Nick Snart Vs. The VBA
Nick Snart who’s a registered building surveyor (BS-U 18065) and senior associate at ‘Philip Chun Building Compliance’ was disciplined by the VBA (4th of June 2021) for issuing building permits on three different job sites where combustible cladding was used. Due to this, the VBA suspended his registration (for 2 months), reprimanded him, and issued him financial fines of up to $9,000.
Nick appealed this decision through the ‘Victorian Civil & Administrative Tribuneral’ (VCAT). In doing so, he was found not guilty of ‘negligence’ and had the decision recently over turned (18th of August 2026).
There are ‘concessions’ in the BCA (Volume 1) for combustible cladding that can be used when constructing ‘low rise’ residential buildings that the VBA failed to properly review before prosecuting Nick.
The VBA not taking into account certain ‘concessions’ from the BCA (Volume 1) for combustible cladding has created a considerably more difficult environment for future disciplinary prosecutions concerning combustible cladding used on buildings.
Refer to the following article:- https://landers.com.au/legal-insights-news/vcat-clears-building-surveyor-in-combustible-cladding-disciplinary-action
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