VCAT delays leave some Victorians waiting years to have cases heard
Victorians are waiting longer to have their building issues resolved, leading many renters and homeowners to just give up all together. One family from Inverloch on Victoria's southeast coast has been waiting more than three years for a VCAT hearing to fix their flooded property. They say it's been a frustrating process, which could end up costing them $100 thousand in legal fees.
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TVTranscript
00:00 Sharon and Steve Harrison are counting down until their day in court.
00:06 100 days to go then.
00:07 It can't come soon enough because every time it rains, their property floods.
00:12 We have a creek-like flow onto our property, even if there's a few millimetres of rain.
00:17 They say the problem started when their neighbour undertook works on his driveway.
00:22 It's been flowing so long that this has rotted.
00:24 But after they couldn't solve the issue with him directly, they took it to VCAT.
00:28 Their hearing isn't until February next year, three years after they first lodged an application.
00:34 They've hired a lawyer and expect to fork out $100,000 in legal fees.
00:39 I think actually that they hope that you would give up and walk away,
00:43 but we can't because we have no other way of addressing this issue.
00:48 The average time for a building case to be finalised at VCAT has jumped nearly 20% in the past financial year,
00:55 with Victorians waiting about 10 months to have their property issues dealt with.
01:00 The delays are getting longer and it's leading to a lot more stress
01:03 and a lot more matters just settling earlier for amounts that they would not necessarily have otherwise settled for
01:10 because people are just so desperate to get out of it.
01:12 VCAT says it's keenly aware of the impact the delays are having on many Victorians.
01:18 It's adding more staff to try to clear the backlogs and aims to finalise all of its residential claims by late next year.
01:25 What is good news in that list is that we have 21 new members coming on board in the coming weeks.
01:31 Those interviews have been completed.
01:33 The government's also making sweeping changes to the state's housing regulations,
01:37 including to fast-track applications for big developments.
01:41 But lawyers say this could add to the delays,
01:44 fearing quick builds and defects could spark even more VCAT complaints.
01:49 It's extremely frustrating.
01:51 I wouldn't be going to VCAT unless it was a last resort.
01:55 But for Sharon and Steve, the long wait continues.
01:59 [BLANK_AUDIO]