A significant overhaul of Victoria’s construction payment laws is underway, with the Building Legislation Amendment (Fairer Payments on Jobsites and Other Matters) Bill 2025 (Vic) (Bill) introduced into the Victorian Legislative Assembly on 11 September 2025.

The Bill marks the first major step toward implementing reforms recommended in the 2023 Parliamentary Report into employers and contractors who refuse to pay their subcontractors for completed works.

If passed, the Bill would deliver sweeping changes to the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Vic) (SOP Act), removing key barriers that have hindered claimants and broadening the Act’s coverage to better protect subcontractors and contractors across the industry.

The Building Legislation Amendment (Buyer Protections) Bill 2025 (Bill) that was introduced to parliament by the Victorian Government in March 2025 proposes significant reforms in the domestic building sector, with a key focus on improving consumer protection.

Further, the Bill proposes to expand the role of the Victorian Building Authority (VBA) to oversee a wider range of functions related to building regulation. This includes taking over responsibilities presently managed by Domestic Building Disputes Resolution Victoria (DBDRV) and the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority (VMIA).

The Bill proposes to replace the current Domestic Building Insurance Scheme with the introduction of a new Statutory Insurance Scheme that will allow Owners to make claims on the insurance policy at any time prior to or after completion of the Works rather than waiting for the Builder to become insolvent.

The Bill also provides the VBA with much broader powers to issue Rectification Orders and Rectification Costs Orders to Builders and Developers and will require Developers to provide security bonds as part of a new Developer Bond Scheme with the security bond to be available to Owners Corporations for the rectification of defects.

As the new year gets underway in earnest, we thought it would be timely to provide you with an update on some recent cases relating to the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Vic) (“the Security of Payment Act”) that have had a significant change on how the Act operates. The recent cases have held that:

Early Payment Claims submitted before the reference date are invalid; and
Payment Claims which only include claims for the return of retention money are invalid.

Are your OHS procedures up to scratch?

What is negligence in so far as the new manslaughter offences are concerned?

The new manslaughter provisions inserted into the OHS Act define conduct as being negligent if it involves:
– a great falling short of the standard of care that would have been taken by a reasonable person in the circumstances in which the conduct was engaged in; and
– a high risk of—
death; or
serious injury; or
serious illness.