Victoria's New Home Warranty Scheme: What It Means for Your Build

If you're planning a new build, renovation or extension in Melbourne, there's a significant change to home warranty protection that came into effect on 1 July 2026. Victoria has moved from the old Domestic Building Insurance (DBI) scheme to a new Home Warranty scheme, administered by the Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC) — the state's newer, consolidated building regulator. If your contract is being signed now or in the near future, here's what's different and why it matters for your project.

Who is the Building and Plumbing Commission?

The BPC is Victoria's current building and plumbing regulator. It was formed by bringing together the old Victorian Building Authority (VBA), Domestic Building Dispute Resolution Victoria, and the domestic building insurance function that used to sit with the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority (VMIA). If you've dealt with the VBA in the past, that's the same organisation under a new structure and a new name — the BPC now handles builder registration and licensing, inspections and audits, dispute resolution, and oversight of home warranty insurance, all in one place.

What actually changed on 1 July 2026

The old DBI scheme was a "last resort" system: a claim generally only succeeded if your builder had died, disappeared, or become insolvent. The new Home Warranty scheme is broader. It's designed to let homeowners claim earlier, when a builder fails or refuses to complete or fix work that is incomplete, defective or non-compliant — not just when the builder no longer exists as a business.

Some of the practical differences homeowners should know about:

• Home Warranty now applies to domestic building contracts worth more than $20,000 (up from the old $16,000 threshold for DBI).
• The maximum claim per dwelling has increased from $300,000 to $400,000.
• Cover now extends to structural defects caused by faulty design work from architects or engineers, which was previously excluded.
• Homeowners generally have 12 months from discovering a defect to notify the BPC, with cover running up to 6 years for major structural defects and 2 years for other defects.
• Consequential losses (like lost rent while repairs happen) are still excluded, so it isn't unlimited protection.
• For larger apartment developments (buildings over three storeys), developers now need to provide either a 2% developer bond or 10-year decennial insurance, adding another layer of protection that didn't previously exist.

Which scheme applies to your project?

This is the detail that trips people up: coverage depends on when your building contract is signed, not when construction happens. If your contract was signed before 1 July 2026, the old DBI rules apply and any existing certificate remains valid under its original terms. If you're signing a new contract now, the Home Warranty scheme applies instead. Existing DBI policies do not automatically convert to Home Warranty cover, so if you're partway through a project it's worth checking with your builder or the BPC which scheme your contract falls under.

What this means if you're planning a build or renovation

For most homeowners undertaking a new home, extension or major renovation over $20,000, this change is good news — it closes some of the gaps that left owners exposed when a builder simply walked away from a job rather than becoming formally insolvent. That said, it's still worth understanding the exclusions (particularly around consequential loss) and confirming your builder has provided valid Home Warranty cover before work begins, since this is a legal requirement for eligible contracts in Victoria.

It's also a reminder that Victoria's building regulation landscape has genuinely shifted in the past couple of years. If your last build or renovation was a while ago, don't assume the rules — or the regulator's name — are the same as you remember.

How EBC can help

At Easy Building & Construction, we make sure every eligible contract comes with the correct, current Home Warranty cover in place before work starts, and we're happy to walk you through what it does and doesn't protect on your specific project. If you're planning a build, extension or renovation and want a clear picture of where you stand, get in touch and we'll talk it through.

This article is general information only, not legal or professional advice. Home warranty and insurance requirements can vary depending on your contract date, project value and specific circumstances, so please confirm the details that apply to you with EBC or directly with the Building and Plumbing Commission.