domestic building dispute does not include a dispute or claim referred to in section 54(1)(b). S. 43B inserted by No. 36/2002 s. 3. 43B Making a complaint (1) A building owner who is a party to a domestic building dispute may complain to the Director about any matter concerning that dispute. (2) The complaint must be in writing. (3) The Director may ask a building owner who has made a complaint to give more information about the complaint within the time fixed by the Director. (4) A building owner who has made a complaint must give his or her name to the Director and such other information relating to his or her identity as the Director may require. (5) A building owner may not make a complaint under this section in respect of a domestic building dispute if an application has been made to the Tribunal to determine the domestic building dispute. S. 43C inserted by No. 36/2002 s. 3. 43C Conciliation (1) If a complaint is made under section 43B, the Director may refer the dispute to a domestic building dispute conciliator for conciliation if the dispute is reasonably likely to be settled. (2) In this section— S. 43C(2) def. of domestic building dispute conciliator amended by No. 108/2004 s. 117(1) (Sch. 3 item 58). domestic building dispute conciliator means— (a) a person employed under Part 3 of the Public Administration Act 2004 in the administration of this Act; or (b) a person or body authorised by the Director for the purposes of this section.
(2) A request under subsection (1) may include a request for the appointment of an inspector to examine whether or not the domestic building work performed by the builder is defective. (3) A request under subsection (1) must— (a) be in writing; and (b) be accompanied by a copy of all documents held by the Director that relate to the request. 44 Party to dispute may ask for inspector to examine building works (1) This section applies if a dispute arises under a domestic building contract. S. 44(2) substituted by No. 36/2002 s. 4, amended by No. 34/2013 s. 35(Sch. 2 item 2.3). (2) Any person who is a party to a dispute may ask the Authority to appoint an inspector to examine whether or not the domestic building work performed by the builder is defective. 45 Appointment of inspectors S. 45(1) amended by Nos 36/2002 s. 5(1), 34/2013 s. 35(Sch. 2 item 2.4). (1) The Authority may appoint a prescribed building practitioner (as defined in section 137B of the Building Act 1993) to act as an inspector for the purposes of section 43F or 44. S. 45(2) amended by Nos 36/2002 s. 5(2), 34/2013 s. 35(Sch. 2 item 2.4). (2) If a request is made under section 44, the Authority must not appoint an inspector to attend a building site unless the appropriate fee determined in accordance with the guidelines issued under Division 1 of Part 12 of the Building Act 1993 in respect of the appointment has been
47 Inspector may conduct tests (1) In conducting an examination, the inspector may conduct any test described in any regulations made under the Building Act 1993. S. 47(2) amended by No. 36/2002 s. 5(4). (2) If a request is made under section 44, the person who asked for the appointment of the inspector is responsible for any costs necessarily incurred as a result of the conducting of any such tests. S. 47(3) inserted by No. 36/2002 s. 5(5). (3) No costs are payable under this section if the inspector conducting the test was appointed at the request of the Director under section 43F. 48 Reporting the results of an inspection (1) After conducting an examination, the inspector must report the results of the examination to the parties to the dispute. S. 48(2) substituted by No. 36/2002 s. 6(1). (2) The report must be in writing and the inspector must give a copy of the report to each party to the dispute. S. 48(2A) inserted by No. 36/2002 s. 6(1), amended by No. 34/2013 s. 35(Sch. 2 item 2.5). (2A) If an inspector has been appointed at the request of the Director under section 43F, the inspector must also give a copy of the report to the Director and the Authority. S. 48(2B) inserted by No. 36/2002 s. 6(1). (2B) A report must contain the prescribed information (if any). S. 48(3) substituted by No. 36/2002 s. 6(2). (3) If the inspector believes that the building work is defective, he or she must include in the report recommendations as to what should be done to rectify the defective work. (4) If as a result of an examination the inspector is of the opinion that there has been a failure to comply
S. 124(2)(ca) inserted by No. 36/2002 s. 8, amended by No. 34/2013 s. 35(Sch. 2 item 2.8(b)). (ca) all money paid to the Fund out of the domestic building dispute account in the Building account of the Victorian Building Authority Fund under section 205B(5) of the Building Act 1993; and (d) money appropriated by Parliament for the purposes of the Fund; and S. 124(2)(da) inserted by No. 101/1998 s. 7(a). (da) money ordered by the Tribunal to be paid into the Fund; and (e) all other money authorised to be paid to the Fund by any body or person; and (f) income from the investment of the Fund. (3) There may be paid out of the Fund— (a) the costs and expenses incurred in the administration and enforcement of this Act and the regulations; and S. 124(3)(b) substituted by No. 52/1998 s. 41(b) (b) the costs and expenses of the Tribunal in respect of proceedings under this Act; and S. 124(3)(ba) inserted by No. 101/1998 s. 7(b). (ba) money ordered by the Tribunal to be paid out of the Fund; and (c) the costs and expenses incurred by the Director in carrying out his or her functions under this Act; and S. 124(3)(ca) inserted by No. 15/2016 s. 72. (ca) amounts determined by the Director for the purpose of providing advocacy services in relation to domestic building contracts and domestic building disputes; and
