In the media – National
State of the States: New South Wales and Victoria
continue to outperform the rest of the country
Australia's two-tier economy — where non-mining regions
continue to outperform those states and territories more aligned
with the fortunes of the mining sector — remained firmly
entrenched in the latest quarterly "State of the States"
report released by Commsec (23 January 2017).
More...
Have we passed the trough in resource-dependent markets? The national CBD office market vacancy rate was reported at 11.9% in the fourth quarter of 2016 – a 0.7 percentage point reduction on the year (from 12.6%). Leasing market conditions remain strong in Sydney and Melbourne. The rebound in commodity prices over 2016 has also translated into positive sentiment in the resource-dependent markets of Brisbane and Perth (20 January 2017). More...
NBN could reach half of Australia by June, leaving three
years to connect the rest of the country
Australia's National Broadband Network could be half-completed
by June, the NBN Co has revealed, leaving just three years to
connect the rest of the country, including large swathes of major
cities such as Sydney, Brisbane, and Hobart (18 January 2017).
More...
$12 million boost for positioning technology in
Australia
The funding will be used to test instant, accurate and reliable
positioning technology that could provide future safety,
productivity, efficiency and environmental benefits across many
industries in Australia, including transport, agriculture,
construction, and resources (17 January 2017).
More...
Australian civil construction to thrive in
2017
Many of the industries likely to disappoint this year have
performed strongly in recent years, but research suggests boom
times for these industries are over, at least for the next 12
months, according to IBISWorld senior industry analyst (16 January
2017).
More...
In the media – Victoria
Solar trams transporting Victoria to a brighter
future
Melbourne's tram network will be powered by a new large scale
solar plant to be built in regional Victoria. The Andrews Labor
Government will run a tender to help build 75MW of new large scale
solar farms, delivering $150 million in new capital investment and
300 new jobs (19 January 2017).
More...
More...
Building Appeals Board dismisses appeal for alternative
solution to Lacrosse cladding issue
The Building Appeals Board has dismissed the appeals of owners and
the builder that would have permitted an alternative solution to
replacing the non-compliant product (16 January 2017).
More...
In the media – New South Wales
New South Wales set for several more years of
construction boom: Australian Construction Industry
Forum
Going forward, Australian Construction Industry Forum (ACIF)
expects the value of construction work done to rise further from
$52.986 billion in financial year 2015/16 to more than $54 billion
in each of 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19 respectively (26 January
2017).
More...
A welcome step towards more homes but still more to
do
The Property Council today welcomed Planning Minister Rob Stokes
and the New South Wales' State Government's proposed
changes to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act
1979 as a good next step to streamlining the planning system
and boosting housing supply in New South Wales (16 January 2017).
More...
In the media – Queensland
Queensland subcontractors could lose $2 million on
government contracts
Subcontractors in Queensland could lose up to $2 million on state
government funded public housing sites after yet another builder
has been placed into liquidation, media reports suggest (27 January
2017).
More...
High level building and construction meeting kicks off
year of reform to strengthen the sector
Queensland's peak construction industry leaders have met for
the first time in 2017, kicking off an important year of reform for
the industry (20 January 2017).
More...
$70M brought forward for regional infrastructure
projects
Councils will have access to the $70 million the Queensland
Government's Building Our Regions sooner to help boost regional
infrastructure and jobs, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said today
(17 January 2017).
More...
Palaszczuk Government welcomes release of second
Building Queensland Pipeline
The Palaszczuk Government has welcomed the release of Building
Queensland's second Infrastructure Pipeline Report, an
independent analysis of Queensland's priority infrastructure
projects (16 January 2017).
More...
Published
ACI Construction Briefs A fortnightly communication highlighting key updates related to Australia's construction industry (16 January 2017). More...
Australian Bureau of Statistics
18/01/2017
Building Activity, Australia, Sep 2016 (cat no. 8752.0)
18/01/2017
Construction Activity: Chain Volume Measures, Australia, Sep
2016 (cat no. 782.0.65.001)
18/01/2017
Engineering Construction Activity, Australia, Sep 2016 (cat no.
8762.0)
Practice and courts
Select Committee into the Resilience of Electricity
Infrastructure in a Warming World
The closing date for submissions was 27 January 2017. The committee
is due to report to the Senate on or before 24 March 2017.
