Major slab heave Melbourne - recommendations for legal advice

HayleyD · Nov 16, 2025 9:00 pm

Hi,
Our house has major slab heave. LONG story short, we've been messed around by our builder for the last few years, and have come to the realisation that we need legal support. We had an independent engineering assessment early on that confirmed slab heave and showed there was ongoing movement and already significant damage within ~18 months of handover. The report clearly stated that this was not normal and that the builder was at fault. A number of rectification recommendations were made by the Engineer (but even early on he wasn't convinced how effective they would be due to the significant damage that had already occurred to our house in a short space of time). Of course, the Builder just dismissed the Engineer report, but never organised their own Engineer inspection.
Since then it has been a long drawn out few years where we have been trying to deal with a builder who doesnt acknowledge any fault, is condescending, wont respond to emails for months at a time, and is clearly just delaying/ignoring us, hoping we will go away, so they can avoid having to fix our house. Meanwhile, we keep paying a mortgage for a house that continues to get worse, with doors and cupboard doors that don't open/close, loss of weather proofing, expensive heating due to all the gaps, etc etc (but we cant sell either).
We've read similar stories to ours and just want to say sorry to anyone else who has been through or is going through similar to us. As first home owners with a young family, it has been such a horrible experience, and really has made me question how some people sleep at night.
Anyway.. if anyone has recommendations for construction lawyers in Melbourne that have experience in this area, we would be very grateful.
I've attached a few photos to give you an idea of the damage. Unfortunately, there's many more than this.

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BuildingandLegal · Nov 16, 2025 11:01 pm

You need to dig up all of your photos during construction, these will show stormwater downpipes and yard-gully risers terminating 300mm to 400mm above ground, your photos should also show rain ponding against the slab edge and most likely that positive fall, out from the slab wasn't done until it was done for handover. Essentially you are going to have to show that the builder thumbed his nose at the codes from the very beginning, (because he...knew better). The other issue is, you need to identify were the building surveyor didn't enforce aspects of the build that will have impacted the heave issue you have now.
Why.. because if you win against the builder he can just go broke, where as the certifier has professional indemnity insurance. Your inspector MUST do a compliance inspection, not an opinion fluffy piece...
The critical part is refining your selection for the expert. They are the one telling your houses story and explaining it so the solicitor can present it backed by law.

Here is a link to a redacted report in Qld, were QBCC had rejected the owners claim of builders defective work, our report overturned their decision. This is an example of what you need as a standard of report from the expert you choose. Do NOT choose them because they're a nice guy, ask for samples of their work. Sample Expert Report

Good luck, I understand it's been a long game, but its not going to get any shorter.

CaraS · Nov 19, 2025 12:18 pm

That’s a horrible situation to be stuck in. I’m in Brisbane so I can’t really recommend anyone local, but I get the stress of dealing with a builder who stops replying and it just drags on and on. Really hope you can find someone who knows this stuff and can take some weight off your shoulders.

SaveH2O · Nov 19, 2025 12:42 pm

Mark Croft Legal | Melbourne Lawyers | Property & Construction Lawyers

Mark is a qualified carpenter and was also a builder. He has a lot of experience with slab heave cases.

Good luck.

HayleyD · Nov 20, 2025 10:28 pm

Thanks for your reply, and all of your advice.
Yeah we have photos of water pooling near the slab during construction and the day we moved in. We also have photos showing inappropriate slab protection during construction. e.g. appropriate fall out from slab was definitely not maintained throughout construction; there were no temporary downpipes connected or other water diversion away from the slab in all the times we visited the site, even when the walls and roof were up and there was evidence of recent heavy rain and it was clearly about to storm again. There's also photos showing the fill that was used which was permeable, ungraded (plus the geotechnical report that we had done confirms this). This is despite us having highly reactive soil.
I’m not sure about the yard gully risers? The issue for us is we built right at the start of COVID-19 in Melbourne. So we had limited visits to the construction site. We weren’t even able to come and see the house with site supervisor at each stage. First time we met him was handover. And we couldn’t have anyone else come with us to handover either. We do have photos though. We just look back now and realise how anything could have been going on..
It is interesting that you mentioned the surveyor because we found out that there was a damaged storm water pipe that was actually damaged prior to handover, but never fixed. The builder tried to hide this report from us. Eventually we got a copy and they agreed to fix the storm water pipe, but it had been damaged, leaking water next to the house for over 2 years. They played this down as not being significant, but it is directly adjacent to the area of the house that had the largest amount of movement early on. What I cant understand is how this was missed and how they could be cleared to hand the property over to us with this kind of defect? Makes us question what else was missed?
I’m assuming you mean the structural engineer when you refer to the expert? Yeah he prepared a very thorough report for us early on. The Builder just dismissed/ignored it. Now we’ve got to this point we plan to get him back to do an updated inspection and report.
I checked out the sample report. Thank you. Yeah we know it all won’t be resolved any time soon, but we don’t have any other options.

