How to Dispute a QBCC, NSW Fair Trading or Building and Plumbing Commission (formerly VBA) Decision

Building regulators make thousands of decisions a year: direction to rectify, licence suspension, complaint dismissed, insurance claim refused. Plenty of them are wrong, or at least arguable. But the review windows are short, often 28 days, and if you miss them the decision stands. Here is how to challenge each regulator’s decision.

Queensland: QBCC

The Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 gives you two levels of review:

1. Internal review. Apply to the QBCC within 28 days of receiving the decision (section 86A onwards). It is free. A different officer reviews the decision. You can attach new evidence, expert reports and submissions. Many directions to rectify are varied or withdrawn at this stage.
2. External review at QCAT. If the internal review goes against you, apply to QCAT within 28 days of that decision (section 87). QCAT hears the matter afresh and can confirm, vary or set aside the decision. Reviewable decisions include directions to rectify, licence refusals and suspensions, demerit points, disciplinary decisions and Home Warranty Scheme claim decisions.

Tip: a direction to rectify is one of the most damaging things on a builder’s record. If you believe the work is within tolerance under the Standards and Tolerances Guide, get an independent report and lodge the internal review immediately. Do not let the 28 days run while you argue with the inspector.

New South Wales: Fair Trading

NSW Fair Trading can issue a rectification order under section 48I of the Home Building Act 1989 after a complaint and inspection. If you are the builder and disagree, you can apply to NCAT for review. Check the order itself: it will state the review period, which is generally 28 days. NCAT sits in its Consumer and Commercial Division for these matters and can affirm, vary or set aside the order.

Licensing decisions (refusal, suspension, cancellation, conditions) are also reviewable at NCAT under section 83B of the Act. Again, 28 days from notice of the decision.

If you are the homeowner and Fair Trading declined to make an order, you are not stuck. You can file your own home building claim at NCAT directly. Fair Trading’s inspection report, even an unhelpful one, becomes part of your evidence.

Victoria: the Building and Plumbing Commission

The Building and Plumbing Commission (formerly the VBA and Domestic Building Dispute Resolution Victoria) has two roles to keep straight:

• As regulator (formerly the VBA), it handles registration, discipline and building permits. Disciplinary decisions against registered practitioners under the Building Act 1993 can be reviewed at VCAT within 28 days. Decisions about building permits, orders and surveyor determinations go to the Building Appeals Board, generally within 30 days.
• Its dispute resolution service (formerly DBDRV) is the compulsory first step for most domestic building disputes between owners and builders. If it issues a dispute resolution order or a certificate of conciliation, the next stop is VCAT’s Building and Property List. Check the certificate for time limits on filing.

Western Australia: Building and Energy and SAT

Complaints are decided by the Building Commissioner under the Building Services (Complaint Resolution and Administration) Act 2011. Building remedy orders and disciplinary findings can be reviewed by the State Administrative Tribunal within 28 days.

How to prepare a review application

1. Get the decision and the file. Request the inspector’s report, photos and any expert opinion the regulator relied on. You are entitled to know the case against you.
2. Identify the error. Was the finding wrong on the facts (the work is within tolerance), wrong on the law (the regulator had no power to make the order), or procedurally unfair (you were not given a chance to respond)? Name it.
3. Get independent evidence. A report from a registered building inspector or engineer addressing the specific findings. Generic reports do not help.
4. Draft the application properly. Tribunal forms ask for the decision under review, the orders you seek and the grounds. Grounds should be specific, numbered, and tied to evidence.
5. Ask for a stay if you need one. If the decision takes effect immediately (licence suspension, rectification with a short deadline), apply for a stay pending the review at the same time.
6. File before the deadline. An application filed on day 29 is usually dead. Extensions are possible but rarely granted without a very good reason.

Do not go in unprepared

Tribunal members see hundreds of these. A rambling application that says “the inspector was biased” goes nowhere. A tight application that says “Finding 3 is wrong because the measured deflection is 2 mm, which is within the tolerance in section 12.2 of the Guide, see attached report” gets results.

Get your application drafted today

Claim Done drafts your Tribunal Application for $97. Tell us about the regulator’s decision and your evidence. We produce a draft application for QCAT, NCAT, VCAT or SAT citing the review provisions and setting out your grounds. You attach your own evidence and file it yourself, on time.

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