More...
Public consultation: National Carbon Offset Standards
for Buildings and Precincts
The Department invites comments on the new National Carbon Offset
Standards for Buildings and Precincts from 30 November 2016 to 10
February 2017.
More...
Senate Inquiry Update
Non-conforming building products
Status: Accepting Submissions; Date Referred: 11 October 2016;
Submissions Closed: 01 December 2016; Reporting Date: 25 May
2017.
Announcements, Draft Policies and Plans released 2016
Queensland Building Plan: discussion
paper
The government would be rolling out a comprehensive consultation
program through early 2017 with public consultation sessions right
across the state. The Queensland Building Plan discussion paper and
information about the consultation can be found at www.hpw.qld.gov.au.
Have your say on the Queensland Building Plan Closes: 31 March
2017.
Cases
Mt
Cotton Constructions Pty Ltd v Greer [2017] QCAT
011
CONTRACTS – BUILDING AND, CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS –
INTERPRETATION OF THE CONTRACT DOCUMENTS – RULES OF
CONSTRUCTION – where contract terms unclear – ambiguity
– evidence of surrounding circumstances – contract able
to be given meaning.
CONTRACTS – BUILDING AND, CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS –
VARIATIONS – builder's failure to comply with statutory
requirements – claim for restitution by owners – claim
for all moneys paid for variations - voluntary payment –
effect of s 84 Domestic Building Contracts Act 2000 (Qld)
– owners not entitled to recover moneys paid.
CONTRACTS – BUILDING AND, CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS –
DAMAGES –- owners giving credit for value of fixed price and
variation work – owners suffering no loss.
McNulty
& Ralph v Sel [2017] QCAT 010
DAMAGES – MEASURE AND REMOTENESS OF DAMAGES IN ACTIONS FOR
TORT – MEASURE OF DAMAGES – DAMAGE TO LAND AND
BUILDINGS – where informal and unsigned contract with
unlicensed builder – where builder did not file response
– where damages to be assessed – where Tribunal may
consider informal agreement in claim for negligence – where
builder had duty to take reasonable care in performing work –
where purpose of damages to restore applicants to position they
would have been in had wrongful acts not occurred – where
costs to rectify and complete directly attributable to builder
performing work without licence, without due care and skill, not to
proper standard or at all, without authorisation and supplying and
using materials not fit for purpose – where partial refund
not recoverable in addition to costs to rectify and complete.
Spencer v Acacia Forge Pty Ltd (Civil Claims) [2017] VCAT
99
Application for review by respondent, claim for refund of deposit
by applicants, contract, essential term. The application for review
is granted and the order made 28 September 2016 is set aside. The
respondent shall pay to the applicants the sum of $6,558.00
together with the application fee of $204.90 a total of
$6,762.90.
Europa Blinds & Drapes Pty Ltd v Bardiqi (Civil
Claims) [2016] VCAT 2212
Action for a debt; accrual of right to payment of contract price;
substantial performance of obligations under contract; respondent
must pay the applicant $2,234.
Austruct Group Pty Ltd -v- Bluenergy Engineering (Australia)
Pty Ltd [2017] WASC 10
Corporations law - Statutory demand - Application for leave under s
459S of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).
ABB Australia Pty Ltd v CH2M Hill Australia Pty Limited &
Ors [2017] NTSC 1
Construction Contracts (Security of Payments) Act 2004
(NT) ("the Act") s 48(1) – application under s
48(1) to set aside adjudicator's determination under s 33(1)(a)
to dismiss an application for adjudication without making a
determination on the merits - by consent referred to the Supreme
Court pursuant to s 18 of the Local Court (Civil Procedure) Act
2015 (NT).
Applicant sub-contractor served payment claim on respondent in
respect of money said to be owing under a construction contract
– applicant in breach of security requirement in the contract
– respondent replied by letter requiring applicant to
resubmit its payment claim for certification by respondent after
provision of replacement security – applicant provided
replacement security and resubmitted payment claim in identical
terms – respondent replied certifying a lesser amount payable
under the contract but claimed to set off that amount against
liquidated damages – applicant applied for adjudication under
s 28 of the Act – adjudicator appointed.
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.