Rosecove Pty Ltd v Queensland Building and Construction Commission

In Rosecove Pty Ltd v Queensland Building and Construction Commission, the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) reviewed a decision by the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) to issue a Direction to Rectify (DTR) to Rosecove Pty Ltd, a building contractor. The DTR was issued following a complaint by the Diamantina Shire Council about defects in a house built by Rosecove. The QBCC upheld its decision on internal review and issued a DTR on 16 January 2018. Rosecove applied to QCAT to review the decision, seeking to have the DTR set aside.

The Tribunal found that the work performed by Rosecove was "building work" as defined under the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 (Qld) (QBCC Act) and that the building work was "defective." The Tribunal found that Rosecove was responsible for the defective work, as it had failed to ensure that the slab and footing design was based on relevant geotechnical information and had not complied with the building approval requirements. The Tribunal also found that it would not be unfair in all of the circumstances to require rectification of the defective work.

The Tribunal confirmed the QBCC's decision to issue a DTR, finding that the Council's delay in notifying the QBCC about the defects was not a sufficient reason to exercise the discretion in Rosecove's favour to not issue a DTR. The Tribunal also found that Rosecove had failed to convince it that it would be unfair in all of the circumstances to require rectification of the defective work. The Tribunal ordered that the decision to issue a DTR (associated with DTR number 0102966) be confirmed.