Increased coverage during the building of your new home
We’re providing more reassurance that your new home is covered while it’s being built and making sure that you have better access to insurance if things do go wrong – eliminating the need for complex and costly legal claims against builders who do the wrong thing.
The new First Resort Home Warranty Scheme for building contracts over $20,000 and 3 storeys or less will now be administered by the powerful new Building and Plumbing Commission.
Consumers are automatically covered by the FirstResort Home Warranty Scheme when they enter into an insurable domestic building contract - even if the builder hasn't paid the insurance premium.
Cover available includes lost deposits, incomplete building work, and non-compliant or defective building work.
The previous Domestic Building Insurance (DBI) model protects consumers, but currently, they can only access this insurance as a last resort under very limited circumstances: when their builder becomes insolvent, disappears or dies.
Moving to the First Resort Home Warranty Scheme will ensure consumers get access to assistance when they need it most, allowing them to make a claim when a building issue is first identified, so you won’t have to face huge out-of-pocket costs for fixing defects.
When will insurance requirements begin?
The First Resort Home Warranty will begin on 1 July 2026.
For more information visit Security for Victorians building or buying a home | Engage Victoria(opens in a new window)
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