In 2005, legislation was passed by the Victorian Parliament to limit the building activity of owner-builders.

The reforms require owner-builders to:

• Obtain one building permit for one house in any three year period, with no limits to additional permits to that same home
• Read information on their legal obligations and responsibilities
• Obtain a Certificate of Consent from the Building Practitioners Board to apply for a building permit to carry out domestic building works valued at more than $12,000

To obtain a Certificate of Consent owner-builders must declare they:

• Are building or renovating only one dwelling
• Have not had a permit to undertake work as an owner-builder within the past three years
• Understood the obligations and responsibilities associated with undertaking domestic building work as an owner-builder

Owner/Builder Responsibilities
 
Now that the Building Permit has been issued, the hard work can commence. However, as an owner-builder you have a number of obligations under the Building Act and Regulations in addition to other legislation with which you must comply.

Owner-builders need to understand not only the technical aspects of building, but also the administrative, legal, Occupational Health & Safety and taxation requirements associated with building construction.

This information aims to inform you generally about these matters but there are occasions in which you will need to seek more specific advice from Council or other relevant government departments and authorities.

Council Requirements
 
Inspections
The Building Regulations define the mandatory notification stages of a building project. At each of these stages the person in charge of the work must notify Council so that an inspection can be arranged. The stages are listed on the Building Permit.

Inspections can be arranged by phoning 5220 0454 during office hours and providing the following details:

• Day of inspection - 24 hours minimum notice is required
• Site address
• Contact person''s name and phone number
• Type of inspection required
• Building Permit number

Inspection results can be obtained by phoning the office. Where there are unsatisfactory or outstanding matters the
Building Inspector may give verbal instructions on site. These instructions will be followed up by a Building Works Direction Notice.

Project Documentation
The owner-builder must also ensure that the construction is undertaken in accordance with the approved plans and documents. Any variations to the approved documents must be authorised by Council under the Building Permit. It is your responsibility to ensure that amended plans/details are supplied and approval for any proposed variations is granted prior to the commencement of these works.

Although you may make various changes throughout the construction phase, it is critical that Council has the most up-to-date documents, so that there is no confusion on site during the construction. Also, queries regarding the construction are often raised at a later stage and it may be difficult to deal with these queries if the relevant information has not been provided to Council.

Contractors and Sub-contractors (Domestic construction)
Each building trade contractor (tradesman) an owner-builder employs to carry out work on their project is for legal purposes a ''Contractor'' as opposed to a sub-contractor. When a Contractor carries out building work exceeding $5000, including labour and materials, the Building Act 1993 requires that person to be registered with the Building Practitioners Board and to provide building defects insurance appropriate to their work. Contractors include, but are not exclusive to, bricklayers, carpenters, tilers, landscapers, plumbers etc.

Should an owner-builder engage someone to supervise building work on their behalf, ie. a carpenter arranging and/or coordinating the work of another trade, that person is treated by the Building Act 1993 as a manager/supervisor and must be registered with the Building Practitioners Board in that category and provide the appropriate defects insurance, irrespective of how much you pay them.

Contractors as described above are required to provide you with their Building Practitioners Board registration details and warranty insurance applicable to your project. This ensures firstly that the practitioners are recognised and registered building practitioners, and secondly that if anything goes wrong during construction, or for a period of 6 years and 6 months after completion, there is insurance in place for the associated works.

Council must be notified of the appointment of any building practitioners, together with their registration details.

Completion
A final inspection is required for all building works, regardless of the scale or nature of the project.
The Building Permit indicates whether an Occupancy Permit or a Certificate of Final Inspection is required prior to occupation or re-occupation of the building.

Before an Occupancy Permit can be issued, a copy of the Plumbing Certificate for the plumbing works (ie hot and cold water installation, sewer, gas-fitting, roofing and stormwater) must be supplied to Council. Where indicated on the Building Permit or the approved documents, other details must also be supplied eg Termite Protection Certificate, Glazing Certificate etc.

Additional Requirements

Relevant Authorities
Authorities such as Barwon Water, Powercor and other service authorities may have additional requirements. Contact each relevant authority before you commence work to determine these requirements.

Prescribed Payments for Sub-Contractors
Owner-builders also have obligations to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) with respect to prescribed payments for Sub-Contractors. Although this is not an issue Council is directly involved in, a monthly report is provided to the ATO with details of all Building Permits issued by Council.

It is recommended that early in the project you contact the ATO Office in Brougham Street, Geelong, to determine your
responsibilities regarding the deduction of taxation from payments to contractors and the keeping of appropriate records.

Selling your property
For projects with building permits issued prior to 01 April 1994 and sold within 7 years of completion* OR with building permits issued after this date and sold within 6 years and 6 months of completion* an inspection must be undertaken to determine the condition of the works and to list any defects. This must be done by a suitably qualified building inspector or building surveyor.

Insurance will then need to be obtained through a private insurance company to cover the remainder of the insurance period. * Completion is qualified by the issue of either the Occupancy Permit/Certificate OR Certificate of Final Inspection from the relevant Building Surveyor. The above requirement applies to all building work regardless of it''s value and applies to all new works, and including additions and alterations to houses, sheds, garages and carports.
Building work carried out and insured by a Registered Builder (including sheds etc) may be sold immediately without any need for the report and insurance described above. (This is provided by the Registered Builder.)

Disputes
Disputes can easily arise and if they get out of hand, can become costly legal battles. If a dispute arises, deal with it quickly. Advice can be sought from the following parties:

• Initial advice and consumer complaints - Office of Fair Trading and Business Affairs
• Technical matters - Relevant building surveyor (named on building permit) or Building Control Commission
• Major domestic building contracts - Builder''s insurance company or Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal
• Minor Domestic Building Contracts (under $5000) - Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal
• General advice regarding disputes and mediation - Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal