Residential Building Work Contracts and Dispute Resolution Act 2016 (Tas)

Residential Building Work Contracts and Dispute Resolution Act 2016

An Act to regulate certain residential building contracts, to provide for the resolution of disputes arising under or related to such contracts, to amend the Judicial Review Act 2000 , to repeal the Housing Indemnity Act 1992 , and for related purposes [Royal Assent 7 October 2016]

Be it enacted by Her Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:

PART 1 - Preliminary

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Residential Building Work Contracts and Dispute Resolution Act 2016 .

2. Commencement This Act commences on a day to be proclaimed.

3. Act binds Crown This Act binds the Crown in right of Tasmania and, so far as the legislative power of Parliament permits, in all its other capacities.

PART 2 - Interpretation

4. Definitions (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears – appropriate variation document means a variation document that complies with the formal requirements specified in section 18(2) ; building includes a proposed building or part of a building and a building that is able to be relocated; building contractor means a person who performs, has performed, or intends to perform, residential building work; building site means a place where residential building work has been, is being, or is to be, performed; business day means a day that is not a Saturday, a Sunday, a statutory holiday as defined in the Statutory Holidays Act 2000 or a public holiday throughout the State; contract price, in relation to a residential building work contract, means the total amount payable under the contract for the performance of residential building work under the contract and includes – (a) an amount in relation to labour and materials; and (b) an amount the building contractor is entitled to receive and keep under the contract; and (c) an amount the building contractor is entitled to receive under the contract for payment to another person; cost-plus contract means a residential building work contract under which the amount the building contractor is to receive under the contract cannot be calculated when the contract is entered into; date of practical completion, in relation to a residential building work contract, means the day by which – (a) the residential building work to be performed under the contract is completed in compliance with the contract, including all plans and specifications for the work and all statutory requirements applying to the work; and (b) the residential building work to be performed under the contract is completed without any defects or omissions, other than minor defects, or minor omissions, that will not unreasonably affect occupation; and (c) if the owner claims there are minor defects or minor omissions – the building contractor has given the owner a defects document for the minor defects or minor omissions; defects document, for a residential building work contract, means a document that – (a) lists the minor defects, and minor omissions, in the residential building work performed under the contract, that the building contractor and the owner agree exist; and (b) states when the building contractor is to remedy the minor defects and minor omissions referred to in paragraph (a) ; and (c) lists the minor defects, and minor omissions, in the residential building work performed under the contract, that the owner claims exist and the building contractor does not agree exist; and (d) is signed by the building contractor; deposit, in relation to a residential building work contract, includes any payment for residential building work demanded or received by the building contractor before the residential building work begins to be performed under the contract; Director means the Director of Building Control appointed under section 15 of the Building Act 2016 ; fixed-price contract means a residential building work contract that is not a cost-plus contract; Guide to Standards and Tolerances means a guide approved under section 82(1) ; materials, in relation to residential building work, includes goods to be supplied and fitted or installed in the course of the residential building work; member of a panel means – (a) a member of a mediation panel who is appointed under section 49(2) ; and (b) NCC means the National Construction Code series, published by the Australian Building Codes Board, as varied or replaced from time to time; owner means a person for whom residential building work is being, is to be, or has been, performed; perform, in relation to residential building work, includes – (a) cause residential building work to be carried out; and (b) manage, or arrange, the carrying out of residential building work; prime cost item, in relation to a residential building work contract, means an item, (including, but not limited to, a fixture or fitting) – (a) that has not been selected, or the price of which is not known, when the contract is entered into; and (b) for the cost of supply and delivery of which a reasonable allowance is, or is to be, made in the contract by the building contractor; progress payment, in relation to a residential building work contract, means a payment of an amount that is a part of the contract price for the contract, but does not include a payment of an amount that is, or is in the nature of, a deposit under the contract; provisional sum has the meaning it has in section 7 ; residential building has the meaning it has in section 5 ; residential building consumer guide means a residential building consumer guide approved under section 81(1) ; residential building work has the meaning it has in section 6 ; residential building work contract means a contract between a building contractor and an owner for the performance by the building contractor of residential building work, but does not include – (a) a contract between a building contractor and a subcontractor or supplier; or (b) a contract between a building contractor and an owner builder within the meaning of the Building Act 2016 ; statutory warranty means a warranty arising under Part 6 ; structure includes a proposed structure, a part of a structure and a temporary structure; subcontract, in relation to residential building work, means a contract for the performance of residential building work for a building contractor who is obliged, under a residential building work contract, to perform residential building work; subcontractor means a person who contracts to perform residential building work for a building contractor who is obliged, under a residential building work contract, to perform residential building work; supplier means a person who supplies goods or services related to the performance of residential building work; temporary structure includes any – (a) structure that does not form part of the land and is temporary; and (b) structure of a prescribed type; variation, in relation to a residential building work contract, means – (a) an addition of residential building work to the residential building work to be performed under the contract; or (b) an omission of residential building work from the residential building work to be performed under the contract – but, for a cost-plus contract, an addition or omission is a variation only if the addition or omission is not reasonably contemplated by the contract; variation document means a document setting out a variation to a residential building work contract. (2) In this Act – (a) a reference to the building contractor, in relation to a residential building work contract, is a reference to the building contractor referred to in the contract; and (b) a reference to the owner, in relation to a residential building work contract, is a reference to the owner referred to in the contract; and (c) a reference to performing residential building work, or residential building work performed, under a residential building work contract includes a reference to residential building work that a building contractor arranges, or manages the carrying out of, under a subcontract in order to comply with the building contractor's obligations under the residential building work contract.