Building fines

We are responsible for ensuring that builders, building owners and owners corporations comply with the Building Act 1993 and Building Regulations 2018. You can read the Regulations on the Victorian Legislation website.

If you breach these, we’ll issue an infringement notice (fine).

There are different reasons you could receive a fine. Here are some:

• Failing to prominently display the necessary details on the building before and during construction.
• Failing to display a valid occupancy permit in a designated area inside the building.
• Not finishing the safety measures report within 28 days of the yearly date when the last report was finished.
• Failing to register your pool/spa with us on time.
• Not lodging a Certificate of pool and spa barrier compliance (Form 23) by the due date.

Pay your building fine

You must pay your building fine by the due date on the notice. There may be additional costs and legal proceedings if it's not paid by the due date.

• BPay: use phone or internet banking to pay with your credit card, savings or cheque account. Use the Biller Code and Reference number on your infringement notice.
• Online: pay on our website using our Online payments tool. You’ll need the infringement number on your notice. Credit card surcharges apply, find out more on our Pay page.
• Call us on 1300 722 151 and follow the prompts to make secure payments. Credit card surcharges apply, find out more on our Pay page.
• Visit our customer service desk during business hours to make a payment. Find location and opening hours at our Contact us page.
• Pay by post, including a copy of the fine or your infringement number and a cheque or money order made payable to ‘City of Boroondara'. Post to: City of Boroondara, Private Bag 1 Camberwell VIC 3124.
  • We don’t accept postal delays as a reason for late payment.
  • We don’t issue receipts for payments posted to us.

Request a payment plan

You can request to pay your fine in instalments.

Request a payment plan

Appeal your building fine

You may appeal your building fine only if you satisfy one of the 5 reasons below and can provide proof to back up your claim.

You must appeal within 21 days of the issue date on the penalty reminder notice. After this, the infringement notice will be referred to Fines Victoria to manage or referred to our legal team to commence legal proceedings.

Under the Act, you can appeal once per fine.

You can't appeal a fine if you've already paid it.

What to include

When you submit your appeal, you must include:

• documents to support your appeal, including a detailed explanation of the circumstances
• written authorisation from the fine recipient if you are appealing on their behalf
• the infringement notice number.

We’ll review your appeal and tell you within 90 days whether it has been successful. In the meantime:

• you won’t incur additional fees
• you won’t need to pay any outstanding amounts.

If your appeal is unsuccessful, you’ll need to pay your building fine and ensure any additional steps on the infringement notice are completed.

Appeal a building fine

Choose for a court to hear your appeal

You can choose to have the Magistrates Court hear and decide on your building fine appeal. Please be aware that the penalty you receive from the court may be more severe than the building fine.

If you previously asked us to review your fine and you later choose to have it heard and determined by a court, we'll cancel your internal review.

Appeal a building fine through court