Wednesday, 18 June 2025

Bills

Domestic Building Contracts Amendment Bill 2025

Nick STAIKOS, Tim McCURDY
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Domestic Building Contracts Amendment Bill 2025

Introduction and first reading

 Nick STAIKOS (Bentleigh – Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Local Government) (09:36): I move:

That I introduce a bill for an act to amend the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995, the Building Act 1993, the Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading Act 2012 and the Building Legislation Amendment (Buyer Protections) Act 2025 and for other purposes.

Motion agreed to.

 Tim McCURDY (Ovens Valley) (09:36): I request a brief explanation of the bill, please.

 Nick STAIKOS (Bentleigh – Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Local Government) (09:36): The Domestic Building Contracts Amendment Bill 2025 responds to the review of the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 and is a key element of the government’s building reform program. The bill carries a range of amendments identified during the review of the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 to provide a regulatory framework that strengthens consumer protections for consumers as well as supporting growth and innovation in the building industry by strengthening requirements and protections for domestic building contracts and major domestic building contracts; authorising deposit limits, progress payment stages and progress payment limits to be prescribed in regulations with any payments for work completed, subject to a general proportionality requirement for all major domestic building contracts and any exemptions; allowing the use of cost escalation clauses in Victoria for MDBCs with a contract price of $1 million or higher, with a 5 per cent ceiling on price increases and additional consumer protections; amending the definition of ‘domestic building work’ to allow building owners and builders to enter into preliminary agreements for plans and specifications and bills of quantity; providing the transfer of compliance monitoring and enforcement functions from the director of Consumer Affairs Victoria to the Victorian Building Authority; and making other minor amendments to the Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading Act 2012, the Building Act 1993 and the Building Legislation Amendment (Buyer Protections) Act 2025.

Read first time.

Ordered to be read second time tomorrow.

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