Hi there. In Victoria, there are strict laws regulating the building and renovating of houses and the tradespeople who complete that work. If a project involves work worth more than $5,000, the law says that the builder and home owner must sign a written contract. A builder must also be registered with the Victorian Building Authority if the job is over $5,000 and must take out domestic building insurance if the work is over $16,000.

From the information you provided, it appears that the builder in your situation has breached multiple regulations with respect to entering a contract, registration and obtaining insurance. You should report this information to the Victorian Building Authority (www.vba.vic.gov.au), which may investigate and penalise the builder for non-compliance.

In terms of resolving your girlfriend’s building dispute, you should try to negotiate a resolution directly with the builder. If this is not possible, put your concerns more formally in writing and request a written response from the builder. This helps create a record of your correspondence for future reference. If you do not receive a response within a reasonable time, you can make an application to Domestic Building Dispute Resolution Victoria (www.dbdrv.vic.gov.au). This is an independent organisation offering free services to help home owners and builders resolve their disputes in an efficient and fair manner. This is done via conciliation services and is less formal than tribunal or court proceedings. If the builder does not want to participate in conciliation, DBDRV may appoint an assessor to conduct an assessment of the building work in question, issue a dispute resolution order, or issue a certificate stating that the dispute is not suitable for conciliation.

If the dispute remains unresolved after applying to DBDRV, you may be able to apply to the Victorian Civil & Administrative Tribunal (www.vcat.vic.gov.au) for an order resolving the dispute.

Suggested way forward

You should begin by calling Consumer Affairs Victoria’s Building Information Line on 1300 557 559 or visiting their website (www.consumer.vic.gov.au). Given the value of your girlfriend’s project and the difficulties you have already faced with the builder, you may also want to consider speaking to a lawyer who can negotiate on your behalf and help you resolve the dispute. By pressing the “Consult a Lawyer” button, LawAdvisor can help you search for experienced immigration lawyers and obtain fee proposals for their services. Costs for legal advice and representation will vary between providers based on experience and the scope of services.