Home Warranty is the compulsory cover the Building and Plumbing Commission runs for eligible Victorian domestic building work, for contracts signed on or after 1 July 2026. Work under earlier contracts that already has Domestic Building Insurance (DBI) stays with that scheme, and the cover does not move across.
General informationGeneral information, not insurance or legal advice about any home or claim. The Building and Plumbing Commission’s Home Warranty pages decide eligibility and claims; this page summarises them in our own words as at October 2026.
1Four questions that decide the scheme
When was the contract signed?
The scheme that applies depends on when the building contract was signed and when the insurance was issued. A contract signed before 1 July 2026 with a DBI certificate of insurance stays under DBI; an eligible contract signed on or after that day may come under Home Warranty.
Is the work worth more than $20,000?
Home Warranty is for eligible domestic building work worth more than $20,000. DBI had a lower line: it was required for work valued over $16,000.
How tall is the building, and how many homes does it hold?
The Commission’s example of an exclusion is a residential building of more than three storeys containing more than 2 homes. The guide to three-storey limits sets that rule beside the other states’.
Was the builder registered?
Work the law reserves for a registered builder is left unprotected by Home Warranty when an unregistered builder does it.
2What it may pay for, and the caps
Home Warranty may help where eligible work is unfinished, faulty or does not comply, and the builder cannot or will not complete or repair it. Every kind of help counts toward one overall limit of $400,000 per home.
| Kind of help | When | Cap or period |
|---|---|---|
| A lost deposit | Building work has not started | Within the scheme’s limits |
| Incomplete work | Eligible work left unfinished | 30% of the total contract price, agreed variations included |
| Securing an incomplete site | In some circumstances | $5,000 |
| Accommodation, removal and storage | In some circumstances | $12,000 |
| Major defects | After the work is completed | Up to 6 years after completion |
| Other defects and non-compliant work | Defects that are neither major nor minor cosmetic differences | Up to 2 years after completion |
| Swimming pool work | Pool-related domestic building work may be covered | Inside the same $400,000 |
One thing sits outside it entirely: minor cosmetic differences between the finished work and the contract’s plans and specifications. The Commission has published a determination on some circumstances that may count as minor cosmetic differences.
3The premium and the Notice of Cover
The registered builder pays the premium on an eligible project, and its cost may be built into the contract price. Because Home Warranty is a statutory scheme, a homeowner may still be protected where the builder fails to pay, if the work is eligible and the scheme’s requirements are met; the builder’s failure remains an offence.
Once the Commission accepts the premium, it issues the building owner a Notice of Cover, which records the project’s details. The Commission asks owners to check that it matches the building contract and to contact it promptly if anything differs. The notice may be needed for a claim and again when the property is sold, which is why a buyer can ask about it, as the guide to buying a recently built home explains.
4Homes under the older scheme
A Victorian home that is newly finished, or still being built, may sit under either scheme, depending on when its contract was signed. Where it predates the change, work holding a DBI certificate of insurance dated before 1 July 2026 keeps its cover under the DBI policy, and the Commission continues to support existing DBI policies on their current terms and conditions. DBI cover does not convert into Home Warranty.
The two schemes reach different situations. The Building and Plumbing Commission says Home Warranty is not confined to a builder’s death, disappearance or insolvency, and that it may also help where a builder who is still in business fails or refuses to fix eligible work.
5If something goes wrong
The Commission’s first message is to act early, raise the problem with the builder in most cases, and keep a record: photos, reports and messages. If the builder is still trading, the owner will usually have to send the builder a complaint notice and wait for an answer before the Commission can assess a claim. A claim becomes possible where the builder is unable or unwilling to finish or fix eligible work.
The claim windows are short beside the cover periods. Defective or non-compliant work must be claimed within 12 months after the owner first learns of the issue, or ought reasonably to have; accommodation, removal and storage costs are claimed within 28 days of being incurred. The Commission warns against waiting until the cover period is nearly over, since a claim must be made within its own period.
Insurance is one layer. Under it, Victoria’s statutory building warranties apply for up to 10 years from the occupancy permit or certificate of final inspection, as the guide to statutory warranties sets out.