(d) amounts determined by the Director for the purpose of providing education programs and advice to building owners and builders in relation to the carrying out of domestic building work and the operation of this Act. (4) The Director may invest any part of the Fund not immediately required for the purposes of the Fund in any manner approved by the Treasurer. S. 124A inserted by No. 17/1999 s. 31, amended by Nos 103/2004 s. 81(1) (ILA s. 39B(1)), 17/2007 s. 36(Sch. item 3), 2/2008 s. 60(Sch. item 3), 72/2010 s. 48(Sch. item 7), substituted by No. 21/2012 s. 239(Sch. 6 item 14.2). 124A Application of provisions of Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading Act 2012 (1) Part 6.4 of the Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading Act 2012 (except sections 152 and 153) extends and applies (with any necessary modifications) to this Act as if any reference in that Part to the Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading Act 2012 were a reference to this Act. (2) Sections 125, 195 and 196 and Part 8.2 (except section 213) of the Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading Act 2012 extend and apply (with any necessary modifications) to this Act as if any reference in those provisions to the Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading Act 2012 were a reference to this Act. (3) For the purposes of subsection (2)— (a) section 209 of the Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading Act 2012 applies as if a reference in that section to any section of that Act were a reference to that section as applied by subsection (1) or (2); (b) section 210 of the Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading Act 2012 applies as if a reference in that section to Part 3.1 or Part 6.3 of the Australian Consumer Law
and Fair Trading Act 2012 were a reference to this Act; (c) section 212 of the Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading Act 2012 applies as if a reference to prescribed proceedings were a reference to— (i) proceedings for an offence against a provision of this Act (except an offence applied by subsection (1)); or (ii) proceedings on an application for an injunction under section 201, 202, 203, 205 or 206 of the Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading Act 2012 (as applied by subsection (2)) against a person alleged to have contravened a provision of this Act (except an offence applied by subsection (1)); or (iii) proceedings on an application for an order under section 216, or for damages under section 217, of the Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading Act 2012 (as applied by subsection (2)). S. 124A(4) inserted by No. 12/2015 s. 21(Sch. 1 item 3). (4) In this section— this Act includes the regulations. 125 Infringement notice S. 125(1) amended by Nos 17/1999 s. 30(2)(a), 21/2012 s. 239(Sch. 6 item 14.3). (1) An inspector appointed under the Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading Act 2012 may serve an infringement notice on any person that the inspector has reason to believe has committed an offence listed in column 1 of Schedule 2. S. 125(2) substituted by No. 32/2006 s. 94(Sch. item 10(1)). (2) An offence referred to in subsection (1) for which an infringement notice may be served is an infringement offence within the meaning of the Infringements Act 2006.
S. 125(3) inserted by No. 32/2006 s. 94(Sch. item 10(1)). (3) For the purposes of subsection (1), an infringement notice must be in the form required by the Infringements Act 2006 and may contain any additional information approved by the Director. S. 125(4) inserted by No. 32/2006 s. 94(Sch. item 10(1)). (4) The infringement penalty for an offence referred to in subsection (1) is the penalty specified in column 2 of Schedule 2 in relation to that offence. S. 126 repealed by No. 32/2006 s. 94(Sch. item 10(2)). * * * * * 127 Further proceedings concerning infringement notices S. 127(1) repealed by No. 32/2006 s. 94(Sch. item 10(2)). * * * * * (2) If proceedings are taken against a person in respect of an offence for which an infringement notice was served on the person and a court finds the person guilty of the offence, the finding is not to be taken as a conviction for any purpose except— (a) the making of the finding itself; and (b) any later proceedings that may be taken in respect of the finding itself (including proceedings by way of appeal or review). (3) Subsection (2) does not apply to proceedings taken after the withdrawal of an infringement notice. 128 Continuing offences—default penalty
(b) if the occupier is also the owner, the inclusion in the certificate of conciliation of a statement that the owner did not participate in the conciliation in good faith. 48E Powers in relation to examination of work (1) An assessor may cause any domestic building work to be demolished, opened or cut into if this is reasonably required to facilitate an examination of the work. (2) An assessor may take photographs (including video recordings) or make sketches of the building site or the domestic building work being examined. 48F Power to require production of documents (1) An assessor who enters a building site under section 48D may, to the extent that it is reasonably necessary to determine whether domestic building work is defective or incomplete, require a person at the building site— (a) to give information to the assessor, orally or in writing; and (b) to produce documents to the assessor; and (c) to give reasonable assistance to the assessor. (2) If a person produces a document to an assessor in accordance with a requirement under this section, the assessor may make copies of, or take extracts from, the document. 48G Refusal or failure to comply with requirement
(c) the builder to pay the reasonable cost of domestic building work to be carried out by another builder appointed by the building owner if a dispute resolution order— (i) requires a builder to rectify or complete the domestic building work; and (ii) includes a finding that the domestic building work carried out by the builder is so defective that it would not be appropriate to allow the builder to rectify or complete the work. (2) A dispute resolution order issued under this section may impose conditions that must be met by another party to the domestic building work dispute before the requirement to pay money takes effect. 49D Dispute resolution order may include findings (1) A dispute resolution order may include a finding by the chief dispute resolution officer that the domestic building work that is the subject of the domestic building work dispute is not incomplete or defective. (2) A dispute resolution order may include a finding that the domestic building work is so defective that it would not be appropriate to allow the builder to rectify or complete the work.