Brennan v Queensland Building and Construction Commission

QUEENSLAND CIVIL AND
ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL

CITATION:

Brennan v Queensland Building and Construction Commission [2024] QCAT 37

PARTIES:

WAYNE BRENNAN

(applicant)

v

QUEENSLAND BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTIN COMMISSION

(respondent)

APPLICATION NO/S:

GAR341-22

MATTER TYPE:

General administrative review matters

DELIVERED ON:

19 January 2024

HEARING DATE:

On the papers

HEARD AT:

Brisbane

DECISION OF:

Member Richard Oliver

ORDERS:

1.     The application to review a decision filed on 23 August 2022 is dismissed.

CATCHWORDS:

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW – GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW – QUEENSLAND CIVIL AND ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL – PROCEDURE – LIMITATION ON COMMENCEMENT OF REVIEW APPLICATON – STRIKE OUT – where the respondent made a decision to issue a scope of works to respondent – where any review of the decision in respect of a scope of works must be filed within 28 days of receipt of the decision – where the applicant emailed the application to review a decision to the Tribunal on the 28^th day – where the Tribunal processed the decision and date stamped and applied the Tribunal’s seal on the the application to review the day after it was received by the Tribunal – whether the date of filing the application was the date the application was stamped and the seal applied – whether the application was filed within the 28 day limitation.

Acts Interpretation Act1954 (Qld), s 38

Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act2009 (Qld), s 3, s 28, s 33, s 36, s 61, s 63, s 225.
Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Rules 2009 (Qld), r 24, r 31
Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act1991 (Qld), s 86, s 86F

Statutory Instruments Act1992 (Qld), s 7

Bowie v Gala [2023] QCATA 129.

Queensland Building and Construction Commission v

Cocker [2018] QCAT 194

Vignes v Clarke (1990) 2 Qd R 593

APPEARANCES & REPRESENTATION: This matter was heard and determined on the papers pursuant to s 32 of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act2009 (Qld)

REASONS FOR DECISION

1. The applicant represents Brennan Clan Pty Ltd, a construction company (‘the builder’), who undertook the construction of a residential dwelling for the owners at Jubilee Heights in north Queensland. After moving into the property, the owners noticed some defects with the building works and made a complaint to the respondent (‘the Commission’).

2. After inspecting the defects the subject of the complaint, the Commission issued a direction to rectify to the builder. Some rectification work was carried out by the builder, but not to the satisfaction of the Commission. The Commission then took over and what followed was the issuing of a scope of works on 8 February 2022 notifying the builder that the cost of rectification would be $21,246,83. There was email correspondence between the builder and the Commission about this and then on 25 July 2022 the Commission issued a variation to the cost of the scope of works increasing it by $14,885.34.[1] The builder then sought to review the decision about scope of works by filing an…