The home building process in Victoria,explained stage by stage
Nine to thirteen months from deposit to keys. Here's every stage, what you pay at each one, and what can go wrong.
No jargon, no sales script. This is the same walkthrough we give clients across Werribee, Tarneit, Point Cook and Truganina before they sign anything — including the stages most builders would rather you skimmed.
From deposit to keys, stage by stage
From the day you pay your deposit to the day you get your keys, a single-storey home with Keycon usually takes 9 to 13 months. A double-storey home usually takes 12 to 17 months. About 3 to 5 of those months happen before a single truck arrives on your block — that's permits, finance, colour selection and engineering. The actual build on site takes 6 to 8 months for a single-storey home and 9 to 12 months for a double-storey.
We've handed over 200+ homes across 15 suburbs in Melbourne's growth corridors — Werribee, Tarneit, Point Cook, Truganina, Aintree, Rockbank, Fraser Rise, Deanside, Bonnie Brook, Wyndham Vale, Mambourin, Clyde North, Pakenham and beyond. Our office is in Truganina, so your supervisor is usually less than 30 minutes from your block.
Below is every stage of building a house in Australia as it actually runs in Victoria: what happens, how long it takes, what we need from you, what you pay, and how we keep you updated. Where a figure comes from legislation or from the state regulator, we've linked the source so you can check it yourself rather than taking our word for it.
Before we start: the whole journey in one paragraph
You choose a design and a block. We price it and give you a tender. You sign a fixed-price contract. We arrange your Home Warranty insurance and building permit while you finalise your colours and finishes. We pour the slab, stand the frame, close the house in, fit it out, and hand you the keys. There are six payment points along the way, and every one of them is capped by Victorian law — not by us. That's the whole thing. Now here's the detail.
Homes handed over
Suburbs across Melbourne
Payment points by law
"Our office is in Truganina, so your supervisor is usually less than 30 minutes from your block."
Stage 1 — Deposit and tender (2 to 4 weeks)
This is where your build stops being an idea and becomes a number.
You pay a deposit and we prepare your tender: a line-by-line price for your home on your specific block. That includes site costs, which is where most builders get vague. We don't. Your tender lists soil classification, slab type, cut and fill, retaining, and any drop-edge beams your block needs, with a dollar figure against each one. If you're comparing house and land packages in Melbourne's growth corridors, the same itemisation applies.
What we need from you: your block details or contract of sale, your finance pre-approval, and the design you've picked. All of our floorplans can be adjusted — flipped, widened, re-faced — so tell us what's not working before we price it, not after.
What you'll pay: under the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic), your deposit can be no more than 5% of the contract price where the total price is $20,000 or more (10% below that). If a builder in Victoria asks for more than 5%, that is a warning sign — Consumer Affairs Victoria sets out why, including the risk of a builder taking the money and not finishing the job.
Stage 2 — What happens after signing a building contract (8 to 14 weeks)
Signing the contract is the point people worry about most, because everything goes quiet. So here is exactly what happens after you sign a building contract, in order:
- 1We arrange your Home Warranty insurance through the Building and Plumbing Commission and send you the certificate. (This replaced Domestic Building Insurance on 1 July 2026 — see below.)
- 2We lodge for your building permit with the relevant surveyor and council.
- 3We seek developer or estate approval on your facade and siting, if your estate requires it.
- 4You attend colour and electrical selection — usually two appointments, about three hours each.
- 5We finalise engineering and construction drawings based on your soil report.
- 6Your bank completes valuation and construction loan settlement.
This stage is the slowest part of the entire home building process in Victoria, and it's mostly out of any builder's hands. Council and surveyor turnaround times, estate approvals, and bank valuations all sit outside our control. What we do control is telling you where your file is sitting. You get a written update every fortnight during pre-construction, even when the update is "still waiting on the surveyor."
What we need from you: your selections signed off inside three weeks, and your lender's paperwork returned quickly. Late colour selections are the single most common reason a build starts late — that's not a complaint, it's just the pattern we see across 200+ builds, and knowing it lets you avoid it. Remember that all of our floorplans can be adjusted.
