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Commonwealth

Asbestos exposure andcompliance study indicates risk to trades persons
15 February 2010
An asbestos compliance study has revealed trade persons still at risk ofasbestos exposure, with large amount of asbestos containing materials(ACMs) in older buildings unless occupational health and safety (OHS)requirements on the management and control of asbestos are followed.These ACMs include asbestos cement sheet walls, asbestos cement pipesand asbestos containing electrical switchboards. More...

Defence HousingAustralia:Economic Stimulus Plan fast tracks 6-star energy efficient homes
8 February 2010
DHA’s 6-star construction initiative is in advance of the FederalGovernment’s plan, through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG),to introduce a 6-star energy rating in the Building Code of Australiaby May 2010. In building these homes DHA and their contractors haveconsidered the orientation of the home to maximise air-flow andsunlight; an increased level of insulation in ceilings, walls andsuspended floors; the use of wide eaves and awnings for shade; andtinted glazing on the windows. More...

Govt to spend $10m toretrain axed installers
21 February 2010
Insulation workers will be retrained as the Federal Government reworksits botched home insulation program and tries to avoid massive joblosses. The government will replace both the insulation and solar hotwater rebate schemes, introduced as part of economic stimulus measures,with a new renewable energy rebate, to start inJune. More...

Minister could beprosecuted over insulation safety
16 February 2010
Peter Garrett could find himself prosecuted under workplace safety lawsas a result of the 4 fatalities and 86 house fires linked to the federalgovernment’s ceiling insulation rebate scheme, with Workcover NSWinvestigating recent ceiling insulation deaths. More...

More families to sue over insulation scheme
17 February 2010
A Senate inquiry commencing inMelbourne will hearevidence about the deaths of 4 tradesmen who were working under thescheme. The inquiry will also investigate reports of dozens of housefires in properties which were insulated under the troubled scheme,which was rolled out as part of last year’s $42 billion economicstimulus package. More...

Man sues over insulation shock
15 February 2010
A Queensland retired tradesman who survived a powerful electric shockfrom foil insulation is seeking compensation from the FederalGovernment. Incentive Insulation state managerSeanKelly says afterMrBrierley received a shock,an electrician checked the installation but could find no obviousbreaches and no reason for the accident. More...

Thousands of homes could face insulationsafety checks
10 February 2010
The Federal Government is facing demands that it fund a massive safetyaudit of tens of thousands of homes that have had foil insulationinstalled under its rebate scheme.Environment MinisterPeterGarrett has suspended theuse of foil insulation after the deaths of 4 installers and mountingconcerns about risky installation practices. More...

Rudd backs review of solar panel rules overelectrical fire fears
18 February 2010
The Prime Minister has vowed to review solar panel standards amidconcerns that up to 2000 homes fitted under a federal scheme were atrisk of electrical fires. More...

Victoria

Victoria’s public housing waitinglists continue to fall
17 February 2010
Public housing waiting lists acrossVictoriacontinue to fall as the Brumby Labor Government implements the biggestbuilding project in decades,Housing MinisterRichardWynne said today. More...

Major works underway on toll - free PeninsulaLink
17 February 2010
Construction has started onMelbourne’s newestmajor freeway with thePremierJohnBrumby today turning thefirst sod on the $759 million toll-free Peninsula Link project. More...

$5 million Green Triangle road upgrades ontrack
15 February 2010
Road upgrades in the Green Triangle region betweenHamilton andPortland are progressing well, withbridge strengthening works up and running at theSurryRiverBridge, Roads andPorts Minister Tim Pallas said today. More...

Old bridges pose bushfire risk
17 February 2010
Ageing wooden bridges have been earmarked for upgrades since 2008, butto date only 30 have been completed. This is despite a Department ofSustainability and Environment (DSE) implementation plan warning trackinfrastructure was crucial for timely access to bushfires. More...

Hoddle Street study underway with contractawarded
12 February 2010
A detailed investigation of integrated transport options to improve theoperation of Hoddle Street is now underway as part of the Brumby LaborGovernment’s $38 billion Victorian Transport Plan. More...

Building permit activity in Victoria reachesnew heights
17 February 2010
Building permit activity in Victoria reached new heights in 2009, with arecord 105,568 permits valued at $21.4 billion. The results are 6% and3% higher than 2008’s record $20.2 billion for 102,618 building permits.More...

