Joint Statement - Labor fails Victorian homebuyers again

Joint Statement – Labor fails Victorian homebuyers again

Evan Mulholland, Shadow Minister for Home Ownership and Housing Affordability

James Newbury, Shadow Minister for Planning

2 February 2024.

Victorian homebuyers continue to be let down by the Allan Government with revelations dozens of clients of the recently collapsed Montego Homes have been left stranded without compulsory domestic building insurance (DBI).

Nearly a year since the collapse of Porter Davis revealed widespread non-compliance with Victoria’s DBI requirements, the same practice continues to occur in a clear regulatory failure under the Allan Government.

Under existing Victorian legislation, no money, including deposit money, is payable under a domestic building contract before a suitable DBI policy has been issued.

The Allan Government’s Liquidated Builders Customer Support Payment Scheme for victims of the Porter Davis collapse (which was expanded to include all builders – including Hallbury Homes and Snowdon Developments, who failed to take out compulsory insurance – following advocacy from the Victorian Liberals and Nationals) only applies for homebuilder insolvencies which occurred during the 2022-23 financial year.

As such, victims of Montego Homes are excluded from this scheme despite suffering the same failure of DBI compliance and enforcement as Victorians with Porter Davis and other homebuilders.

The Allan Government needs to extend the homebuilder collapse support scheme until Victorians can have confidence DBI requirements are being met and that regulators are effectively identifying non-compliance prior to insolvencies occurring.

Shadow Minister for Home Ownership and Housing Affordability, Evan Mulholland, said: “Porter Davis should have been a wake-up call for Labor but the serious issues with domestic building insurance noncompliance clearly have not been addressed.

“No Victorian should lose a home deposit because of Labor’s incompetence. Jacinta Allan must commit to extending the support scheme until the issues plaguing domestic building insurance are resolved.”

Shadow Minister for Planning, James Newbury, said: “It’s clear that Jacinta Allan and her Government aren’t doing enough to protect Victorians and their families from rogues.

“Buying a home is tough. New homebuyers shouldn’t also be fearful of a building company collapsing, and losing hard earned deposits, because the State Labor Government isn’t strong enough to stand up to dodgy behaviour.”

James Newbury, Shadow Minister for Planning

Evan Mulholland, Shadow Minister for Home Ownership and Housing Affordability