26 May 2026

The Building and Plumbing Administration and Enforcement Bill 2026 and the Cladding Safety Victoria Repeal Bill 2026 have passed both Houses of Parliament on 12 May 2026 and received Royal Assent on 19 May 2026.

These bills are part of a broader suite of reforms the Victorian Government is implementing to strengthen consumer protection and build confidence in Victoria’s building sector.

Building and Plumbing Administration and Enforcement Act 2026

The Building and Plumbing Administration and Enforcement Act 2026 is a new principal Act to administer and enforce laws regulating the building and plumbing industries and building and plumbing work. It is designed to improve outcomes for consumers by incentivising better building practices, preventing defects and support quicker intervention when things go wrong.

The Act will:

  • legally establish the Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC)
  • introduce a new overarching building system objective to promote and protect the health and safety of building occupants and the public
  • clearly identify the statutory roles in the building and plumbing regulatory system
  • equip the BPC with modern enforcement powers to strengthen oversight of the system, including:
  • broadening the scope of infringement notices and introducing a new improvement notice power to monitor compliance and identify issues early
  • new civil penalties and expanded ability to make director personally liable in the most serious cases.

The Act builds on reforms implemented via the Building Legislation Amendment (Buyer Protections) Act 2025 and the Domestic Building Contracts Amendment Act 2025, which began the process of creating a more integrated and effective building regulator.

The Act is expected to commence mid to late next year, and no later than 1 December 2027.

Cladding Safety Victoria Repeal Act 2026

Cladding Safety Victoria (CSV) was established by the Cladding Safety Victoria Act 2020 to oversee the Private Residential Cladding Rectification Program and Government-owned Buildings Cladding Rectification Program.

CSV has delivered a world-first initiative, working with building owners to make their buildings safe from combustible cladding. CSV has completed remediation on more than 99% of the highest-risk buildings in the Cladding Rectification Program, dramatically reducing their combustible cladding risk, with the remaining buildings to be completed this year.

To mark the completion of CSV initiatives, the Cladding Safety Victoria Act can now be repealed and CSV can be wound down.

The completion of the Cladding Rectification Program will allow the Cladding Rectification Levy component of the Building Permit Levy to be repealed. It will be replaced by a new component of the Building Permit Levy, which will only apply to certain building types in non-regional Victoria with a cost of building works of $1.5 million or more. This will be lower in cost and apply to fewer building permits, resulting in savings for consumers.

The new levy component will be in place up to and including 30 June 2029 and will help fund the BPC to ensure it has the resources needed to effectively regulate the building and plumbing industry.

Learn more about Government’s reforms to Victorian’s building sector here: Building reform.

Page last updated: 28/05/26