EPA approval for Eastern Treatment Plantupgrade
EPAVictoria has approved amajor $380 million upgrade of Melbourne Water’s Eastern Treatment Plantwith construction starting in mid 2010. The upgrades at the sewagetreatment plant are expected to improve the quality of the marineenvironment at Gunnamatta and could create significantly more waterrecycling opportunities over time. More...

Sugarloaf Pipeline to boost Melbourne’s watersupplies
10 February 2010
Water from the Sugarloaf Pipeline has started flowing into Melbourne’sreservoirs 5 months ahead of schedule, providing the biggest singleboost to the city’s water supply system in more than a quarter of acentury. More...

New South Wales

WorkCover lowers the boom
19 February 2010
Two construction companies have had severe fines slapped on them after aBatemansBay worker had anarrow escape from death earlier this week. WorkCover has slapped aseries of infringement notices on project contractors WaterInfrastructure Group and SG & CA Grey Formwork Pty Ltd. An order forimprovement was also issued on the project’s scaffolding. More...

Pipeline from Shoalhaven toMurray rejected
12 February 2010
The NSW Government has dismissed a plan to build a $2 billion pipelineand pump water from theShoalhavenRiver to theMurray-Darling system. The scheme was developed by water entrepreneur,FrankSmith, and the managementconsultancy Evans & Peck. More...

Mardi-Mangrove Link construction to startthis month
16 February 2010
The Mardi-Mangrove Link is to commence construction with the FederalGovernment supporting it with $80.3 million in funding. This is thelargest water infrastructure project on theCentralCoast sinceMangrove Creek Dam was built and commissioned in 1982. It is a majorundertaking for the region and a significant investment for the Wyongand Gosford Councils and the Federal Government. More...

$1.3 million infrastructure boost forTamworth
15 February 2010
Minister for Planning,TonyKelly, has today visited thesite of a $1.3 million road infrastructure project which will allowfurther development of the Hills Plain urban release area north ofTamworth. More than $179 million ininterest free loans has been allocated to 37 projects across 33 highgrowth council areas that met the criteria for funding under the LocalInfrastructure Fund. More...

Premier to control infrastructure
18 February 2010
A NSW Coalition State Government would see the Premier take directcontrol of all major infrastructure projects, which would be implementedby an independently chaired body working to a 20-year infrastructureplan underpinned by a 5 year implementation strategy. More...

NRMA anxious over risks from faulty guttering
18 February 2010
Makers and installers of substandard guttering could be forced to paytens of millions of dollars in compensation for insurance claimsresulting from products that do not meet Australian standards. Now theNRMA is considering legal action on behalf of customers whose houseshave been damaged due to guttering that was poorly designed orinstalled. More...

Electricity sale grinds to a halt
18 February 2010
The NSW government is set to announce a delay in the sale of itselectricity retail assets this afternoon, senior government sources haveconfirmed, raising further questions over the funding of publictransport projects. The government hopes to raise $5-10 billion from thesale of the electricity retail and generation trader businesses, whichcould then be redirected to public transport projects. More...

Metro is doomed as start delayed
18February 2010
The metro system is dead, with the Keneally government to abandon plansto begin work on the project this year, amid a push from Treasuryofficials to delay the lines for 20 years. The deferral of the projectleaves large question marks over what the Premier,KristinaKeneally, will announce inher Land Use and Transport Plan. More...

Contractors call for compensation forSydneyMetro tender costs
17February 2010
The Australian Constructors Association has called for the reimbursementof tender costs in the event that theSydneyMetro project is cancelled,deferred or its scope changed significantly. Recent statements by theNSW Premier gave rise to serious concerns that the project may beterminated or significantly transformed. More...

Queensland

Insulation company suspended from progam
17February 2010
Countrywide Insulation has voluntarily deregistered itself from theGovernment insulation program, with a company spokesman stating it hadsubcontracted the work at the Meadowbrook house to Big C Electrical, nowcalled QHI Installations Pty Ltd. The Federal Government is also facinglegal action over the bungled program, which has been blamed for aspate of house fires and for turning a number ofQueensland homes intopotential electrified death traps. More...

Transport Departmentlaunches new road safety accreditation measures
10 February 2010
The Department of Transport and Main Roads plansto introduce a registration system for all traffic management companiesworking on state-controlled roads, requiring demonstrated safety,quality and consistency within their organisational processes.Statistics show there were 6 deaths and 22 serious injuries inQueensland related toroadwork and civil construction between 2003 and 2008. More...

