rule is simple… you must have a Builder Registration in Victoria when the work you are doing is over $10,000.
So if the value of the work including labour and materials is over this amount you are automictically breaking the law. If you think that you can get around this by getting the customer to go out and buy the materials or to order the fixtures to try and break up the cost of the job then forget it! If the total cost of the job is over the $10,000 then you’re simply breaking the law.
There are massive fines and prosecution handed out every year to people who are caught doing work without a Builders Licence in Victoria. Remember, that by taking on work over the $10,000 you are telling the customer you are a builder when in fact you’re not. This does not go down well with the VBA (Victorian Building Authority). Keep in mind, that this may also prevent you from getting your Builders Registration in Victoria in the future.
Reason #2 – Domestic Building Insurance (DBI)
If the work you are doing is over $16,000 you are required by law to provide the customer a Certificate of Insurance called Domestic Building Insurance (DBI).
Domestic Building Insurance protects homeowners in Victoria from financial loss caused by unfinished or unsatisfactory work carried out. This insurance provides cover to the owner for the work that is done.
What is domestic building insurance in Victoria?
This is insurance that you as the builder, tradesperson, renovator or handyman must give to the customer on the work you are doing if the work is over the $16,000 amount. Before you take any money from the customer in the form of a deposit you must provide a copy of a policy called a Certificate of Currency that covers them for work you are doing on their property.
You may have heard this called many things over the years like Builders Warranty or Builders Insurance and today it is referred to as DBI or Domestic Building Insurance.
It is against the law to commence any work without providing this insurance to your customer. Just so you know, insurances like contracts work insurance and public liability insurance are not the same and do not substitute the need for Domestic Building Insurance that you take out for works over $16,000.
Just so you know there are massive fines and prosecution handed out every year to people who take on work over $16,000 without providing there customers Domestic Building Insurance. This also does not go down well with the VBA (Victorian Building Authority). Keep in mind, that this may also prevent you from getting your Builders Registration in Victoria in the future also.
Reason #3 Building Permits – Builders Registration in Victoria
Before commencing any building work there’s a good chance that the job you’re about to is going to need a building permit. A Building Permit must be granted to ensure that the work meets the standard requirements and regulations as inspected by a Building Surveyor. Building Permits almost always are needed for new homes, demolitions, extensions and alterations. Other areas requiring a building permit can include structural alterations and repairs including moving or adding internal walls, pergolas, decks, pool fencing, retaining walls and fences. These are just to name a few.
There is a very good chance that if you are doing any work involving a Building Permit then without your Victorian Builders Registration then you simply cannot do the work. It doesn’t matter how experienced or handy you are no Builder Licence means no work involving a Building Permit!
The VBA have the power to prosecute any person doing work unregistered particularly when it comes to work requiring a building permit. Noncompliance by an unregistered person can lead to prosecution and may issue severe fines for doing work without a Builder License.
Reason #4 – Doing more than one type of Building/ Renovating Work
Let’s say you’re wanting to do a job for a customer that involves- plastering and painting. If you intend to carry out more than one type of building work, such as plastering and painting, where the cost (including labour and materials) is greater than $10,000 stop now! If you do not have a Builders License then you are not registered and it is an offence to enter into a contract to perform work that requires a registered builder to carry out that work. You may face a range of penalties for doing any work that exceeds that $10,000 mark. Remember that this includes both your labour and materials for those jobs even if the client is paying for the materials.
There is no way out of this but to get your Builders Registration with the VBA.
Is it worth trying to run a business and looking over your shoulder all the time, worrying about getting caught? The VBA employs investigators and inspectors who are authorised to carry out investigations and inspections to dig up unregistered people who are breaking the law which simply means that you should be worried. Prosecutions, fines and visits to court is no way to try to run a business and make money in the industry.
Reason #5 – Qualified Vs Registered
Every day someone calls me and starts by telling me they’re a Qualified Chippy, Qualified Landscaper, Qualified Tiler etc.
Let me get one thing straight, there is no such thing as a “Qualified” anything! If you did an Apprenticeship and have a piece of paper that you gives you a Certificate 3 in something then today unfortunately that qualification means nothing and it’s not worth the paper it’s written on.
YOU ARE EITHER REGISTERED AS A BUILDING PRACTIONER WITH THE VBA OR NOT. Sorry to break it to you but there is no such thing as a Qualified trade anymore. You either have a Builders License or you are pretty well finished if you want to go out and work for yourself and do work for your own customers.
There are over 30 different Domestic Building Licences that you can choose from which means you have plenty of options to cover the type of work you do. Here’s the list:
Domestic Builder Unlimited (DBU)
Domestic Builder Limited to Carpentry
And then a long list of Domestic Limited Licenses as follows:
Limited to bathroom, kitchen or laundry renovation
Limited to bricklaying and blocklaying
Limited to cabinet making, joinery and stair construction
Limited to the construction of gates and fences
Limited to the construction of non-habitable building structures
Limited to the construction of private bushfire shelters
Limited to the construction of retaining walls
Limited to the construction of shade structures
Limited to the construction of swimming pools and spas
Limited to door and window replacement and installation
Limited to earthworks and excavation work
Limited to external wall cladding
Limited to footings and slab work
Limited to framing
Limited to restumping and reblocking
Limited to roof tiling
Limited to site works involved in relocating a dwelling
Limited to the construction of structural landscaping
Limited to waterproofing
If you intend to carry out only one of the below components of work under on domestic building contract you do not need to be registered:
Limited to attaching external fixtures
Limited to floor finishing and covering
Limited to floor and wall tiling
Limited to glazing
Limited to painting and decorating
Limited to sheet plastering
Limited to solid plastering and rendering
Limited to erection of poles, masts and antennae
Get your Builders Registration in VIC
So we hope this has set you straight why it is so important to have the Builder Registration in Vic that keeps you from getting yourself in hot water with the Victorian Building Authority (VBA).
We work with over 400 people a year with a 97% success rate. We’re coming up to over 10 years in helping Victorians get the Builders Licence they want and they deserve!
What about you? Time to get your Builders Registration in VIC?
Give us a call on 0488278899
Cheers
Michael & The Team at Builders Licence Made Easy
