If you’ve searched for the VBA lately, you’ve probably landed on a different website. On 1 July 2025 the Victorian Building Authority (VBA) started operating as the Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC), a single regulator that also took over domestic building dispute resolution and domestic building insurance. For most homeowners, owner-builders, builders and designers, the approval process hasn’t changed: a registered building surveyor still issues your building permit and carries out the mandatory inspections, and planning permits still come from council.
Below, we explain what changed and why, where each old VBA service lives now and what stayed the same.
When did the VBA become the Building and Plumbing Commission?
The BPC began operating on 1 July 2025. It brought the functions of three organisations together:
- The Victorian Building Authority, which registered building practitioners and plumbers, collected the building permit levy and regulated building and plumbing work.
- Domestic Building Dispute Resolution Victoria (DBDRV), which helped homeowners and builders resolve domestic building disputes.
- The domestic building insurance arm of the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority (VMIA).
The goal was a single, stronger regulator focused on protecting consumers. For the first time, building regulation, dispute resolution and domestic building insurance sit with one agency, and the BPC has new powers to match. For example, it can order builders, subcontractors and developers to fix poor work during construction and for up to 10 years after practical completion. These changes came through the Building Legislation Amendment (Buyer Protections) Act 2025, which received Royal Assent on 3 June 2025.
Is the BPC a separate legal body yet?
Not quite. The BPC’s own website describes it as the Victorian Building Authority trading as the Building and Plumbing Commission. Either way, it’s the body you deal with now.
A second law, the Building and Plumbing Administration and Enforcement Act 2026, will formally establish the BPC and give it extra enforcement tools such as improvement notices and civil penalties. It received Royal Assent on 19 May 2026 and is expected to commence in mid to late 2027, and no later than 1 December 2027.
Why does the VBA name still appear?
You’ll still see the old name in a few places:
- VBA360 – the BPC’s online portal for owner-builder applications and for lodging and tracking building or plumbing complaints.
- BAMS – the Building Activity Management System, where building permit numbers are issued and the levy is paid. It still sits on a vba.vic.gov.au web address, and so does the practitioner search.
- Older documents and web pages – many practice notes date from before July 2025, and some council websites still link to old VBA tools. Old vba.vic.gov.au links generally redirect to bpc.vic.gov.au.
An old name is harmless, but out-of-date information isn’t. The owner-builder consent threshold and the threshold for builders’ domestic building insurance both rose from $16,000 to $20,000 on 1 July 2026, and some older pages still show the lower figure. Check the date on anything you rely on, or ask your building surveyor.
What does the BPC do now?
The BPC does the work the VBA used to do, plus the work of DBDRV and the VMIA’s domestic building insurance team. Here’s who handles what:
| Function | Before 1 July 2025 | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Registering and licensing builders, building surveyors, other building practitioners and plumbers | VBA | BPC |
| Compliance: audits, inspections, investigations and discipline | VBA | BPC, with new rectification order powers |
| Owner-builder certificates of consent | VBA | BPC, applied for through VBA360 |
| Building permit levy and building permit numbers | VBA | BPC, through BAMS |
| Domestic building dispute resolution | DBDRV | BPC, as a free service |
| Domestic building insurance | VMIA | BPC, including Home Warranty for eligible contracts signed from 1 July 2026 |
| Practice notes, forms and guidance | VBA | BPC Resource Hub |
| Building permits and mandatory inspections | Registered building surveyor | No change |
| Planning permits | Council | No change |
Where did the old VBA services go?
If you’re after something you used to get from the VBA, here’s where to find it now:
- Checking a builder’s or plumber’s registration – use the BPC’s find and check a practitioner page. You can search by name, business name or registration or licence number to see whether a registration is current, what work it covers and any conditions, then check the Compliance and Enforcement Register for disciplinary action. Our guide to checking builder registration in Victoria walks you through it.
- Owner-builder certificate of consent – still issued by the BPC, and you still apply through the VBA360 portal after completing the online owner-builder assessment. You need one for domestic building work valued over $20,000 on land you own, and the BPC says a complete application takes about 45 business days to process, so start early. See our owner-builder permits page.