New in July 2026: Home Warranty replaced Domestic Building Insurance
If you signed your building contract on or after 1 July 2026, your build is covered by the new First Resort Home Warranty Scheme, not the old Domestic Building Insurance (DBI). This is a genuine improvement for you, and it's worth understanding.
| Applies to contracts signed | Before 1 July 2026 | On or after 1 July 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Work value threshold | Over $16,000 | Over $20,000 |
| Maximum cover | Up to $300,000 | Up to $400,000 |
| When you can claim | Only if the builder died, disappeared or became insolvent | Also where work is incomplete, defective or non-compliant and the builder is unable or unwilling to fix it |
| Who provides it | Private insurers via VMIA | The Building and Plumbing Commission — the only provider |
Under the old scheme, you were essentially insured against your builder ceasing to exist. Under Home Warranty, you can claim as a first resort — you don't have to wait for the builder to collapse. Cover applies to homes of three storeys or less, and existing DBI policies issued before 1 July 2026 continue under their original terms.
Source: Building and Plumbing Commission — Home Warranty and Domestic Building Insurance and Home Warranty.
One condition worth knowing: Home Warranty does not protect homeowners who use an unregistered builder for work that legally requires a registered one. Check your builder's registration before you sign — ours included. There's a link in the protections section below.
Stage 3 — Base stage: the slab (2 to 4 weeks on site)
Site start. We set out the home, do the cut and fill, install plumbing rough-ins under the slab, lay the reinforcement, and pour the concrete.
Base stage is complete, in law, when the concrete floor is finished. Your slab is inspected by a registered building surveyor before we go any further.
Progress payment: 10% of the contract price.
How you'll be updated: photos of your slab within 24 hours of the pour, plus your supervisor's mobile number. You deal directly with the person managing your build, not a call centre.
Stage 4 — Frame stage (3 to 5 weeks)
The skeleton goes up: wall frames, roof trusses, and roof battens. This is the stage where clients stop worrying, because the home suddenly has rooms you can walk through.
Your frame is inspected by an independent building surveyor for compliance before lining begins. You're welcome to bring your own independent building inspector to this stage as well — many of our clients do, and we book the access for you.
Progress payment: 15% of the contract price.
Stage 5 — Lockup stage: what it actually means (4 to 6 weeks)
Lockup stage means your home can be closed and secured — walls, roof, windows and external doors are all on. It's the point where the weather stays outside.
This is worth being precise about, because it triggers your largest single payment. Section 40 of the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic) sets the test: your home reaches lockup once the outer walls are clad, the roof is covered, the floor is down, and the exterior doors and windows are installed — and the Act counts them even where they're only a temporary fitting.
Three things buyers in Victoria should know:
- Temporary windows and doors count. If some windows are boarded or temporary, lockup can still legally be reached. That's the statute's wording, not a builder's shortcut.
- Your garage is usually included. In Cardona, the Victorian Court of Appeal considered whether a garage forms part of "the home" for lockup purposes, and the position that has been followed since is that where the garage is part of the contracted scope of works, it falls within lockup — because without it, the home can't be secured. Check how your own contract words this; some builders expressly carve out garage doors at lockup and move them to fixing or completion. Ask your builder to point to the clause.
- Stages must be claimed in order. A builder cannot skip ahead and claim fixing stage while lockup is incomplete. If a progress claim arrives out of sequence, that's a question worth asking before you pay.
At Keycon, brickwork or render, roof tiles or Colorbond, windows, external doors and garage framing are all done in this stage. We've built 200+ homes across Melbourne's growth corridors and you can drive past most of them.
Progress payment: 35% of the contract price — the biggest one. Do not release it until you've walked the home, or had your inspector walk it, and you're satisfied the stage is genuinely complete. Consumer Affairs Victoria's checklist on paying for building work is worth reading before this payment specifically.
