At a state government level, we have had to have a very clear-eyed look at a history which has not given us the consistent results or a reflection of the hard work of the industry where the vast majority of people take great pride in their work, pay great attention to detail and spend their entire careers making pathways for people to continue to deliver high quality services and the delivery of outcomes that for many people make the best use of what will be the biggest purchase of their lifetimes.
And so we, and by we I include right at the heart of this Anna Cronin as CEO, have had to really have some very uncomfortable discussions and conversations about what hasn't worked but at the same time to make sure that we are not losing or discarding or diminishing the things that have worked. And what has worked across the system over many years is a desire for continuous improvement across parts of the sector where again we've seen that innovation occur.
But we've got a really long way to go and this is where again the work that we've done to develop legislation which has in a number of instances passed the parliament which sits alongside the building statement, which is at the heart of the development of regulations for better clarity around buyer protection, which is geared toward payment for contractors and subcontractors in a way that enables people to do business and do business well and then also to provide the sort of clarity which developers and industry need in order to continue with those pipelines of work that will ensure that we get the work done and that we can continue with those large scale improvements to the number of homes in particular that are being approved and built and completed. We are outstripping New South Wales and Queensland when it comes to domestic builds and that's not happening by accident, it's happening because we are investing in the sort of work and the systems that are taking advantage of skills, of expertise, that are seizing on the momentum that is happening now that workforce and material shortages are beginning to ease, and I say beginning because we've still got a long way to go, but it's also about making sure that the new workers who are coming into the industry are well skilled, that they are the beneficiaries of some of the initiatives we've got including through free TAFE to be able to encourage people to set up their own businesses, to stay in Victoria and to flourish as a result.
This is also about stakeholder engagement and I can see a number of people from peaks here in the audience who are part of a number of conversations to ensure that as we develop legislation, as we undertake consultation, we're doing it in a careful way, in a considered way and in a way that makes sure that where possible we do have common ground, we do have a reflection of industry developer and workforce appetite and priorities in the decisions we take. The commission, which has been set up with a very specific goal to increase consumer protections and bring building and plumbing together in a synthesised process of dispute resolution, education, making sure that we do have that first resort approach so that people can get done the work that they need to get done that we all want to see being done in a high quality, best practice way that also makes sure that as we continue this work, we've got surveyors, we've got expertise and we've got a very clear understanding of the work that the commission is doing with more than 60 prosecutions underway, and again that's about providing a counterpoint to the vast majority of people in the industry who take so much pride in the work that they do, your work that does not deserve to be diminished in any way because of a very small number of people who do not desire to do the right thing.
So this is where, off the back of Porter Davis in the Buyer Protections Legislation, builders who have disappeared, become bankrupt or died are not an impediment to a consumer securing outcomes which gives them confidence that again the things that they save for are able to be realised in a high quality build.
Making sure we've got expert practitioners at the heart of the BPC is also essential. Industry confidence and consumer confidence, public confidence lies at the heart of the sort of expertise and skill sets that Steve and others are leading and having a 50% increase in the number of auditors and making sure that we've got frontline inspectors out on the ground, also make sure that we have the capacity to enforce those new powers. Making sure that we take a less punitive approach when looking to the way in which we can see work completed to the standard that people can reasonably expect is about understanding where and how good faith from builders is also being undertaken.
So, as I said, more than 60 prosecutions currently on foot, and we want to make sure that this number, which is the highest in the history of our building regulatory authorities, is able to continue, again to see those messages well understood, but also that we can highlight the very good work through proactive and positive case studies of what it means to develop and to deliver best practice.
