The VBA has successfully prosecuted a Pakenham man who admitted to posing as a plumber while doing a roofing job in Melbourne’s southeast.
The tradie was convicted and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine after pleading guilty at Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court to a charge of carrying out plumbing work despite not being licensed or registered in any class of plumbing.
The magistrate rejected his lawyer’s submission for a good behaviour bond saying a purpose of the Building Act is to protect consumers from shonky operators.
The tradie was working as a labourer for Dynamic Roofing and Guttering in February 2022 when he was assigned the job of replacing the roof of a house and garage in Caulfield.
After starting the $36,000 job with an unknown male, the tradie was left to finish most of the work on his own with some assistance from two more unknown males over a three-week period.
During the first rain event after the job was finished, the homeowner noticed water leaks in multiple areas of the ceiling and complained to Dynamic Roofing.
The tradie returned to the site to repair the leaks on several occasions, but the roof continued leaking and the homeowner filed a complaint with the VBA.
Two years after the incident, he was able to meet all registration requirements and was approved to work as a registered roof plumber. For jobs over $750, a licensed plumber must supervise the work of a registered plumber and issue a compliance certificate.
The VBA is warning consumers of the dangers of hiring unregistered or unlicensed practitioners as part of a crackdown on the illegal practice.
The VBA’s statewide blitz on unregistered and unlicensed practitioners has found 34 unregistered workers across 1292 building sites in metro Melbourne and regional Victoria. 200 tips have come in through the VBA’s online tip off form with more than 50 per warranting further investigation.
VBA Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer Anna Cronin warns that “unregistered practitioners face serious consequences when caught out including the risk of a criminal conviction for life.”
“Consumers need to be aware of the risks of hiring those without the proper registration or license; if something goes wrong the only option is court,” she said.
If you know of an unregistered builder or plumber, you can report them via this online tip off form: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=Xd5xCExGNU2o1Z1G0pskuC8oxsDss9JPg8xXTV67egZUNjBBNkgyV1IxQUFDTTUwWEpISzU0Tkk4Uy4u&route=shorturl
Consumers should always use a registered builder and a licensed or registered plumber. You can check if your builder and plumber are registered via https://www.vba.vic.gov.au/tools/find-practitioner