HayleyD · Nov 20, 2025 10:29 pm

CaraS

That’s a horrible situation to be stuck in. I’m in Brisbane so I can’t really recommend anyone local, but I get the stress of dealing with a builder who stops replying and it just drags on and on. Really hope you can find someone who knows this stuff and can take some weight off your shoulders.

Thanks for your supportive comment. Really appreciate it. :-)

HayleyD · Nov 20, 2025 11:19 pm

SaveH2O

Mark Croft Legal | Melbourne Lawyers | Property & Construction Lawyers

Mark is a qualified carpenter and was also a builder. He has a lot of experience with slab heave cases.

Good luck.

Thanks for the recommendation. Really appreciate it. He was actually on our short-list. But it is hard to know who is good/who to trust

BuildingandLegal · Nov 20, 2025 11:26 pm

Building Surveyors don't review drainage at all, they just confirm the downpipes are connected and it discharges to a legal discharge point.

The building Survey has a Duty of Care, not to you! not to the builder either, their duty it to the Public! They are not inspecting for compliance for you. What??? A Building Surveyors job & duty is to inspect the home for compliance for the home. You may sell in 2 weeks, 6mths, 4yrs whenever, and the new owner moves in to the property. If the works are illegal for you because you engaged the builder, do they stop being illegal because the new owner had nothing to do with the builder or certifier or trades? NO. The Building Surveyor has a duty to inspect and confirm the works are compliant on the house for any current or future member of the public.

The building surveyor inspected the site a number of times over the build, they can't turn a blind eye to an issue from slab stage, when inspecting frame stage, or waterproofing etc.

The ponding, the negative grade from the slab, the non-active surface water system are ALL non-compliant. The definition of Non-Compliance is works that are not to the standard or in-line with the relevant building regulations. Non-compliant work IS illegal work, lets call it what it is!

If the building surveyor attended site and failed to identify and advise the builder of the specific works then they are either negligent or incompetent, but either way it is on them. The code says quite plainly "Surface & Stormwater shall be managed THROUGHOUT construction. Your heave started the same day the site was cut and drainage was installed with risers terminating 300-500mm ABOVE GROUND!

There are many types of experts, engineers focus on structural elements but may have little understanding of other aspects. You need to engage someone that ties the failures of the builder, the certifier the deviation of the building codes and understands the legislation and the duties each player is responsible too.

You need to tell the houses story, what happened along the way for this to have developed. An engineer only tells a part of the story.

HayleyD · Nov 24, 2025 4:22 pm

BuildingandLegal

Building Surveyors don't review drainage at all, they just confirm the downpipes are connected and it discharges to a legal discharge point.

The building Survey has a Duty of Care, not to you! not to the builder either, their duty it to the Public! They are not inspecting for compliance for you. What??? A Building Surveyors job & duty is to inspect the home for compliance for the home. You may sell in 2 weeks, 6mths, 4yrs whenever, and the new owner moves in to the property. If the works are illegal for you because you engaged the builder, do they stop being illegal because the new owner had nothing to do with the builder or certifier or trades? NO. The Building Surveyor has a duty to inspect and confirm the works are compliant on the house for any current or future member of the public.

The building surveyor inspected the site a number of times over the build, they can't turn a blind eye to an issue from slab stage, when inspecting frame stage, or waterproofing etc.