Stage 6 — Fixing stage (6 to 8 weeks)
Everything that gets fixed in position, inside. Plaster, cornices, architraves, skirting, internal doors, cabinetry, benchtops, baths, basins, sinks, wardrobe shelving, tiling, and the second fix of plumbing and electrical.
Section 40 sets the test here too: fixing stage is reached once the internal linings, architraves, skirtings and internal doors are on, and the built-in joinery and sanitaryware — shelving, cabinets, cupboards, baths, basins, troughs and sinks — are all fitted and secured in their final positions.
This is the longest stage and the one with the most trades moving through your home, so it's also where communication matters most. You get a weekly photo update and a fortnightly call from your supervisor through fixing.
Progress payment: 25% of the contract price.
Stage 7 — Practical completion and handover (3 to 5 weeks)
Painting, final fit-off, floor coverings, driveway, landscaping if it's in your contract, and the builder's clean.
Then we do a pre-handover walkthrough with you. You mark up anything you're not happy with, we give you a written list with dates against each item, and we fix it. We don't hand over a home with an open defect list and a promise.
You receive your occupancy permit, your warranty documents, your appliance manuals, and your keys. Under the Act, a builder must not demand final payment until you've been given a copy of the occupancy permit (or, where no occupancy permit is required, the certificate of final inspection).
Final payment: 10% of the contract price.
Your protections as a Victorian building owner
You have real legal protections, and they got stronger in July 2026. Use them.
- 1A fixed-price contract on an approved form, with your inclusions listed in full. Consumer Affairs Victoria publishes a checklist of what a compliant domestic building contract must contain — run your contract against it, whoever you build with.
- 2Home Warranty insurance, covering incomplete, defective or non-compliant work up to $400,000 on homes of three storeys or less, for contracts signed on or after 1 July 2026. Ask for your certificate. BPC — Home Warranty
- 3Check our registration before you sign. Every Keycon build is overseen by our Licensed Building Practitioner from slab to handover. Verify it — and check whether any builder you're considering has a disciplinary history — on the regulator's public register: Find and check a practitioner. The BPC's own advice is not to rely on advertising, business cards or quotes. That includes ours.
- 4Independent inspections. You're welcome to bring an independent building inspector to any stage of your build. Many of our clients do. We'll arrange site access, and if your inspector finds something, we fix it — that's what they're for.
- 5Progress payment limits set by law, as listed above. Never pay ahead of a completed stage.
- 6A dispute path that doesn't start with a lawyer. Since 1 July 2026, the Building and Plumbing Commission is a single body handling practitioner registration, domestic building dispute resolution (previously DBDRV) and warranty insurance. The BPC can also now issue rectification orders directly against builders for incomplete, defective or non-compliant work. If you can't resolve something with us, that's where you go — and we'd rather tell you that upfront than have you find out when you're angry.
What's changing on 1 December 2026
We'd rather you heard this from us than discovered it mid-build. The Domestic Building Contracts Amendment Act reforms move the deposit and progress payment limits out of the Act and into regulations, so they can be updated more easily in future. Different percentage limits may also be prescribed where modern methods of construction — modular or offsite prefabrication — make up part of the build, and a general proportionality requirement will prohibit builders from claiming amounts that don't relate to work actually done.
Most of these reforms take effect by 1 December 2026 and, under the current drafting, apply only to contracts entered into on or after commencement. Until then, Consumer Affairs Victoria confirms the current rules remain unchanged — so if you sign with us before then, the percentages in the table above are the ones that govern your build.
Source: Consumer Affairs Victoria — New domestic building contract laws passed in Victoria.
What can cause delays, and what we'll do about it
Every builder's process page promises a smooth build. We'd rather tell you what actually goes wrong, because in the last few years it has gone wrong across the whole industry, including for us.
Weather.
Melbourne's west has reactive clay soil. Heavy rain stops a slab pour and can stop excavation for a week or more. Winter builds typically run 2 to 4 weeks longer than summer builds.
Permits and estate approvals.
Surveyor and council turnaround varies by council. Estate design approvals in newer releases can take 4 to 6 weeks on their own.
