Building Work (Victoria)

In Victoria, building work is regulated under the Building Act 1993 and the Building Regulations 2018. Building work encompasses various activities, including construction, demolition, and removal of buildings. The Victorian Building Authority (VBA) oversees these regulations and ensures compliance through registered building practitioners.

• Domestic Building Work
  Domestic building work generally means work done on a home or residential property. This is defined in the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995, and includes:

  • Building a new home
  • Renovating or extending a home
  • Building structures connected to a home (like garages or sheds)

  In respect to essential fire safety measures (such as smoke alarms or fire separation walls) in residential settings are typically simpler and governed under the Volume 2 of the National Construction Code (NCC) for Class 1 buildings.

• Commercial Building Work
  Commercial building work refers to all other types of building work that are not residential. These typically include:

  • Apartment buildings (Class 2) and public buildings (Classes 3 to 9 under the NCC)

  These projects are typically governed by the Building Act 1993 and the Building Regulations 2018, and must comply with Volume 1 of the National Construction Code

  In Victoria, the installation, alteration, addition, or demolition of an essential safety measure (ESM) is considered building work under the Building Act 1993. This is because ESMs—such as fire alarms, sprinklers, emergency lighting, and fire-rated doors—form part of a building’s safety systems.
  
  When any of these systems are changed, it impacts the building’s safety and compliance, making it subject to the legal definition of building work. As such, this work may require a building permit and must comply with the Building Regulations 2018 and relevant provisions of the National Construction Code.