Unik Constructions suspended after BPC finds up to 500 defects at Carrum Downs site.
The Building and Plumbing Commission has cancelled the director's personal registrations and is proposing a $230,000 fine plus cancellation of the company — the cancellation is stayed pending a VCAT review the director has lodged.
01The builder
A Knoxfield-based residential builder with 16 years on the ASIC register, operating across Melbourne's south-east.
Unik Constructions Pty Ltd has been registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission since 28 May 2009, originally under the name Sara Homes Pty. Ltd., and rebranded to Unik Constructions in 2014. The company's registered office is in Knoxfield and its public marketing describes operations across Boronia, Bayswater, Ferntree Gully, Croydon, Mulgrave, Doveton and other south-east Melbourne suburbs.
On its own website, the company says its director Pratheepan Saravanapavan has "more than 15 years of experience in the building industry" and has overseen "in excess of 600 projects." As at the time of writing, the public-facing website remains active and continues to market the company's services.
The four building registrations held by Unik and Saravanapavan are summarised below. All four were immediately suspended in the morning of 13 December 2025 in the interests of the public, pending a show-cause process and any VCAT review.
CDB-U 59675CCB-L 75296DB-U 37125CB-L 3768602What inspectors found at Carrum Downs
A multi-day inspection at a seven-townhouse development triggered the immediate suspension.
The BPC's media release of 22 December 2025 says inspectors identified 70 building defects on just one of the seven townhouses under construction at the Carrum Downs site, and that the builder is "potentially responsible for as many as 500 defects" at that site overall. The regulator's framing is that this is a record number of defects identified at a single site under construction.
The defects include several the BPC describes as posing serious safety risks, including deficiencies in fire wall separation framing and other structural issues.
03The five-site pattern
Carrum Downs was not the only Unik site where inspectors had ordered rectifications.
The BPC says Unik Constructions had failed to fully comply with directions to fix defective work at the Carrum Downs site "and at other sites under construction in Mitcham, Bayswater, Nunawading, and Croydon." Across all five sites, the regulator issued 19 rectification notices for non-compliant plumbing work.
The show-cause notice also alleges Saravanapavan provided "false and misleading termite protection work certificates to relevant building surveyors on more than 60 occasions." These are allegations contained in the show-cause notice; they have not been determined.
04Boronia: the three-professional failure
A four-bedroom unit in Boronia is the centre of a separate, criminal prosecution. Every professional certified to act on the property has now faced regulator action.
In May 2025, the BPC filed criminal charges against Unik Constructions Pty Ltd and Saravanapavan over the construction of a four-bedroom unit in Boronia. The plumber on the same property, Daniel King, was separately fined more than $12,000 after the homeowner complained that his work had contributed to mould issues and a rat infestation.
On 24 April 2026, the regulator concluded a third strand of action against the Boronia property. A VBA show-cause process — commenced before the BPC took over on 1 July 2025 and concluded by the BPC after the transition — established disciplinary grounds against the relevant building surveyor for the property, Jason Singh (BS-U 25124). Singh was reprimanded and ordered to pay penalties capped at $6,000.
The disciplinary grounds against Singh established contraventions of section 44(b) of the Building Act 1993 (Vic) — issuing occupancy permits without sighting the section 221ZH plumbing compliance certificates required before occupation — and a contravention of regulation 265(a) of the Building Regulations, the standard requiring building surveyors to carry out their work "in a competent manner and to a professional standard."
A building surveyor must not issue an occupancy permit unless satisfied that the building is suitable for occupation, which requires sighting the plumbing compliance certificates for the relevant plumbing work before issuing the permit.
The BPC register's published summary of substantiated grounds against Singh describes a sequence of inspection failures — "failed to act in timely manner to issue directions to fix, initiate enforcement action or obtain inspection reports or certificates," failing to take enforcement action after being informed that "a swimming pool shell had been installed at the site without a mandatory stage inspection," "issued notice of imminent lapse of permit without basis," and accepting inspection certificates "which should not have been relied on in good faith given inordinate delay, deficiencies, and other issues."
"The BPC's only ability to act against the builder, with its current powers, is through legal proceedings as the Boronia unit was occupied when the complaint came in."
The implication is structural: a builder, a plumber, and a building surveyor were each independently certified to act on the same property. Each held a separate registration. Each held separate legal obligations. The public record now shows action against all three.
05The historical record
The 2025 BPC action is not the first regulator or court matter Unik Constructions has faced.
The 2021 WorkSafe conviction followed multiple site visits from August 2017 at which WorkSafe inspectors issued repeated improvement and prohibition notices over unsafe work at height. The company pleaded guilty to two charges of failing to eliminate or reduce the risk of a fall from height and two charges of failing to prepare or perform work in accordance with a Safe Work Method Statement.
06The penalty: three tracks
The regulator action against Unik and Saravanapavan now runs on three parallel tracks — some in force, some decided but stayed, some still proposed.
The practical position as at 21 May 2026 is that the director and the company are barred from operating under any of the four registrations (Track 1); the substantive disciplinary decision against the director personally has been made but is under tribunal review (Track 2); and the company-level cancellation and the $230,000 fine remain proposed (Track 3).
07Timeline
Most-recent first. The matter is live and being updated as events unfold.
08Regulator statement
The Commissioner's framing.
"This is one of the worst cases of building work we've seen, and we've taken action to protect consumers. Most builders do the right thing but those who don't need to realise there's a new regulator in town who will hold you to account."
09Prior Site Inspections investigation
Site Inspections previously investigated the Boronia property. The video is referenced here as part of the public record.
Site Inspections conducted an on-site investigation of the Boronia property at the centre of the criminal prosecution, interviewed the homeowner, and produced a video documenting the inspection findings. The original was removed from the @Siteinspections main YouTube channel following a privacy complaint and was reuploaded to the channel TikTok Inspector on 6 July 2025. The article elsewhere relies on regulator, court, and tribunal records for its factual claims; the video is provided as part of the public record only.
10What this means for homeowners
If you have signed with Unik Constructions, are in the process of signing, or are concerned about another builder, the steps below are based on Victorian regulator guidance.
Under Victorian law, all domestic building work valued at more than $10,000 must be carried out by a registered builder. The Building and Plumbing Commission is the regulator of building practitioners in Victoria since 1 July 2025.
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1
Check current registration. Search any builder's name and registration number at
bpc.vic.gov.au— the Prosecution and Disciplinary Register lists every suspension, cancellation, and disciplinary action. -
2
If you have an active contract with Unik Constructions, contact the BPC directly through
bpc.vic.gov.auor the consumer hotline. Document your contract, deposits paid, work completed, and any defects you have raised in writing. - 3 If you are mid-build with any builder, confirm Domestic Building Insurance is in place for work over $16,000. The cover is held with the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority and responds if a builder dies, disappears, or becomes insolvent.
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4
Before signing a new contract, never pay a deposit greater than 5% of the contract price (section 11, Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic)). Verify the builder's registration is current and unrestricted at
bpc.vic.gov.auon the day you sign.
The BPC has stated that a new post-occupancy rectification order power will be in force from 2026, enacted through the Building Legislation Amendment (Buyer Protections) Act 2025 (Vic). When that power is in force, the regulator will be able to compel rectification work directly, reducing reliance on homeowners pursuing builders through VCAT or the courts.
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