Victoria Building Practitioner Registration in 2026: The BPC Replaces the VBA

Victoria’s building regulator has changed

The biggest change to building practitioner registration in Victoria is not a new rulebook — it is a new regulator. On 1 July 2025, the Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC) replaced the Victorian Building Authority (VBA) as Victoria’s building and plumbing regulator.

The change followed an independent review of the VBA that recommended a stronger, more consumer-focused watchdog, and was legislated through the Building Legislation Amendment (Buyer Protections) Act 2025. The BPC brings three previously separate functions together in one place:

• Practitioner registration and licensing — previously the VBA’s role.
• Domestic building dispute resolution — previously handled by Domestic Building Dispute Resolution Victoria (DBDRV).
• Domestic building insurance — previously provided through the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority (VMIA).

What it means for practitioner registration

If you hold a Victorian building registration, nothing lapsed on transition day. Registrations and licences issued by the VBA carried over automatically to the BPC and remain valid until their listed expiry date, with renewals now handled by the BPC.

The registration categories themselves were not rewritten. Victoria continues to register building practitioners in established categories, including domestic builders, commercial builders, building surveyors, building inspectors, engineers, draftspersons (building design), quantity surveyors, demolishers, and erectors or supervisors of temporary structures. Trades such as plumbing and electrical work remain licensed under their own separate schemes.

Stronger consumer protections

The Buyer Protections reforms give the new regulator powers the VBA did not have, which are being phased in following the BPC’s establishment:

• Rectification orders allowing the regulator to direct builders and developers to fix defective work — including after an occupancy permit has been issued.
• First-resort domestic building insurance for homes up to three storeys, improving consumers’ access to cover when things go wrong.
• A bond scheme for developers of apartment buildings over three storeys.

What about CPD?

Despite claims circulating online, Victoria does not currently have a mandatory continuing professional development (CPD) points scheme in force for registered building practitioners. The Victorian Government has been consulting — through Engage Victoria — on introducing CPD requirements for building and plumbing practitioners. Until requirements are finalised and formally announced by the BPC, treat any specific point counts or start dates with scepticism, and rely on the regulator’s own guidance.

How to check a practitioner in Victoria

For homeowners, the practical takeaway is simple: the register you should check before hiring now belongs to the BPC.

1. Search the register via the BPC’s find and check a practitioner tool (still hosted on the former VBA website during the transition).
2. Confirm the practitioner’s category and class match the work you are commissioning — or use our licence verification tools.
3. The register is also published as open data on the Victorian Government data portal, which is what TradieVerify uses for Victorian records.

For a national overview of builder licensing, see our guide on builder licensing explained state by state.

Sources and further reading

• Building and Plumbing Commission — Victoria’s building and plumbing regulator since 1 July 2025.
• Consumer Affairs Victoria — becoming a registered building practitioner — registration categories and requirements.
• Consumer Affairs Victoria — building and renovating — consumer guidance for commissioning building work.
• BPC — Building Practitioner Register (data.vic.gov.au) — the register published as open data.
• Engage Victoria — CPD for builders and plumbers — the Victorian Government’s consultation on CPD requirements.