Queensland Building Services Authority v Colmer

CITATION: Queensland Building Services Authority v Colmer [2013] QCAT 61

PARTIES:	Queensland Building Services Authority (Applicant)
v
Steven John Colmer (Respondent)

APPLICATION NUMBER: OCR002-12

MATTER TYPE: Occupational regulation matters

HEARING DATE: 26 September 2012

HEARD AT: Brisbane

DECISION OF: Andrew McLean Williams, Member

DELIVERED ON: 18 January 2013

DELIVERED AT: Brisbane

ORDERS MADE:

1.   The Respondent is to pay to the Queensland Building Services Authority a penalty of $3,000.00 within sixty (60) days;

2.   The Respondent pay the Queensland Building Services Authority’s costs of these proceedings fixed in the amount of $1,500.00 within sixty (60) days.

CATCHWORDS:

OCCUPATIONAL REGULATION – carpenters – failure to comply with a direction to rectify – factors relevant to penalty – comparable cases – factors relevant to the exercise of the discretion to award costs pursuant to QCAT Act, s 102

Queensland Building Services Authority Act 1991, ss 72(1), 75, 88, 89, 91
Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009, ss 9, 10, 48, 100, 102(3)

APPEARANCES and REPRESENTATION (if any):

APPLICANT: Mr Robert Lovrincevic, in-house solicitor

RESPONDENT: No appearance by or on behalf of the Respondent

REASONS FOR DECISION

Preliminary

1. On 6 January 2012 the Queensland Building Services Authority (‘QBSA’) commenced these disciplinary proceedings pursuant to s 88 of the Queensland Building Services Authority Act 1991 (‘the QBSA Act’), alleging a failure by Mr Steven John Colmer (‘the Respondent’) to comply with two directions requiring him to rectify defects in building works that had been undertaken by him at an address at Yathong Court, Arana Hills.

2. The QBSA alleges that on or about 6 May 2010 the Respondent failed to comply with Direction to Rectify No 34689 (‘the first direction’); and then alleges that on or about 9 July 2010 the Respondent failed to comply with a subsequent direction to rectify, No 35036 (‘the second direction’).

3. This matter came on for hearing before me on 26 September 2012. Mr Colmer made no appearance before the Tribunal on that occasion, although voluminous written submissions had been received by the QCAT Registry from the Respondent, prior to the date of the hearing.

4. Having satisfied myself that Mr Colmer had received sufficient notice of the hearing conducted on 26 September 2012, the matter proceeded to be heard in his absence, yet with regard to his written submissions.

Statutory Framework

1. As a starting point, it is to be recognised that the QBSA is conferred with various regulatory powers pursuant to the QBSA Act. As part of that, pursuant to s 72(1), the QBSA has the power to issue directions to building industry license holders requiring them to undertake rectification works, if the QBSA is of the opinion that building work undertaken by the license holder is either defective, or is otherwise incomplete. In the event that a direction to rectify is issued to a licence holder by the QBSA pursuant to s 72(1), then the license holder must satisfactorily address the defective or incomplete building work, within the time frame required by the direction.

2. Next, pursuant…