In the media
'The industry is falling apart': New cladding
alert pushes crisis into the suburbs
Thousands more properties could now be caught up in
Australia's cladding crisis, as authorities issue an alert
warning against the use of another nine types of the material,
including cladding commonly used on single-storey suburban homes
(21 February 2019). More...
When your home is a fire risk but you can’t afford
to fix it
There are hundreds of buildings around Australia covered
in combustible cladding, but fixing the problem is expensive and
the only government scheme is yet to hand out a single loan (16
February 2019). More...
Litigation funder IMF Bentham gets behind
Australia’s first combustible cladding class action
It’s the first time a combustible cladding class
action has been launched in Australia and is being backed by global
litigation funder IMF Bentham. Compensation is for people who have
interests in buildings in Australia that have certain types of
aluminium composite panel cladding with a combustible core
comprised substantially of polyethylene (PE) (15
February 2019). More...
We need all hands on deck to restore trust in the
building industry
These cladding events have created a distinct feeling of
unease among building professionals, industry members, government
bodies and the Australian public. Outrage continues over how these
high-rise residential buildings were ever allowed to be clad in
such easily flammable materials. It is an oversight on the part of
the building and construction industry and Australian governments
(14 February 2019). More...
The case for passive homes as a national standard:
Opinion
The energy policies and building standards that govern our
homes need to keep us comfortable and limit global warming. Passive
house, a rigorous building standard for ultra-low energy buildings,
ticks these boxes (14 February 2019). More...
Ministers back combustible cladding ban
Building ministers at federal and state levels have agreed
in principle to ban “unsafe” combustible cladding
materials in new construction projects. The ministers also agreed
on the need to enforce the National Construction Code, which bars
the use of combustible cladding on buildings three storeys or
higher (11 February 2019). More...
Opal report clarifies rare occurrence but structural
design consistency is essential
The final report on structural failures in the Opal Tower
by three Professors of Engineering states that the failures were a
rare occurrence says the Urban Taskforce. The final report on the
structural failures on the Opal Tower focuses on engineering design
errors as the primary cause (22 February 2019). More...
Hundreds still homeless as report finds Opal Tower beams
'burst' under pressure
With 259 units of the 392-unit apartment complex still
empty following its evacuation, the NSW Government releases its
final report into the Opal Tower cracks, finding that more work
needs to be done (21 February 2019). More...
Biggest overhaul of building laws in New South Wales
history
The NSW Government will appoint a Building Commissioner to
act as the consolidated building regulator in NSW, including with
responsibility for licensing and auditing practitioners. The plan
will also clarify the law to ensure there is an industry-wide duty
of care to homeowners and owners corporations so that they have the
right to compensation where a building practitioner has been
negligent (11 February 2019). More...
Registration of all building practitioners required in
New South Wales to lift confidence
The announcement by the NSW Government that they will
register building practitioners will lift confidence in the
building industry say the Urban Taskforce. Most builders,
developers and design consultants involved in high rise buildings
in New South Wales perform at a high professional level (11
February 2019). More...
Published
AIBS Member Communique - Building Ministers Forum
At the conclusion of each Building Ministers Forum
(BMF), a communique is issued on behalf of the
Chair and the State & Territory Ministers. The communique from
this BMF can be found here (11 February 2019).
In practice and courts
AIBS Statement – PI insurance availability
AIBS has released a statement regarding the availability
of PI insurance for building surveyors in Australia (21 February
2019). More...
ABCB Advice: CodeMark Certificates withdrawn
Certificates of Conformity have recently been withdrawn by
the relevant Certification Body. Withdrawal of these Certificates
of Conformity means that they are no longer current and are
therefore not recognised as a form of evidence of suitability under
NCC Volume One A2.2 and NCC Volume Two 1.2.2, as implemented
through State and Territory legislation (20 February 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.
NSW Fair Trading: Changes to building laws
In response to the Building Confidence Report, the
Government will support the majority of recommendations, including
requiring that: builders declare that buildings have been built
according to their plans, and requiring building designers and
builders to be registered for this purpose (19 February 2019.
More...
Public Warning – Do not deal with CDA Fencing Pty
Ltd and Matthew Geoffrey Rixon
NSW Fair Trading Commissioner, Rose Webb, has issued a
public warning advising consumers not to deal with CDA Fencing Pty
Ltd and Matthew Geoffrey Rixon – or his suspected aliases
“Matthew Douglas” and “Matt Douglas”. Fair
Trading reminds consumers to only deal with licensed traders if the
work requires a licence. Licences can be verified on Fair
Trading’s website (22 February 2019). More...
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.
Cases
New South Wales
The Sydney Building Company
Limited v Sinac [2019] NSWCATAP
43
APPEAL – Determination of jurisdiction
below – appeal form interlocutory decision.
HOME BUILDING – Time by which application must be
commenced – completion of works.
Bulloch v Linden Building
Services Pty Ltd t/as Linden Constructions
[2019] NSWCATAP 42
APPEAL – Costs – substantive proceedings
settled before hearing – discretion to order costs –
whether one party was almost certain to have succeeded if
heard.
Kapeller v BH Australia
Constructions Pty Ltd [2019] NSWCATAP
40
APPEAL – Contract – identity of
contracting builder – Home Building Act 1989 – error of
law
Hamed v Borg
[2019] NSWCATAP 38
APPEAL – Home building – where parties
contracted for construction of granny flat – where builder
installed water tank on pavers – where tank fell over causing
damage – whether Tribunal’s decision that builder not
responsible for collapse of tank was legally unreasonable –
whether decision was against the weight of evidence due to the
Tribunal’s failure to give a plumber’s report any
weight – whether Tribunal failed to have regard to relevant
considerations or critical evidence when failing to consider plans
– whether appellant should be permitted to raise a new ground
of appeal at the hearing.
Legislation
New South Wales
Regulations and other miscellaneous instruments
Home Building Amendment (Miscellaneous) Regulation 2019 (2019-76) — published LW 15 February 2019
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.