On 1 October 2020, some changes were made to the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 (Qld) (the QBCC Act), the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (QLD) (the BIF Act) and the Building Act 1975 (Qld) (the Building Act). These changes are very important for those who work in the building
FORMER “DWYER QUALITY HOMES” COMPANY ORDERED TO PAY $500,000 DAMAGES FOR DEFECTIVE ROOF CONSTRUCTION
In 2007, Mrs Maria Nel engaged Dwyer Corporation Pty Ltd trading as Dwyer Quality Homes, to build her brand new home at Doonan. In 2016 after a severe rain event, a significant amount of water entered the home through the roof. When Dwyer Quality Homes refused to replace the roof, Mrs Nel commenced legal proceedings. After Mrs
The Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (Qld) (BIFSOP Act) has been amended again. The amendments are wide-reaching and will affect all industry participants. The key changes to the BIFSOP Act are as follows: – Project Bank Accounts are now Project Trust Accounts, with new compliance obligations and penalties. However, full implementation of the regime
Does the carrying out of rectification work reset the 6 year and 6 month time limit for issuing a direction to rectify? This is the question that the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) recently considered. The answer is No. The facts of the case are as follows: Practical Completion was achieved in 2009; The
We’ve recently met with a spate of subcontractors seeking our assistance with payment issues, only to discover that they are operating through a company/trust structure and the company doesn’t have a QBCC licence! Typically, these subbies are unaware that the company must have its own licence. Instead, they have been relying on their personal QBCC
As a QBCC license holder, it is important to follow the rules and regulations set out by the QBCC. Failure to do so can result in a formal warning or fine and in more serious cases, suspension or cancellation of your licence. If your license is suspended or cancelled, your inability to operate may have
Alert: J.R & L.M. Trackson Pty Ltd v NCP Contracting Pty Ltd & Ors [2019] QSC 201 The Supreme Court of Queensland finds that sending an email containing three separate invoices constitutes one payment claim. However, it is important to understand that this decision was made in relation to the provisions under the former Building and
Last week the Queensland Government announced that it is proposing to ban combustible cladding on all new Queensland buildings. The ban will apply to all aluminium composite panels with a PE (polyethylene) core of greater than 30%. The announcement came as the Government is attempting to resolve the Professional Indemnity (PI) Insurance crisis affecting the
When seeking legal advice and/or representation, legal fees are inevitable but how much you spend may be entirely up to you. Here are some tips on how you can control the costs and reduce your fees: LISTEN TO YOUR LAWYER Presumably, you have engaged with your chosen lawyer because of their expertise and hope
Despite what the Queensland Government would have you believe, the answer is; you cannot. There will always be a minority of bad eggs within the industry who will try to avoid or delay payment. However, if you take the following simple steps you can substantially reduce the risk of delayed or non-payments. ACT EARLY Often