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Fake builder fined $80,000 over a botched renovation in Gippsland as BPC warns against unregistered work
A man posing as a registered builder has been fined $80,000 after botching a renovation on a young couple’s two-storey dream home in Gippsland which remains unliveable to this day.
Published 23 October 2026
Darcy Wheildon, who also goes by the name Darcy Didio, pleaded guilty in the Sale Magistrates’ Court to four charges over illegal work at the Loch Sport property in 2022.
The charges under the Building Act include carrying out domestic building work without being registered, without being covered by the required insurance and without having a building permit.
The 26-year-old, of Loch Sport, also admitted to representing or implying that he was registered and therefore able to carry out the renovation under a major domestic building contract.
The court was told the homeowners employed Wheildon via an ad on a local community Facebook page and arranged for him to do the renovation work in stages to assist with their budget.
Wheildon told the couple he was registered and the work did not require a building permit before providing a verbal quote of $170,000 for an extension to the top floor and internal alterations to the bottom level.
Over a 3-month period, Wheildon was paid a total of almost $55,000 as he carried out work at the site, specifically:
- Demolition work, including walls, floor, stairs, windows, bathrooms and doors
- Removal of an internal kitchen wall, which was later found to be a structural beam
- Partial removal of the balcony and the start of the balcony rebuild
- Construction of internal timber frames
- Excavation works.
In July 2022, Wellington Shire Council issued the homeowner with a stop work order when they discovered a building permit was not in place.
Even then, Wheildon continued to claim to the homeowner that he was a registered builder and the onus was on the homeowner to organise the building permit.
Eventually Wheildon agreed to repay almost $55,000 to the homeowner but no money was ever returned.
Following a Council recommendation, the homeowner employed a building inspector who concluded the house was extensively damaged, unsafe and unable to be restored to what it was before. The property now also has asbestos-related issues.
Magistrate Samantha Poulter imposed a fine of $80,000 but did not record a conviction due to Wheildon’s personal circumstances and because he had no prior convictions.
Consumers should always use a registered builder for jobs over $10,000 and also ensure the builder has mandatory building insurance in place if the work is over $20,000.
You can check a practitioner’s licence, registration or disciplinary and prosecution history.
Anyone wishing to report suspected unregistered or unlicensed building or plumbing work can do so anonymously.