- Building permit levy – paid to the BPC through BAMS. If the cost of building work is more than $10,000, the levy is 0.128% of that cost (a $250,000 extension attracts $320), and the building permit number can’t be issued until it’s paid. Since 1 July 2026, Class 2 to 8 projects (such as apartments, offices and shops) outside regional Victoria costing $1.5 million or more also pay the Building Reform Levy.
- Complaints and disputes – start at the BPC’s issues, complaints and disputes page. Complaints about building or plumbing work are lodged and tracked through VBA360, and the free dispute resolution service DBDRV used to run is now part of the BPC.
- Domestic building insurance – the BPC now handles the insurance work the VMIA used to do. For eligible domestic building contracts over $20,000 signed from 1 July 2026, the builder pays for Home Warranty cover and the BPC issues you a Notice of Cover. Our guide to domestic building insurance in Victoria explains how it works.
- Practice notes and forms – in the BPC’s Resource Hub. The BPC has been updating key notes, such as MI 01 on mandatory notifications and inspections, reissued in December 2025.
What hasn’t changed for your building project?
The regulator changed its name, but the steps for getting your project approved and signed off didn’t. You still need:
- A registered building surveyor – either a private building surveyor or your council’s municipal building surveyor, whichever you choose, assesses your plans and issues the building permit. Not every council offers this service at the moment; Merri-bek and Hobsons Bay, for example, point owners to private building surveyors. The BPC issues the permit number through BAMS, but the permit itself comes from your building surveyor.
- Mandatory inspections – your building surveyor, or an inspector they authorise, checks the work at set notification stages. For a new house, the stages include the excavation (before the footings go in), the footings or slab (before the concrete is poured), the frame and final completion.
- A final certificate – an occupancy permit for a new building, or a certificate of final inspection for work such as an extension to an existing home.
- A planning permit, if your project needs one – planning permits are still issued by council (occasionally the Minister for Planning), and a building permit can’t be issued until any required planning permit is in place. Our guide to building permits vs planning permits explains the difference.
Council also still handles report and consent for siting variations and pool and spa registration, and your building surveyor still lodges a copy of your building permit with council. To see how the whole process works with us, visit our building permits page.
Frequently asked questions
Does the VBA still exist?
Not as a name you’ll deal with. Since 1 July 2025 the Victorian Building Authority has operated as the Building and Plumbing Commission, and old VBA web links generally take you to the BPC’s website. Legally, the BPC is still the VBA trading under a new name until the Building and Plumbing Administration and Enforcement Act 2026 formally establishes it, which is expected by 1 December 2027 at the latest.
Are practitioner registrations issued under the VBA still valid?
Yes. The name change didn’t cancel anyone’s registration or licence: the BPC is legally the same body that issued them, and the VBA’s practitioner register and search tools carried on under the BPC. What matters is whether a registration is current today and covers the work you’re hiring for, because registrations can lapse, be suspended or carry conditions. Search the practitioner on the BPC’s website before you sign a contract.
Where do I complain about building work now?
To the BPC. Its issues, complaints and disputes pages help you choose the right path: a complaint about building or plumbing work or a practitioner, lodged and tracked through VBA360, or the free dispute resolution service for disagreements with your builder over domestic building work. If the problem involves work under a current building permit, tell your building surveyor too, as they can direct the builder to fix non-compliant work before the final certificate is issued.
Who do I pay the building permit levy to?
The BPC. It’s 0.128% of the cost of building work where that cost is more than $10,000, and it’s paid through BAMS before your building permit number is issued. Ask your building surveyor whether their quote includes the levy or whether you’ll pay it separately.
Do I still need a building surveyor?
Yes. The move to the BPC didn’t change who issues building permits. You appoint a registered building surveyor, private or council, before work starts, and they stay with your project through the mandatory inspections to the occupancy permit or certificate of final inspection. Owner-builders need a building surveyor for the whole project too.
This article is general information current as of September 2026, not legal advice. Every project is different – ask us to confirm what applies to yours.
Planning a build and not sure how the BPC changes affect you? Our building surveyors can issue your building permit, carry out the mandatory inspections and guide you through the BPC requirements along the way, with fast, practical advice. From our base in Niddrie, we work across Melbourne and regional Victoria. Call JLN on 0422 234 951 or request a free quote.