Termite management systems in new Wollert homes
How termite management works on a new build in Wollert, what the durable notice must record, and how to keep the system valid after you move in.
In short: New homes get a termite management system as part of the build. What it is, where the notice lives, and the landscaping choices that quietly void it.
What gets installed on a new build
New homes are provided with a termite management system in accordance with the NCC and the ABCB Housing Provisions. On a slab on ground house in an estate that usually means a perimeter system, treated collars to service penetrations through the slab, and a designed inspection zone at the slab edge. The specifics depend on the system the builder specified.
The durable notice and where to find it
A durable notice must be fixed in a prominent location, commonly inside the electrical meter box or in the kitchen cupboard under the sink. It records the type of system installed, the date of installation, the chemical or product used where relevant, and the recommended inspection interval. Photograph it when you move in, because notices get painted over or removed.
What to check at handover
Confirm the notice exists and is legible, that the inspection zone at the slab edge is exposed rather than already covered by the builder's landscaping, that penetrations through the slab have collars fitted, and that you have received any warranty documentation for the system. Ask for it before final payment, not afterwards.
How owners void the system without knowing
This is the common failure here. Garden beds and mulch built up over the slab edge, concrete or paving laid against the brickwork above the damp proof course, decking fixed hard against the wall, and soil raised during landscaping all bury the inspection zone. The system may still be there, but nobody can see a termite lead crossing it.
Ongoing inspection is part of the deal
Almost every system is conditional on regular inspection at the interval stated on the notice. Skipping those inspections can affect any warranty attached to the system. This is not the same as the builder's statutory warranty, and it is worth reading what the product supplier requires rather than assuming annual is always the answer.
Where it sits alongside your building warranties
A termite management system is a physical or chemical barrier, not an insurance policy against damage. Building work in Victoria carries statutory warranties with a ten year limitation under s 134 of the Building Act 1993, but a failure caused by later landscaping is likely to be an owner issue rather than a builder one.
Written by the Owner Inspections team from inspections carried out in Wollert. Licensed building practitioners, Building & Plumbing Commission registration CDB-U 53425.