The Buyer Protections Legislation, which was passed earlier this year, expands the regulators powers to require builders and developers to fix defective work. But again, this is about encouraging a less punitive approach, a voluntary approach, a good faith approach. Creating a statutory monopoly for insurance for buildings 3 stories and under and expanding access to making an insurance claim also aligns us more squarely with other jurisdictions. And requiring developers to pay a bond for apartment buildings that are 4 stories or higher to enable rectification of defects identified within 2 years of construction, is also critically important. Back to the point about consultation and about discussion. The developer bond was initially set at 3% and we heard very clearly from a number of stakeholders that this was excessive and it's been reduced to 2% as a consequence. That's one example of the work that we're doing to make sure that this is a conversation between government and industry, that this is about making sure that our unions, our workers, subcontractors, contractors, and regulators are finding, wherever possible, common ground whilst also understanding the importance of consistency and transparency and a measure of social license and of commercial license that we need and that people deserve across the industry overall. And this is where first-resort insurance is really important. Consumers being able to access insurance for defective and incomplete work even if their builder is still working in the building industry is happening in addition to cases where the builder has died as I said or disappeared or become bankrupt, and consumers will benefit through the introduction of that developer bond scheme which is about providing a gap to be addressed in financial protections for apartment owners.
Regulations are now in the process of being developed and again this is a pretty comprehensive process, as it should be. We are making sure that there is public consultation that will also take place as part of these reforms and input from organisations like master builders and membership of that organisation will be really important in making sure that we can create and sustain and support a fit-for-purpose model again, with confidence at its very heart.
The cladding task force report, it's good to see people here from the task force here, the building confidence report and 3 reports from an expert panel on building reform are also part of making sure that we can continue to engage stakeholders in a way which is based in detail, based in expertise and which deploys the regulatory system in a way which reflects the desires of the industry that underpin it to succeed and to succeed in an enduring way.
We've got other reforms in train at the moment - the domestic building contracts act -and that's about making sure that we can continue to protect consumers and that we do so in a way which has that follow-through and that remedial approach, a less punitive approach and a practical approach to identifying and addressing issues and problems and challenges, but also opportunities that we all want to see be developed and delivered here in Victoria, taking the best of what is happening in other jurisdictions and applying it to Victoria, again in a way that reflects that commitment into the long-term to grow and to grow well.
The Fairer Payments on Jobsites bill was introduced to the parliament last month and that's about making sure that in our construction industry we do have that measure of certainty for contractors and subcontractors. We’re talking about skinny margins and the need to protect a pipeline of work which is compromised if payment is not made in a way that enables people to do their books and to make sure that they can move on to the next job without having to see red ink on their pages, and this is about also making sure that we're sending confident messages to the construction industry across the board.
So, we can't do this in Victoria without a functioning, innovative, and hungry industry that is united around prosperity and opportunity. We can't do it in a way that delivers consumer confidence without a robust and transparent system of regulation. And we can't do it without a workforce that understands that there are supports for people, whether that's CPD, whether that's accreditation, whether that's regulation and licensing codes. We need to bring these component parts together and that's why it's so heartening to see such a big group here this morning.
I know that the agenda for today is chock-full including with areas of reform like MMC that are challenging the way that we are building, that are challenging some pretty antiquated legislation. When MMC for example, was first contemplated in the building act, we all thought at the time that it was akin to a shipping container next to a portable at the back of your primary school, and things have come an awfully long way since then. And that's one example of how we need to make sure that the law is not only reflecting what is happening but is able to futureproof its operation to make sure that future technological growth and the way in which that growth is deployed on the ground is reflected in regulation, but also in recognition of good practice.
A lot to do. It's a big day today, but that reflects the enormity of the task at hand and of the importance of good collaboration across the industry. I'm looking forward to continuing to work with the BPC, to continuing to work on regulatory and legislative reform through the parliament, to working with my Commonwealth counterpart, Claire O'Neal, in the National Construction Code. This sounds like my windup music here, this little buzz overhead, but also to making sure that we continue to lead the way and that we can continue to outstrip the progress that is occurring particularly in New South Wales and Queensland. The future's really bright here in Victoria and there are always going to be people who like to talk down our progress and the rate of our momentum and the jobs that are being created and the builds that are being undertaken and completed. What you do every day puts paid to that tendency to try to talk Victoria down. So, thank you for all of your work, thank you for the work yet to come, thank you for the commitment to buy into a better system, a system that is enduring and based in good faith, and I'm looking forward to seeing all of the wonderful things that we can achieve from here together. Have a wonderful day.