The decision in early March 2024 of Justice Woodward in Plunkett v Portier Pacific [2024] VCAT 205 (Plunkett) has far-reaching implications for VCAT’s jurisdiction in relation to domestic building disputes.
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If you have encountered water flow onto your property causing damage, injury or economic loss, then you may be considering pursuing a claim in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). However, it is unclear currently whether there are time limitations on raising a claim.
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All Australian states and territories introduced legislative security payment legislation to address poor payment practices in the construction sector. Victorian security of payment law is established by the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Act).
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In Victoria, the Sale of Land Act 1962 (Vic) (Act) prescribes the various information that shall be disclosed about a property in a Vendor's Statement when selling a property. A failure to comply with the Act may result in a purchaser being able to rescind a Contract of Sale.
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The County Court of Victoria handed down its decision of Owners Corporation 1 Plan No PS 707553K and Ors v Shangri-La Construction Pty Ltd (ACN 130 534 244) and Anor [2023] VCC 1473 on 24 August 2023. This case is the first decision relating to a claim of the State of Victoria against a builder for costs to remove combustible cladding. The 2020 amendments to the Building Act 1993 (Vic) (‘the Act’) allow the State of Victoria to make such claims.
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In the recent decision of the Victorian Court of Appeal in Thurin v Krongold Constructions [2022] VSCA 226 (Thurin v Krongold), the majority held that the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) lacks jurisdiction to hear and determine domestic building disputes involving the interpretation or application of federal legislation.
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On 8 June 2022, the Victorian Supreme Court of Appeal (VSCA) confirmed the commencement date of limitation periods under the Building Act 1993 (Vic) (Building Act). Where multiple occupancy permits have been issued for a building project, this decision has significant industry impacts.
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VCAT has exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine domestic building disputes between a builder and an owner or a builder and a subcontractor in the state of Victoria. However, the exclusive jurisdiction of VCAT has recently been questioned in light of the significant delays parties are experiencing at VCAT.
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Property owners will typically commence legal proceedings against a builder in the event of defective works for a breach of the warranties implied into each domestic building contract. In response to this, a builder may seek to apportion fault to other construction professionals involved in the project such as the building surveyor to reduce its liability to the owners.
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On 24 November 2014, a resident, who lived in the 21 storey Lacrosse Apartments in Docklands, left his cigarette burning in a plastic food container on the balcony. Fire quickly travelled up the external walls of the apartment building and everyone within the apartment building was evacuated. The fire resulted more than $12million dollars of damage.
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The recent NSW Supreme Court decision in Sydney Capitol Hotels Pty Ltd v Bandelle Pty Ltd [2019] NSWSC 1825 confirms that certain claims which are made 10 years after the date of the occupancy permit will not be time barred under section 134 of the Building Act 1993 (Vic). In Victoria, there are two Acts which prescribe limitation periods, namely Section 5 of the Limitation of Actions Act 1958 (Vic); and Section 134 of the Building Act 1993 (Vic).
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The State Taxation Acts Amendment Act 2019 which was recently enacted has resulted in significant changes to the “economic entitlement” provisions of the Duties Act 2000. Under the changes, a residential developer will be deemed to have acquired an ‘economic entitlement’ to any income, rent or profits generated from the land and will be subject to a duty as if they had acquired a beneficial ownership interest in the land.
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If you are planning to carry out building work on your property, you may be required to carry out protection work to adjoining properties to ensure that they are not affected or damaged by your proposed building work.
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The new ipso facto regime enacted by the Treasury Laws Amendment (2017 Enterprise Incentives No. 2) Act 2017 in 2017 amends the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Act) by introducing a “stay” to the enforcement of contractual ipso facto provisions that are triggered upon the occurrence of certain insolvency related events. The amendments apply to all contracts entered into on and from 1 July 2018.
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The Sale of Land Amendment Bill 2018 (Bill) was introduced to the Victorian parliament in August 2018, passed by the Legislative Assembly on 20 September 2018 and introduced to the Legislative Council on 20 September 2018. A key purpose of the Bill is to amend the Sale of Land Act 1962 to restrict the use of sunset clauses in certain off-the-plan contracts.
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The tragic building fires in the Lacrosse Building of Melbourne in 2014, the Marina Torch Tower of Dubai in 2015 and the Greenfell Tower of London in 2017 have sparked international safety concerns regarding the use of combustible cladding in construction of buildings, homes and places of public assembly.
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Earlier this year an independent government agency called Domestic Building Dispute Resolution Victoria (DBDRV) was set up to help parties resolve domestic building disputes.
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