4 decisions published by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal between 17 October to 23 October 2026, summarised in plain English. Each one links to the full published decision.
Builders, renovations and building defects
- Builder’s claim for unwritten variations failed and each side was left to pay its own legal costs (QCAT, 2026)
A building company sued the owners of a new house for $85,070.89 it said was owed for extra work, and the owners counterclaimed for late completion and material credits. Both claims were dismissed, and when the owner then asked for her legal costs, the tribunal ordered that each party bear their own costs of the proceeding. - Concreter ordered to pay $11,647.85 to rip up defective concrete and repair walls (QCAT, 2026) $11,648
A home owner had concrete laid at her Brisbane house in March 2024, and the tribunal had already found the work defective and the concreter personally bound to her by contract. At this second hearing on the amount, QCAT ordered the concreter to pay $11,647.85 in damages within 28 days for removing all the concrete and repairing internal walls, on top of an earlier order for $9,338.40.
House rentals, bonds and tenancy
- Tenant ordered to pay $3,386.85 rent arrears after rent-increase ruling overturned on appeal (QCAT, 2026) $3,387
A tribunal member dismissed a landlord's rent arrears claim after finding the rent increase notice was invalid, including because it did not say when rent was last increased. On appeal, QCAT's Appeal Tribunal found that requirement was not yet law when the notice was given, allowed the appeal, and ordered the tenant to pay the landlord $3,386.85 within 21 days. - Landlords’ appeal cuts wrongful eviction payout from $12,323 to $3,793 after rent deducted (QCAT, 2026) $3,794
Landlords emailed their new tenants a breach notice over an unpaid bond, then told them to be out in two days, and the tenants left and claimed their short-stay accommodation and storage costs. On appeal the tribunal kept the finding that the tenancy was ended wrongly, but recalculated the compensation to $3,793.83 because the original award did not deduct the rent the tenants would have paid anyway.
Every QCAT decision we have summarised: QCAT cases. Thinking of applying? How to lodge a QCAT application.
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