The Andrews government will launch a fresh crackdown on dodgy builders, architects and plumbers as it continues to grapple with the crisis in Victoria’s residential construction sector.

The new laws will target "phoenixing" – liquidating firms in a bid to avoid being pursued by victims of shoddy work – by handing the Victorian Building Authority tough new powers to ban builders suspected of the practice from the industry.

Residents of a St Kilda apartment block are embarking on a multimillion-dollar rectification of their building after the cladding on their building became water-damaged. Credit:The Age

The move is a response to a crisis in building quality that is especially acute in the apartment sector, with the government noting too many units are being built by companies which fold “almost after the last nail is driven”.

At least one company heavily involved in the state’s flammable cladding crisis has put a subsidiary firm into administration, freezing claims made by apartment owners in Richmond and Brunswick against the builder.