Check your landscaper is registered for the work (Victoria)

Property & tenancy · VIC

Registration is not one thing — it comes in classes. A practitioner can be genuinely registered and still not registered for the work you are asking them to do.

Where to check

The Building and Plumbing Commission (the Victorian Building Authority now trades under that name) publishes a Find a practitioner register. It is free and public.

Register: https://www.bpc.vic.gov.au/find-and-check-a-practitioner

Why "registered" is not enough on its own

The Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic) says a person must not enter into a major domestic building contract unless they are a registered building practitioner and their registration authorises them to carry out that work. The second half is the one people skip.

The BPC lists registration classes relevant to outdoor work, including Domestic Builder limited to:

- structural landscaping - the construction of gates and fences - the construction of retaining walls - non-habitable building structures (private garages and carports, sheds, cabanas, gazebos, shade structures) - shade structures - earthworks and excavation work (for large scale excavations)

There are separate classes for swimming pools and spas, footings and slab work, framing and carpentry.

What to actually ask

1. Ask for the registration number and the class it covers, in writing. 2. Look it up on the register yourself — do not accept a screenshot. 3. Match the class against the work: a retaining wall needs the retaining-wall class, not simply "a builder". 4. Above the insurance threshold, ask to see the insurance certificate before paying a deposit.

General information about Victorian law only. If a practitioner's registration does not seem to cover the work in your quote, that is a question for the BPC or a lawyer before the job starts, not after.

This is legal information, not legal advice.