Freedom of Information Act Part II Statement

The Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC) is committed to making information easily accessible to the public.

We release a large amount of information through online and print publishing, social media platforms, information sessions and in-person.

We recommend referring to these sources before deciding if an application is needed under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic) (FOI Act). In many instances a formal application will not be required to access information.

Please call 1300 067 088 for more information.

Organisation and functions

The BPC is Victoria’s new regulator for the building and plumbing industries.

We bring together the work of the:

• Victorian Building Authority (VBA)
• Domestic Building Dispute Resolution Victoria (DBDRV)
• Domestic Building Insurance (DBI) function of the VMIA

For the first time, regulation, dispute resolution and domestic building insurance are handled by one agency. This gives us a clearer view of the whole building process, so we can protect consumers, support industry, and make the system easier to navigate.

The BPC has a Board with a sole Commissioner and CEO and is accountable to the Minister for Housing and Building.

View our organisational structure.

Our powers and functions under the Building Act 1993 (Vic) (‘the Building Act’) are:

• to monitor and enforce compliance with the Building Act 1993 and the regulations
• to administer the scheme under Part 11 for the registration of building practitioners
• to supervise and monitor the conduct and ability to practise of registered building practitioners
• to make recommendations to the Minister about the qualifications for registration of building practitioners
• to issue certificates of consent
• to administer the scheme under Part 12A for the licensing and registration of plumbers
• to participate on behalf of Victoria in the development of national building standards and national plumbing standards
• to monitor developments relevant to the regulation of building standards and plumbing standards in Victoria
• to promote the maintenance of adequate levels of competence among plumbers
• to provide information and advice (including to consumers) on matters relating to
  • building standards and plumbing standards
  • the regulation of buildings, building work and building practitioners
  • the regulation of plumbing work and plumbers
  • cladding rectification work
  • to monitor and provide financial assistance in relation to cladding rectification work
  • to provide information and training to assist persons and bodies in carrying out functions under this Act or the regulations
  • to promote the resolution of consumer complaints about work carried out by builders and plumbers
  • to conduct or promote research relating to the regulation of the building industry and the plumbing industry in Victoria and to report on the outcomes of this research in its report of operations under the Financial Management Act 1994 (Vic)
  • to collect the building permit levy
  • to charge and collect fees (determined in accordance with the Act and the regulations) for information and training services
  • to administer the Building and Plumbing Fund
  • to advise the Minister on the carrying out of our functions under the Act and on any other matter referred to it by the Minister
  • to carry out any other function conferred on the BPC by or under the Act or any other Act or under any agreement to which the State is a party.

We work with other bodies that have roles under the Building Act including

• Building Appeals Board
• Building Regulations Advisory Committee
• Plumbing Advisory Council

More information about our functions and powers can be found in the Victorian legislation, including

• Building Act 1993
• Building Regulations 2018
• Plumbing Regulations 2018
• Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Vic)
• Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic)

You can also learn more through the yearly activity in our annual report.

Statement 2 – Categories of documents

In the course of its operations and functions, we create documents including:

Document types

• Policies and procedures
• Correspondence
• Briefings
• Reports
• Meeting minutes
• Financial records
• Personnel records
• Contracts
• Registers

Document categories

• Administrative
• Operational
• Financial
• Personnel
• Policy
• Legal
• Publications
• Registers

Statement 3 – FOI arrangements

Before you make a request

We encourage you to check if the information or documents you seek are already publicly available, such as on this website or via DataVic Access.

Where you cannot find the information or documents you are seeking, you should contact us and ask if the information or documents are available or can be provided to you. In some circumstances, consumers, plumbers and building practitioners may be given information without having to make a formal request for access to documents under the FOI Act.

If you are seeking your own personal information, you have a right to that information, subject to some exceptions, under the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic) and can ask for information to be provided on this basis. You should approach the relevant team that holds that information.

How to make a request

Find out how to make a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

FOI requests must be made in writing and be accompanied by the relevant application fee.

Post us your FOI application:

Freedom of Information Officer
Building and Plumbing Commission
PO Box 536 
Melbourne Vic 3001.

Or email us at foi@bpc.vic.gov.au.

Once a request is received, we will acknowledge receipt of your request. We may need to consult with you to clarify your application, particularly about the scope or type of documents you have requested.

Once the application is valid, we will begin to process the request in accordance with the FOI Act and the processing timeframe starts running.

Timeframes for processing

The timeframe for processing FOI applications can vary, depending on the documents requested. Broadly, the timeframes are as follows from the date the application is received:

• If invalid – 21 days to notify applicant
• Once valid – 30 days to make the decision
• If third party consultation is necessary – can add up to 15 days to the original 30-day decision timeframe
• With the applicant’s consent – can extend in blocks of up to 30 days, as needed.

An application is paused, once valid, if:

• It would substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the agency and inviting the applicant to consult (time starts running the day after the applicant confirms a revised or altered request); and/or
• We require payment of an access charges deposit, when the applicant is notified about payment, until paid.

A timeframe is varied, where:

• Both parties agree to reducing an access charge, in exchange for the applicant waiving compliance with the 30-day timeframe to process the request

You can ask for details about the process by calling the FOI Officer on 1300 067 088 or you can email us at foi@BPC.vic.gov.au.

Statement 4 – Publications

We publish a range of documents and these are made available free of charge via our website. We also provide a facility on this website for the public to obtain statistics on the building permit system and building data in general, through DataVic Access.

The categories of information which are available from the various sections of this website include:

• Our role
• Newsletters – through a subscription
• Practice Notes
• General Information
• Legislative Publications
• Practitioner/Industry updates
• Register of current practitioners (plumbing and building practitioners)

We also publish information which is regularly sought by the public, such as information about:

• Bushfires
• Swimming pools and spas
• Protection works
• Termites
• Insurance
• Contracts

This website has a dedicated resources pages, which publishes various information for homeowners and building and plumbing practitioners.

We also publish data including:

• Building Permit Activity summaries
• Building Permit Activity data
• Five-year metrics
• Security of Payment Adjudication Activity Statistics
• Financial Statements

This information can be found on our data page.

This website also contains our Annual Reports. The annual reports for our predecessors, the Building Commission and Plumbing Industry Commission are available from the Victorian Government Library Service.

Statement 5 – Rules, policies and procedures

We receive enquiries and complaints regarding the professional conduct of plumbing and building practitioners. Details about the processes are made available on the complaints process page.

Some of our work is guided by policies. Policies and procedures published on this website include:

• Compliance and Enforcement Policy
• Enterprise Risk Management policy
• Purchase Order Terms and Conditions
• Protected disclosure procedures
• Regulatory Approach
• Service Charter
• Sponsorship policy

Various plumbing and building related forms prescribed by regulation or approved by us are available for download.

This website provides access to the Minister’s Statement of Expectations.

Forms and information relating to the jurisdiction of the Building Appeals Board are available on the Building Appeals Board website.

Statement 6 – Report literature

We produce an annual report tabled each year in parliament and available online. Additional information that is available upon request includes details of major research and development activities undertaken by us and information relating to expenditure. This information is detailed in the appendices to the annual report.

Information relating to our predecessor agencies – the Building Commission and the Plumbing Industry Commission, can be found in prior annual reports produced by those agencies and are available from the Victorian Government Library Service.