McGrath v Queensland Building and Construction Commission

QUEENSLAND CIVIL AND
ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL

CITATION:

McGrath v Queensland Building and Construction Commission and Ors [2024] QCAT 396

PARTIES:

CAMERON STUART ANTHONY MCGRATH MILLER

(applicant)

v

QUEENSLAND BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION

(first respondent)

MIGNON HADENFELDT

(second respondent)

DAMON STEVENSON AKA DAMON HADENFELDT AKA DAMON HADENFELDT-STEVENSON

(third respondent)

APPLICATION NO/S:

GAR 166-23

MATTER TYPE:

General administrative review matters

DELIVERED ON:

11 September 2024

HEARING DATE:

On the papers

HEARD AT:

Cairns

DECISION OF:

Member Taylor

ORDERS:

1.     The Tribunal Record is amended to record the name of the third respondent as being ‘Damon Stevenson aka Damon Hadenfeldt aka Damon Hadenfeldt-Stevenson’.

2. It is declared that the building contract entered into on or about 27 June 2022 between the applicant and the second and/or the third respondent was of no effect as a result of s 14(2) and s 14(10) of Schedule 1B of the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 (Qld).

3. It is further declared that, in the premise of the said building contract being of no effect, it could not have been, and so was not, validly terminated, on the default of the applicant, for the purposes of s 4(1)(a) of Schedule 6 of the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Regulation 2018 (Qld).

CATCHWORDS:

ACTS OF PARLIAMENT – OPERATION AND EFFECT OF ACTS – GENERALLY – where a homeowner entered into a contract with a contractor for the construction of certain building works – where the work under the contract was domestic building work – where there was no written contract document, dated and signed by the parties – where under statute the contract was thus of no effect – whether as a result of the contract being of no effect could cover under the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme ever have come into force

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW – ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNALS – QUEENSLAND CIVIL AND ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL – where a building contractor seeks review of a decision of the Queensland Building and Construction Commission to allow a claim under the Queensland Home Warranty Insurance Scheme – where there was no written contract document - where the Commission sought to have preliminary issues decided in terms of whether the contract was of no effect and whether the contract was validly terminated for the purposes of the Scheme

CONTRACTS – BUILDING, ENGINEERING AND RELATED CONTRACT – OTHER MATTERS - where a homeowner entered into a contract with a contractor for the construction of certain building works - where there was no written contract document, dated and signed by the parties – where the homeowner purported to have terminated the contract – whether the contract was of effect such that it could be validly terminated

CONTRACTS – GENERAL CONTRACTUAL PRINCIPLES – ILLEGAL AND VOID CONTRACTS – EFFECT OF ILLEGALITY OR INVALIDITY – where a homeowner entered into a contract with a contractor for the construction of certain building works – where the work under the contract was domestic building work  - where there was no written contract document, dated and signed…