The ponding, the negative grade from the slab, the non-active surface water system are ALL non-compliant. The definition of Non-Compliance is works that are not to the standard or in-line with the relevant building regulations. Non-compliant work IS illegal work, lets call it what it is!

If the building surveyor attended site and failed to identify and advise the builder of the specific works then they are either negligent or incompetent, but either way it is on them. The code says quite plainly "Surface & Stormwater shall be managed THROUGHOUT construction. Your heave started the same day the site was cut and drainage was installed with risers terminating 300-500mm ABOVE GROUND!

There are many types of experts, engineers focus on structural elements but may have little understanding of other aspects. You need to engage someone that ties the failures of the builder, the certifier the deviation of the building codes and understands the legislation and the duties each player is responsible too.

You need to tell the houses story, what happened along the way for this to have developed. An engineer only tells a part of the story.

We are not from a building or construction background. So I'm not sure if I've misunderstood the start of your message. TBH I’m still trying to get my head around who does what etc. This is why we need legal representation.
My point with the damaged stormwater pipe was that we have a final plumbing certificate of compliance issued saying the plumbing was compliant with AS3500.3. But we have evidence of the stormwater pipe being damaged prior to this and never being fixed. After that we have an occupancy permit from the building surveyor and an “independent” final home inspection. All of these reports cleared our property of any issues, which is ridiculous. The builder also hid this from us and avoided providing us with plumbing reports. It took a few yrs before they finally repaired it. So, I’m not sure who is ultimately responsible for missing/hiding this? I just know it isn’t right.
In regards to the non-compliance with AS2870, like you said, the building surveyor inspected the site a number of times during the build, so how were such important compliance issues missed or ignored, especially when we have highly reactive soil? We have since read that the building surveyor that was used is known to not even visit the construction site.
Yeah the Engineer highlighted in detail throughout his report all the reasons why the builder was non-compliant with AS2870 and how that has caused our slab heave. It is just a shame that the person at DBDRV hadn’t read ANY of the documents, or looked at the dated photos etc that we sent prior to conciliation. Instead the builder completely confused her, she had all the dates and years mixed up. He somehow convinced her concrete laid a year after cracking and doors getting stuck started (all documented) was the cause if our slab heave, despite reports indicating the opposite. And here we are a few years later and I’m over all the gaslighting.
I understand what you’re saying about the expert. But if not a structural engineer, who would you recommend? The report we had done also included the geotechnical, soil reports etc. And we’ve since had an independent plumbing inspection. I’m at a bit of a loss. That is why I posted on here. For advice on who we need to engage to best represent us and tie everything together as you have explained.
We are open to all advice. Thanks

SaveH2O · Nov 24, 2025 10:13 pm

BuildingandLegal

Building Surveyors don't review drainage at all, they just confirm the downpipes are connected and it discharges to a legal discharge point.

Spot on,

The surveyor just accepts the plumber's Certificate Of Compliance as proof of compliance. Non-compliant plumbing on Victorian houses has been commonplace for years.

The VBA, during its swan song, conducted a blitz on completed plumbing and found that more than half of new houses inspected had non compliant plumbing.

Drainage blitz sees plumbers pay thousands to fix issues | Victorian Building Authority

HayleyD

My point with the damaged stormwater pipe was that we have a final plumbing certificate of compliance issued saying the plumbing was compliant with AS3500.3. But we have evidence of the stormwater pipe being damaged prior to this and never being fixed.

Yeah the Engineer highlighted in detail throughout his report all the reasons why the builder was non-compliant with AS2870 and how that has caused our slab heave.

A few comments/queries here.

Firstly, in Victoria, the Building Surveyor, by legislation, is appointed by the owner, not the builder. Did you appoint the Building Surveyor? If not, did the builder inform you of your rights?

Re AS2870, this is a referenced Standard in the NCC but for slab and footings only. If the plumbing provisions of AS2870 are to be followed, then they must be either written into the contract or specified by the structural engineer.

Drainage is referenced in the NCC and AS/NZS 3500.3 but they do not include the more detailed drainage requirements for slabs on reactive soils as per what are included in AS2870.

EDITED: Added link.

BuildingandLegal · Nov 24, 2025 10:22 pm

HayleyD you can call me if that helps to step you through it
0449 533 427