The Victorian Auditor General's Office reports that 96 per cent of building permits issued did not comply with minimum statutory safety and building standards.

Building and advisory service Archicentre says this has raised major questions for new home builders and renovators.

Archicentre chief executive, Mark Stewart said, "The findings show that people relying on building surveyor's reports to ensure their home is being built properly should clearly understand that a building surveyor's report will just cover the compliance aspects of the building, not the quality of the construction".

"The Auditor General's Office also found that a basic monitoring framework of the building surveyor's reports is yet to be established after five years which means the system itself also has insufficient quality assurance."

Stewart said the findings highlighted the need for new home builders and renovators to put in place their own independent quality control system, either through appointing a qualified project manager or by organising independent quality assurance checks.