In the media
Australia's current building compliance issues
With the Lacrosse fire in Melbourne, the Opal Tower
scenario in Sydney, along with other fires and building safety and
defect issues in buildings in Australia and overseas, we are
increasingly seeing that prior to the drama occurring, the problems
or potential problems with the building were known (18 April 2019).
More...
Housing finance numbers continue dive: REIA
The February 2019 Lending to Households and Business
figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that
the number of loans for housing, excluding refinancing, continues
to decline (09 April 2019).
More...
HIA: OPipeline of building work continues to
shrink
The pipeline of building work which had expanded over
recent years has shrunk over the past 6 months as the volume of
work entering the pipeline fell away. The home building industry
has driven economic growth in Australia since the end of the
resources boom (09 April 2019).
More...
NSW
Brothers who claimed 'exemption' from law fined
$100,000 for contempt
The NSW Land and Environment Court heard Mustapha Kara-Ali
and his brother Diaa Kara-Ali had a "religious issue with the
court" and had ignored court orders to cease construction at a
site in Colo in north-west Sydney, for which they did not have
development consent (18 April 2019).
More...
Labourer takes company to court over construction site
accident
The company at the centre of a catastrophic scaffolding
collapse at Macquarie Park that resulted in the death of one man is
being sued over a separate incident in which scaffolding allegedly
fell and struck a worker on the north shore (16 April 2019).
More...
'It's been a long process': Almost 170 Opal
Tower apartments still empty, repairs only just beginning
Almost four months after it was evacuated, about half of
the units inside Sydney's troubled Opal Tower remain unoccupied
— and rectification work has only recently begun (15 April
2019).
More...
Published - articles, papers, reports
Australian Bureau of Statistics
10 April 2019
Building Activity, Australia, Dec 2018 (cat no. 8752.0)
10 April 2019
Construction Activity: Chain Volume Measures, Australia, Dec
2018
Practice and courts
ABCC E-Alert: Contractor APM issued exclusion sanction
following building code breach
Victorian building company APM Group
(Aust) Pty Ltd (APM) and its
related entity APM Holdings (Aust) Pty Ltd has
been issued a one-month exclusion sanction for its failure to
comply with state security of payments legislation (10 April 2019).
More...
ABCB reminder: NCC 2019
All three volumes of the NCC 2019 preview, as well as The
Guide to Volume One, are now available to download. To get your
copy, log into your NCC account through the NCC Online or create
your NCC
account and login to access. NCC 2019 will be adopted from 1
May 2019. If you'd like an overview of the key changes and
dates, please check out the latest ABCB Connect article '
What to expect in NCC 2019'
here.
City of Sydney: Alternative housing idea challenge
The community will have the opportunity to provide
feedback on the short-listed concepts as part of the City's
consultation to shape
Sydney 2050. The Alternative Housing Ideas Challenge will close
on 8 May 2019.
More...
Hoisting and construction activities in public
spaces
The City of Sydney is seeking feedback on proposed new
approval processes, controls and responsibilities when operating
and working in public places.
The Draft local approvals policy and code of practice: hoisting and
construction activities in public places provides information
for property owners, builders and contractors. The deadline for
submissions is 15 May 2019.
New dates for Environmental Planning & Assessment
Act updates
Councils, certifiers and other industry practitioners have
more time to implement some of the recent EP&A Act updates.
Changes affect new provisions for
building and subdivision certification,
local strategic planning statements for councils in the Greater
Sydney Region and
community participation plans. While most of the changes will
commence on 1 March 2018, there will be a number of other changes
that will involve further design and consultation from mid to late
2018.
Cases
Builtex Constructions Pty Ltd v He [2019]
NSWCATAP 95
(1) Leave to appeal is refused. (2) The appeal is
dismissed.
APPEAL – construction of building contract – whether
notice of dispute given in accordance with the contract –
whether notice of default given in accordance with the contract
– whether contract validly terminated – exercise of
costs discretion – leave to appeal
Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013; Civil and
Administrative Tribunal Act 2013; Civil and Administrative
Tribunal Rules 2014; Home Building Act 1989
Apthorpe v QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited &
Ors [2019] NSWDC
135
TORTS – workplace injury on a domestic building site
– plaintiff roofing labourer fell to ground from roof height
after stepping on unsecured bridging planks between roof and a
scaffolding platform – determination of liability of builder,
scaffolder, fascia and guttering contractor and plaintiff's
employer the tiling contractor – differing assessment schemes
for employer's liability and occupier's liability; DAMAGES
– assessment of claimed heads of damage – Workers
Compensation Act 1987 and Civil Liability Act
2002
The Sydney Building Company Limited v Sinac (No
2) [2019] NSWCATAP 89
COSTS: no question of principle
Elhazouri v Subsidence Advisory NSW
[2019] NSWLEC 41
MINE SUBSIDENCE – compensation claim for damage to
dwelling and other ancillary structures under now repealed Mine
Subsidence Compensation Act 1961 – subsidence at least
partial cause of damage claimed – dispute as to extent damage
caused by subsidence – competing expert evidence from
structural engineers – held causation of damage to dwelling
and incorporated garage was mine subsidence – no evidence to
support claim for damage to ancillary structures – two months
to be allowed to parties to seek to resolve scope and methods of
rectification of damage to dwelling MINE SUBSIDENCE –
compensation claim for damage to dwelling under Coal Mine
Subsidence Compensation Act 2017 not subject to proceedings
– no findings with respect to claim under 2017 legislation
COSTS – Applicant self-represented – Applicant entitled
to limited costs consistent with approach in Cachia v The Hills
Shire Council [2010] NSWLEC 136 – contingent costs order
appropriate to permit Respondent to make submissions on costs
– if no request to be heard within 28 days, limited costs
order in Applicant's favour
Gill v Summit Building Design and Construction Pty
Ltd [2019] NSWCATCD
5
BREACH OF CONTRACT - repudiation– assessment of
damages – work order – weight of evidence
Scarano v Palm Pools and Spas Pty Ltd
[2019] NSWCATAP 79
HOME BUILDING – Whether the Tribunal erred in
failing to find that an agreed damages clause is a penalty clause
– Whether the appellant should be granted leave to raise a
ground on appeal which was not argued before the Tribunal
–– Whether the Tribunal should have considered the
appellant's claim under the Australian Consumer Law instead of
the Contracts Review Act
Webster v Tom [2019] NSWCATAP
75
|APPEALS – home building claim against builder
– allegation of home owners as to a misclassification of
building site by an engineer not joined as a party by the owners
– terms of builder's engagement – agreed scope of
works for builder - no error of law – competing expert
evidence on ongoing cracking and the construction of piers -
whether the Tribunal's findings were not fair and equitable or
against the weight of evidence – whether new evidence was
reasonably available - no other grounds for leave to appeal –
appeal dismissed
Tom v Jenkins [2019] NSWCATAP
74
APPEALS – builder's claim against engineer for
indemnity in respect of builder's liability to home owners for
defective residential building work – builder's claim
based on allegations of negligence and misleading conduct -
extension of time required to appeal – lack of procedural
fairness – statutory interpretation of s 48K of the Home
Building Act – lack of jurisdiction for the Tribunal to
determine the builder's claim – appeal dismissed.
This publication does not deal with every important topic or change in law and is not intended to be relied upon as a substitute for legal or other advice that may be relevant to the reader's specific circumstances. If you have found this publication of interest and would like to know more or wish to obtain legal advice relevant to your circumstances please contact one of the named individuals listed.