Materials and trades.
Supply has settled a lot since 2022, but specific items — imported tiles, certain window frames, stone benchtops — can still run long. Where a delay is coming, we'll offer you a comparable alternative in writing so you can decide.
Variations you request.
Changing a benchtop or moving a wall after contract signing is your right, but it adds time. We'll tell you how much before you sign the variation, not after.
Your finance.
Progress payments have to clear before the next stage starts. A slow bank drawdown stalls the build.
Here's our commitment when a delay happens: you hear it from your supervisor by phone within two business days of us knowing, followed by an email confirming the new date and the reason. We don't let you find out by driving past. Since our management restructure, we've maintained a consistent on-time handover record — but the reason clients trust the timeline is that we tell them fast when it moves.
Why families build with Keycon
One point of contact.
You'll deal directly with your builder and site supervisor — not a rotating sales team. The person who signs your contract answers your calls.
Fixed pricing, written down.
Your site costs are itemised at tender, not estimated and revisited. What we quote is what you pay.
200+ homes across 15 suburbs.
Werribee, Tarneit, Point Cook, Truganina, Aintree, Rockbank, Fraser Rise, Deanside, Bonnie Brook, Wyndham Vale, Mambourin, Clyde North, Pakenham, Lara and Donnybrook. You can drive past most of them.
A Licensed Building Practitioner on every build
from slab to handover — not a project coordinator with a checklist.
Custom, house and land, or knockdown rebuild — same team.
Every floorplan can be changed to suit your block, and our knockdown rebuild service handles demolition, permits and service disconnections under one roof.
Payment schedule
For a contract covering all stages of building a home, these are the maximum percentages a Victorian builder can demand at each point. The four construction stages are set by section 40 of the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic); the deposit and final payment sit elsewhere in the Act. Consumer Affairs Victoria publishes the whole schedule in one place.
A builder cannot demand more than these percentages, cannot claim them out of sequence, and cannot demand the final payment before giving you the occupancy permit.
What this means in practice
- 1You only pay when each stage is genuinely complete.
- 2You can walk the site or bring your own inspector before releasing any large payment.
- 3These percentages are maximums, not fixed prices. Your contract may be less.
Progress payment table
| Stage | Maximum | Typical timing |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit | 5% | On signing |
| Base stage (slab) | 10% | Weeks 1–4 on site |
| Frame stage | 15% | Weeks 4–9 |
| Lockup stage | 35% | Weeks 9–15 |
| Fixing stage | 25% | Weeks 15–23 |
| Final payment | 10% | Weeks 23–28 |
| Total | 100% |
Reforms from 1 December 2026 will move these limits out of the Act and into regulations. Read more on the Consumer Affairs Victoria deposits and payments page.
Frequently asked questions
The home building process, answered.
How long does it take to build a house in Melbourne?+−
A single-storey home typically takes 6 to 8 months on site from slab to handover; a double-storey takes 9 to 12 months. Add 3 to 5 months of pre-construction for permits, colour selection and finance, which makes the total 9 to 13 months for single-storey and 12 to 17 months for double-storey. Winter starts and reactive-soil blocks in Melbourne's west typically add 2 to 4 weeks.
What are the stages of building a house in Australia?+−
There are four legally defined construction stages in Victoria — base stage, frame stage, lockup stage and fixing stage — followed by practical completion and handover. Most builders present this as six or seven steps by adding deposit and tender, and contracts and permits, at the front. The four statutory stages are the ones your progress payments are tied to under section 40 of the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic).
What happens after signing a building contract in Victoria?+−
Your builder arranges Home Warranty insurance and lodges your building permit, you complete colour and electrical selections, engineering drawings are finalised, your estate approves the facade and siting if required, and your lender completes valuation and settlement. This pre-construction period usually takes 8 to 14 weeks before site start. At Keycon you get a written update every fortnight during this stage.
