Permits, councils and building disputes in Truganina
In Victoria a registered building surveyor issues the building permit and the occupancy permit. Truganina owners also deal with Wyndham or Melton council, and the BPC's dispute resolution service is the step before VCAT.
The building permit
Before work starts, a registered building surveyor issues a building permit. The surveyor, or their delegate, carries out mandatory inspections at set stages. Those are compliance inspections for the permit, not inspections on your behalf.
The occupancy permit
At completion the surveyor issues an occupancy permit, confirming the home is suitable to occupy. It does not confirm that finishes and contract items are complete, which is what a handover inspection checks.
Council's role
Truganina is split between the City of Wyndham and the City of Melton. Council handles planning permits where required, report and consent matters, and its own processes for protecting roads and drains during building. Check which council your lot is in.
When there is a dispute
Put the defects to your builder in writing first, with the report attached. If that fails, the Building and Plumbing Commission's dispute resolution service (formerly DBDRV) is the next step, then VCAT's Building and Property List.
Reports for each stage of a dispute
A defect report is written for you and the builder. At VCAT, you need an expert witness report prepared to the tribunal's practice note. Domestic Building Insurance may respond if the builder has died, disappeared or become insolvent.
More about Truganina
- Building a new home in Truganina: stages, sites and common faults
- Buying a house in Truganina: prices, housing age and what to check
- Truganina's growth: precinct plans, population and what is still coming
- Truganina ground: basalt clay, slab design and why houses crack
- Termite and timber pest risk in Truganina
- What our inspectors find in Truganina homes
- Truganina site conditions: water, wind and planning overlays
Written by our local inspection team from work carried out in Truganina. Licensed building practitioners, Building & Plumbing Commission registration CDB-U 53425.
