Kat THEOPHANOUS (Northcote) (12:46): I am proud to be rising in support of this bill because Victoria is facing a housing crisis, and when we talk about a housing crisis we have got to be honest about the solution.
We need to build more homes, because without more homes prices rise, rents rise and people are locked out of the communities that they love.
I see this in my own electorate in Northcote. Young people who grew up locally want to stay close to their families; essential workers, healthcare workers and professionals want to live near their jobs; and renters want the security of quality affordable homes, as well as the chance to take that next step into home ownership when the time is right for them.
But for too many that dream feels so far away.
Solving the housing crisis means increasing supply, but it also means building the right homes, homes that are safe, secure and built to last; homes that people can confidently invest in; homes that draw on our knowledge of sustainability and good design; and homes that strengthen communities for the long term.
In my electorate of Northcote we are already seeing what it looks like to get that right through the Victorian Labor government’s investment in social and community housing. Projects like the Walker Street development and the Oakover Road homes in my electorate are delivering high-quality energy efficient, well-designed accessible housing for people who need it most.
These are homes that have been thoughtfully planned to integrate into the local landscape and the streetscape to support a diverse mix of households and to provide long-term livability.
They are giving older women at risk of homelessness, young people, families and individuals access to secure, dignified housing in the communities that they are a part of, close to services and to transport – homes where they are needed.
Critically they are being delivered to a high standard. They set a benchmark for what good development should look like, because when people can see that new housing is well built, well managed and enhances the neighbourhood, it builds confidence.
It shows that increasing supply and maintaining our communities and everything we love about them can go hand in hand, because building homes is not just about numbers, it is about trust.
I have spent years advocating on behalf of residents, traders and community members in Northcote who have borne the brunt of consequences when builders and developers fail to meet those standards.
I have raised in this place and directly with authorities the concerns of residents in developments where approved plans have not been followed, where promised landscaping outcomes have not been delivered, where defects and safety issues have been left unresolved for far too long.
The impact of these outcomes is that too many Victorians feel that buying off the plan, building their own home or even renovating is a risk. We want first home buyers to feel like they can take that step. We want people to be able to build their dream home, to invest their hard-earned savings into their future and to know that they are not taking a gamble.
But the lack of confidence is holding people back, and when people hold back, projects stall and fewer homes get built. If we are serious about addressing the housing crisis, we must restore confidence in the checks and balances that hold the building industry to high standards. That is what this bill does.
The Building and Plumbing Administration and Enforcement Bill 2026 establishes that modern, coherent framework for the building and plumbing system in Victoria.
Right now responsibilities are spread across multiple pieces of legislation, creating confusion and gaps in accountability.
This bill brings those functions together and creates a clear and consistent framework for the entire life cycle of building and plumbing work.
At the centre of all of that is the Building and Plumbing Commission, a single integrated regulator overseeing compliance and enforcement, licensing, dispute resolution and key consumer protection mechanisms.
In practical terms it means stronger oversight and better protections for Victorians building, renovating or buying a home. It introduces for the first time a clear building system objective which legally places consumers at the heart of the system, because in Victoria people come first.
Through my electorate office we have worked closely with many constituents dealing with the very real consequences of a system that has not always protected them.
We have supported residents facing serious building defects, including water ingress, structural issues, mould and incomplete works that have rendered homes unsafe or unlivable, and we have supported residents who have exhausted their savings trying to rectify defects left behind by builders who have since liquidated. We have worked with owners corporations dealing with widespread defects across entire developments where the burden of rectification has fallen unfairly on residents.
We have worked through the complexities of buildings impacted by combustible cladding, supporting people through the state’s rectification program, and we have helped individuals trying to understand their rights in a system that can be complex and difficult to navigate.
These are not isolated cases, they are recurring patterns, and behind every case is a person or a family or indeed a whole apartment of people dealing with stress, uncertainty and financial pressure.
This bill finalises the establishment of our new integrated building watchdog, the Building and Plumbing Commission, and gives it even more enforcement powers to prevent dodgy work, hold the industry to account and make the regulator’s activities more transparent. It is part of our ongoing work as a Labor government to improve consumer protections – protections that those opposite too often treat as an afterthought. Well, that afterthought is people’s lives.
Building or buying a home is likely the biggest investment a family will ever make. It cannot be just a leap of faith; it needs to come with certainty.
This bill is integral to creating a system that supports building high-quality homes, not just for today but for the future. We know that the vast majority of builders and plumbers of course work with pride, professionalism and high standards of quality and integrity.
It is tough work, detailed work and work that makes possible the magnificent physical environment that we all enjoy every single day in our city and in our suburbs. That is no small feat, and our builders and plumbers should be proud.
You will hear that pride when they drive past a building and say, ‘I built that.’
These reforms are for them too, so they can work in a system with integrity. But we also know that there are bad actors: people in businesses who will cut and run to make a profit, no matter the harm they leave in their wake. These operators need to face serious consequences – consequences that stop them from undermining the hardworking Victorians in the building industry and selling out consumers.
Those opposite have argued today that this bill will slow down the housing market, effectively admitting that they are willing to roll the dice on quality in order to push through development. Well, we know what that means. We have seen this play before. It means people left with poor-quality builds, defects and devastating debt.
We need a robust compliance and enforcement framework that can drive out those who wilfully flout the law and guide, educate and assist those who are doing the right thing.
The bill strengthens enforcement, giving the commission the tools it needs to act clearly, act decisively and act proportionately. At the front end we are introducing stronger early intervention powers like improvement notices and a modernised infringement scheme so issues can be addressed before they escalate to serious harm.
At the serious end of the spectrum, we are introducing a new civil penalty regime. This will allow courts to impose much bigger financial penalties for major breaches, up to $600,000 for individuals, and to strip companies of profits made by cutting corners, because right now, for some operators, penalties can simply be absorbed in the cost of doing business.
This bill puts an end to that. It removes the financial incentive to do the wrong thing. We are also introducing stronger investigation powers, including the ability to compel answers and new offences to protect authorised officers from obstruction or abuse while doing their jobs.
One of the most significant reforms in this bill is director accountability. For too long we have seen dodgy operators hide behind corporate structures, walking away from defective work and liquidating and then starting up under a new company name. That practice, phoenixing, leaves consumers to pick up the pieces, and this bill tackles it head on.
In practical terms it makes it much harder to walk away from accountability and much harder to start again with a clean slate after doing the wrong thing.
Taken together, these reforms are about restoring trust.
They are about creating a system that supports families, first home buyers and consumers with the confidence to build and buy their homes without feeling like it is just a gamble.
Because when first home buyers feel confident, when families feel protected, when communities trust the system, more homes get built.
