The Australian Institute of Building Surveyors (AIBS) has voiced strong opposition to recent amendments to Victoria’s Building Act 1993, warning that the changes will impose unrealistic and inappropriate responsibilities on building surveyors across the state.
The contentious amendments, introduced through the State Taxation Further Amendment Bill 2025 and effective from 26 November 2025, overhaul the way the building permit levy is calculated.
The levy, which is a tax paid by applicants when obtaining building permits, will now require building surveyors to verify the estimated cost of construction before a permit can be issued.
Under the revised provisions, the duty of confirming the cost of works shifts directly onto building surveyors — an approach the AIBS argues is fundamentally flawed and inconsistent with the profession’s primary function.
“The role of a building surveyor is to ensure compliance, life-safety, and regulatory oversight – not to act as a tax collector or cost estimator,” said Wayne Liddy, AIBS President.
“These amendments place surveyors in the impossible position of policing project costs they are not trained or qualified to verify, particularly for large-scale, complex projects such as shopping centres, hospitals, data centres, apartment buildings and mixed-use developments.”
AIBS contends that the legislation undermines the integrity of the building surveyor’s role by conflating technical compliance duties with fiscal oversight.
The Institute warns that the shift could increase practitioner liability, exacerbate workforce shortages, and hinder the efficiency of the building approval system.
“This is not about opposing the levy itself – the government is entitled to collect revenue – but it is about ensuring it is collected in the right way,” Liddy said.
“Levy collection must remain a function of the State Revenue Office, not a statutory responsibility forced onto surveyors.”
The organisation emphasises that building surveyors play a critical function in upholding building safety, ensuring adherence to design standards, and verifying compliance with the National Construction Code.
Diverting their focus toward cost verification, AIBS argues, would compromise those essential oversight functions.
Industry observers note that the building and construction sector is already grappling with significant structural challenges, including a national shortage of qualified surveyors, increasing project complexity, and mounting regulatory demands.
Introducing a cost verification obligation at this juncture, AIBS warns, risks intensifying administrative bottlenecks and driving experienced professionals out of the field.
AIBS also highlighted concerns about the practical implications of determining construction values at the permit stage.
In many major projects, final costs are influenced by numerous variables — scope changes, material prices, and contract adjustments — that fall outside the surveyor’s control.
By assigning accountability for these estimates to surveyors, the legislation could expose them to unfair scrutiny or potential disciplinary action if cost discrepancies emerge later.
According to the Institute, the amendment not only overreaches the intended purpose of the levy but also threatens to undermine collaboration between project teams, stakeholders, and regulatory authorities.
AIBS insists that the responsibility for revenue collection should remain firmly with the State Revenue Office, whose systems and expertise are designed for that function.
The AIBS is now calling on the Victorian government to urgently revisit and amend the legislation to restore a fair and practicable framework for levy administration.
The organisation maintains that reform is needed to ensure building surveyors can continue focusing on their core mandate — protecting community safety through compliance and regulatory oversight —without being burdened by tax administration duties.
