Check out the Victorian Building Authority’s list of shoddy builders and plumbers

More than 200 Victorian tradies have been fined over shocking cases of dodgy and dangerous work — see the full list here.

Hundreds of Victorian builders and plumbers have been slapped with hefty fines for shoddy work including dangerous cladding, sinking houses and bad plumbing.

The Sunday Herald Sun can reveal more than 200 builders and plumbers were fined a total of $1.013 million by the Victorian Building Authority (VBA) in the past two financial years.

There were 6810 total complaints received by the authority regarding builders and plumbers between the 2020-22 financial years.

The figures also revealed almost 60 practitioners had their license suspended, while 25 were cancelled and 16 disqualified.

Domestic and commercial builder Neville Duncanson, who was fined $57,500 in December last year, carried out building work where no permit was issued, allowed deep unsupported excavations to be carried out and failed to address urgent safety measures directed by the building surveyor.

In another shocking case, building surveyor Michael Flanagan was fined $50,887 in August last year for the use of combustible cladding for external walls at multiple sites between 2016-18.

Domestic Builder Phillip Jones was also slapped with a $40,000 fine for carrying out building work that was not covered by the required insurance and engaging a plumber to carry out plumbing work that required a compliance certificate when they were not licensed.

Examples of excessive notching, trenching and holes in studs, plates and structural timber frame, which undermined the structural integrity of dwellings.

Insufficient separation of services was consistently observed during building inspections.

Examples of roof trusses installed backwards, meaning the trusses were supported away from the design location.

Plumber Shameer Khan, who was fined $16,522 in April last year, was alleged to have directed another person to carry out unregistered drainage and water supply work at a work site.

He had also failed to lodge a compliance certificate within five days of completion of the work.

The state government last year banned dangerous cladding from multistorey buildings in Victoria.

It means flammable cladding can’t be installed on any new buildings above two storeys — such as flats, shopping centres and factories.

The cladding was responsible for the 2014 fire at Docklands’ Lacrosse building and another blaze, in 2019, at the Neo200 building in the CBD.

The fire at the Neo200 building in Spencer St, Melbourne, involved combustible cladding.

A combustible cladding crackdown last year also resulted in action against dozens of builders linked to 790 properties statewide.

VBA regulatory operations executive director David Brockman said the authority prioritised the safety of Victorians by ensuring building and plumbing practitioners followed the rules by taking decisive action against practitioners who undermine safety standards.

“The authority regulates, educates and engages in its role as building and plumbing regulator to promote quality, safe and vibrant building and plumbing industries,” Mr Brockman said.

“We are transparent with our regulatory actions, we publish all disciplinary outcomes in our annual report, compliance and enforcement reports and on our disciplinary register, so that the community can make informed decisions when engaging practitioners.”