Dozens of builders face court over alleged bribery scheme ensnaring Victorian watchdog
Victorian Building Authority employees allegedly took bribes to progress building registration applications. (ABC News: Danielle Bonica, file)
In short:
Details of an alleged bribery scheme, in which Victorian Building Authority staff were allegedly offered money in exchange for progressing builder registration applications, have been detailed in court documents.
The scheme was the subject of an anti-corruption investigation that has now seen three VBA employees and dozens of others charged.
What's next?
The matter returns to court in April.
An alleged bribery scheme ensnaring Victoria's building industry watchdog allegedly operated for nearly three years before it was shut down amid an anti-corruption operation.
The revelations add to the issues facing the troubled Victorian Building Authority (VBA) and raise questions about the suitability of builders caught in the scandal to build the state's homes.
Details of the alleged scheme emerged last year, when the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) announced two VBA employees were among six people charged following an investigation targeting the alleged assessment of builder registrations in exchange for financial benefit.
A third employee was placed under investigation. All three were stood down.
The third employee was charged last week, alongside 27 people who either applied for registration or helped facilitate registration applications.
In a Melbourne Magistrates' Court hearing on Thursday held for the most recent charges, some details of the scheme were revealed for the first time.
An IBAC investigation uncovered the alleged scheme. (ABC News: Dylan Anderson )
After the hearing, the court released charge sheets detailing bribery and misconduct in public office charges against the people allegedly involved.
Several of the charges, for alleged activity spanning from late 2021 until July 2024, describe unspecified amounts of money being offered to one of the staff members charged last year "to influence his behaviour and to incline him to act contrary to accepted rules of honesty and integrity".
The documents allege he was influenced to progress builder registration applications "regardless of [the applicant's] suitability or eligibility for the registration".
Another person was facing 26 charges for his alleged involvement in the scheme over a period of about three years.
Meanwhile, the VBA staff member charged with a bribery offence last week was allegedly offered money from a colleague on behalf of someone who had made an application last June.
Three VBA employees and dozens of others have been charged. (ABC News: Danielle Bonica, file)
He is facing a second charge of misconduct in public office for allegedly contravening the public sector code of conduct, helping someone obtain registration without declaring a conflict of interest, and "wilfully neglecting to consider public safety" in relation to the application.
The matter returns to court in April.
The VBA says it voluntarily referred suspicious activity to the IBAC in June 2023.
Late last year, the state government announced plans to overhaul the authority, replacing it with a stronger building industry regulator with more powers.
It followed a scathing independent review exposing serious failures in how the VBA handled complaints from home-owners facing years of financial distress over defective or unfinished homes.