Victorian Government announces compensation payments for Porter Davis customers

By Georgia Tacey

Apr 20, 2023

Compensation: The state government will step in to help more than 500 families. Photo: AAP Image.

The Victorian Government has announced that Porter Davis customers who were left without insurance after the company failed to take it out for them will be compensated.

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Customers will be receiving compensation payments if they signed their contracts and paid their deposits, but Porter Davis did not take out domestic building insurance, which is in breach of its obligations.

More than 500 families have been affected after discovering their deposits had been lost due to the company not taking out insurance on their behalf.

A website will be established for customers to register for the relief scheme. Customers without DBI will now be treated as if Porter Davis took it out in the first place.

Premier Daniel Andrews said the scheme would help customers get refunded as soon as possible.

“This one-off scheme is about making sure that hard-earned money of Porter Davis customers is refunded as quickly as possible and we’ll keep investigating the actions of Porter Davis to ensure this can’t happen again,” he said.

The one-off scheme will be available for all customers who have been affected, and the Department of Government Services will work with the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority to verify and approve the claims and deliver compensation as soon as possible.

Authorities are investigating the actions of Porter Davis leading up to the company’s demise, to establish what happened and help form future reforms to protect consumers.

The Victorian Building Authority is also investigating Porter Davis Homes for potential breaches of law.