If you work in the building or plumbing industries but you're not registered or licensed, you cannot claim to be a registered building practitioner or a registered or licensed plumbing practitioner.
This reminder comes after 10 people appeared in the Magistrates' Court in the past three months, with the VBA prosecuting them for, among other offences, falsely claiming they were a registered or licensed practitioner. All 10 were found guilty, with fines totalling $58,576.
It is an offence under the Building Act 1993 for someone to call themselves a registered or licensed practitioner when they are not registered or licensed to carry out the building or plumbing work. This applies to all categories of registration/licensing, such as builders, building surveyors, mechanical services plumbers and gasfitters.
Anyone carrying out domestic building work in Victoria that is worth more than $5000 (including labour and materials) must be registered with the Building Practitioners Board. Likewise, only plumbers who are registered or licensed with the VBA can carry out plumbing work in Victoria.
You can use the 'Find a practitioner' tool on the VBA website to confirm if a building or plumbing practitioner is registered or licensed.