Conciliation (residential building disputes)
Conciliation is a facilitated, confidential step to settle a building dispute before a tribunal. In Victoria it's a mandatory gateway before VCAT.
Ask Chalkline about this →Conciliation in a residential building dispute is a facilitated, confidential meeting where a neutral conciliator helps the owner and builder try to resolve their dispute by agreement, before it goes to a tribunal or court.
How it works:
- A conciliator (not a judge) brings the parties together, helps them understand each other’s position, and works toward a negotiated settlement.
- It is confidential, less formal, and usually faster and cheaper than a tribunal hearing.
- If it settles, the agreement is recorded; if it does not, the parties can escalate.
Victoria (the most formalised example): domestic building disputes must first go to the state conciliation service (Domestic Building Dispute Resolution Victoria, DBDRV, now run by the Building and Plumbing Commission), and all parties must attend conciliation. If it does not resolve, a certificate of conciliation (dispute not resolved) is issued, and only then can a party apply to VCAT, you cannot go straight to VCAT without it. The service can also issue a dispute resolution order directing rectification (verified 2026-05-24, DBDRV / Building and Plumbing Commission).
Other states run their own building-dispute processes (for example NSW Fair Trading and the QBCC in Queensland), with their own complaint, inspection, and resolution steps before a tribunal such as NCAT or QCAT.
For a builder: engage with conciliation properly. It is often a mandatory gateway and a genuine chance to settle cheaply. In Victoria you generally cannot be taken to VCAT for a domestic building dispute until conciliation has been tried, so treat the DBDRV process as the front door.
Also known as: building dispute conciliation, DBDRV conciliation (Vic).
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Last updated: 2026-05-24. Verified: 2026-05-24. Quarterly review for currency.