What does lockup stage mean in building?+−
Lockup stage means the home is enclosed and securable. Under section 40 of the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic), it's reached once the outer walls are clad, the roof is covered, the floor is down, and the exterior doors and windows are installed — even if those doors or windows are only temporary. It usually takes 4 to 6 weeks after frame stage and triggers the largest progress payment, 35% of the contract price.
How much is each progress payment when building in Victoria?+−
For a contract covering all stages, the legislated maximums are 5% deposit, 10% at base stage, 15% at frame stage, 35% at lockup stage, 25% at fixing stage, and 10% final payment. A builder can't demand more than these percentages and can't claim stages out of sequence. These limits move from the Act into regulations for contracts signed on or after 1 December 2026.
What insurance covers me if my builder goes under?+−
If you signed your building contract from 1 July 2026 onwards, the First Resort Home Warranty Scheme covers eligible domestic building work over $20,000 on homes of three storeys or less, up to $400,000. Unlike the old Domestic Building Insurance scheme, you can claim where work is incomplete, defective or non-compliant — you don't have to wait for the builder to die, disappear or become insolvent. Cover is provided by the Building and Plumbing Commission, and does not apply if you used an unregistered builder for work requiring registration.
How do I check if a builder is registered in Victoria?+−
Search the Building and Plumbing Commission's public register at bpc.vic.gov.au/find-and-check-a-practitioner. It shows current registration status and whether the practitioner or company has had disciplinary or prosecution action taken against them. The BPC replaced the Victorian Building Authority as Victoria's building regulator on 1 July 2025.
Can I bring my own building inspector?+−
Yes. You can engage an independent building inspector at any stage, and we recommend it — particularly at frame and lockup. Keycon arranges site access and addresses anything your inspector raises in writing.
Can I make changes after signing the contract?+−
Yes, through a written variation. We'll tell you the cost and the time it adds before you sign it. Changes to cabinetry, benchtops and tiling are the most common; structural changes after permit approval are possible but cost more and can require a permit amendment.
Where does Keycon build?+−
We build across 15 suburbs in Melbourne's growth corridors, including Werribee, Tarneit, Point Cook, Truganina, Aintree, Rockbank, Fraser Rise, Deanside, Bonnie Brook, Wyndham Vale, Mambourin, Clyde North, Pakenham, Lara and Donnybrook. Our office is in Truganina, Victoria.
Sources and references
Every link below was checked and confirmed live on 2 August 2026.
- 1.Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic) the Act itself, Version 093, in force from 1 July 2025. Deposit limits and building stages. https://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/in-force/acts/domestic-building-contracts-act-1995/093
- 2.Section 40, Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic) statutory definitions of base, frame, lock-up and fixing stage, and the progress payment table. https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/vic/consol_act/dbca1995275/s40.html
- 3.Consumer Affairs Victoria — Deposits and payments for building work. Deposit caps, stage definitions, progress payment percentages, variations. https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/housing/building-and-renovating/plan-and-manage-your-building-project/deposits-and-payments
- 4.Consumer Affairs Victoria — Paying for building work checklist. What to check before releasing each progress payment, and when final payment is due. https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/housing/building-and-renovating/checklists/paying-for-building-work
- 5.Consumer Affairs Victoria — New domestic building contract laws passed in Victoria. The reforms taking effect by 1 December 2026. https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/latest-news/new-domestic-building-contract-laws-passed-in-victoria
- 6.Building and Plumbing Commission — Home Warranty. Thresholds, cover limits, what the scheme covers and for how long. https://www.bpc.vic.gov.au/home-owners/insurance-for-domestic-building-work/home-warranty
- 7.Building and Plumbing Commission — Find and check a practitioner. Registration search and the prosecution and disciplinary register. https://www.bpc.vic.gov.au/find-and-check-a-practitioner
This page is general information about the home building process in Victoria, not legal advice. For advice about your specific contract, speak to a solicitor experienced in domestic building law.
Information current as at 2 August 2026. Next scheduled review: 1 December 2026, when Victoria's domestic building contract rules change. We update this page when the law changes, not when it suits our marketing calendar.
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