Bianca and Bianca

In *Bianca and Bianca*, the Supreme Court of Queensland was asked to determine whether a party to a contract for the sale of land was entitled to terminate the contract due to the other party's failure to comply with a notice to complete. The dispute arose after the vendor issued a notice to complete to the purchaser, who subsequently failed to complete the purchase by the stipulated date. The purchaser sought to avoid termination, arguing that the notice was invalid.

The central legal issue before the Court was the validity of the notice to complete issued by the vendor. Specifically, the Court had to consider whether the notice satisfied the requirements of clause 9.3 of the standard REIQ contract for the sale of land, which governs the procedure for issuing a notice to complete and the consequences of non-compliance. The Court was required to interpret the contractual provisions and determine if the vendor's actions constituted a valid exercise of their right to terminate.

Strickland J found that the notice to complete was invalid because it did not specify a reasonable time for completion. The Court applied the principle that a notice to complete must allow a reasonable period for the defaulting party to remedy the breach. In this instance, the time stipulated in the notice was deemed insufficient, rendering it ineffective. Consequently, the vendor was not entitled to terminate the contract on the basis of the purchaser's failure to comply with the defective notice.