Kulowall Construction Pty Ltd v Chellem

Kulowall Construction Pty Ltd has applied for leave to appeal against the orders made by the State Administrative Tribunal on 2 November 2022 in favour of the respondents, Obed Chellem and Shazia Ali. The orders mandated the builder to complete the construction of a double-storey house according to the terms of the home building contract and to compensate the owners for losses due to the builder's breach of contract. The builder contends that the Tribunal lacked jurisdiction to find it was not entitled to increase the contract price and to order compensation. The court found that the owners' complaint was sufficiently broad to include the builder's justification for stopping work, thus the Tribunal had jurisdiction to assess the builder's right to increase the contract price. Furthermore, the Tribunal's finding that the builder's suspension of work was unlawful inherently included a rejection of the builder's justification for the suspension, thereby justifying the compensation order.

The builder's appeal for leave to challenge the Tribunal's jurisdiction was dismissed. The court determined that the owners' complaint was adequately comprehensive to cover the builder's justification for halting work, thereby granting the Tribunal jurisdiction to examine the builder's entitlement to raise the contract price. Additionally, the Tribunal's determination that the builder's work suspension was unlawful inherently entailed a rejection of the builder's rationale for the suspension, thereby justifying the compensation order. The application for leave to appeal has been denied, and the court will now address the issue of costs.