Gladstone-Fitzroy waterproject advances to next stage
11 February 2010
Infrastructure and Planning Minister StirlingHinchliffe said Gladstone and its industries are on track to have anadditional water source following endorsement of the EnvironmentalImpact Statement for the $345 million Gladstone - Fitzroy River Pipelineproject. The pipeline will be the first to utilise the Stanwell -Gladstone Infrastructure Corridor identified for transportation of raw,treated and sea water, gas, mineral slurries and telecommunications tosustain industrial and infrastructure growth. More...

Airport Link illegal truckdriver crackdown
17 February 2010
Truck drivers on the Airport Link project face acrackdown bythe authorities and employers after complaints aboutillegal working hours, noise and speeding. Transport Workers’ UnionchiefHughieWilliams claims governmentcontracts encourage overloading of trucks and illegal worker hours. More...

Gold Coast Titans orderedout of ‘unsafe’ headquarters
11 February 2010
Authorities have ordered the Gold Coast Titansout of their new multimillion-dollar headquarters amid a bitter disputewith the builder. The Queensland Fire and Rescue Service yesterdaydeemed the unfinished $30 million Robina building unsafe and ordered theNRL club to immediately vacate. More...

Government $1 million toimprove safety at low-level bridges
17 February 2010
Minister for Transport Rachel Nolan said theState Government will provide additional protection measures at aselection of high-priority low-level bridge sites with a $1 millionprogram to improve safety near low-level rail bridges in SoutheastQueensland. All rail overbridges with a clearance of 5.3 metres or lesshave some form of protection measure, such as reflectorisedadvance-warning signs, keep-left signs, hazard markers and heightgauges. More...

Queenslandbuilders banned from bidding together
16 February 2010
3Queensland constructioncompanies accused of colluding on government tender prices have beenbanned from bidding on the same projects.Australia’scompetition watchdog is pursuingT.F.Woollam and Son,J.M.KellyProject Builders andCarmichael Builders in the Federal Court over allegations they discussedpotential contract prices with each other before lodging tenders. More...

Simcorp lodges $4.2m claimagainst Titans
16 February 2010
Simcorp has filed an affidavit in the SupremeCourt in Brisbane to back claims the Titans owe it $4.2 million, under afixed-price contract including 9 outstanding payments. Subcontractorsworking on the Gold Coast Titans Centre of Excellence have allegedly notbeen paid since November and it is believed they are owed about $2million. More...

Other

Judgment reserved for ‘WA’sdodgiest builder’
11 February 2010
A Supreme Court justice has reserved his decision in a case involving aman consumer protection authorities have called WA’s dodgiest builder.The department claimedStevePreston committed contemptof court by breaching a restraining order not to represent himself as abuilder. The NSW Office of Fair Trading cancelled Aaron Group’s statebuilding licence in 2008 and warned consumers not to enter into anybusiness withPreston. More...

Publications/Conferences

What empowers individualsand teams in project settings? A critical incident analysis
Authors:Tuuli,MartinMorgan; Rowlinson,Steve
Source:Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management 17(1), 2010,pp9-20 (12)

ACCC: Urgent safety alerton stacked stone tiles
13 February 2010
The ACCC has become aware of the distributionand sale of decorative wall tiles containing Tremolite asbestos, whichis a prohibited hazardous substance Tha ACCC is now working closely withthe Customs and Border Protection Service and Workcover authorities toidentify any other sources of the product in the market to have themwithdrawn. More...

QLD: Proposed amendmentstoQueensland Development Code(QDC) for sustainable buildings andthe Queensland Plumbing and Wastewater Code (QPW Code)
16 February 2010
Draft versions of the QDC Mandatory Part (MP)4.1 - Sustainable buildings and QPW code are now available to view onthe department’s website. More...

QLD:Privatecertifiers course - issuing development permits for building work
17 February 2010
Under amendments to the Building Act 1975 thatcommenced on 1 January 2010, building surveying technicians who completethe Course in Issuing Development Permits for Building Work are nowable to gain development approval endorsement status from the QueenslandBuilding Services Authority. More...

NSW: WorkCover offers thefollowing advice to consumers
Where tiles containing Tremolite asbestos or anyother forms of asbestos bearing rock have been installed, the affectedarea is to be isolated until the material is removed by a licensedasbestos removalist and the area cleared by an occupational hygienistand disposed of as asbestos waste at an approved asbestos disposalfacility. More...

NSW: Community to have itssay on Home Building Act
17 February 2010
The Home Building Act 1989 protects home ownersby requiring builders and trades people to hold licences, have propercontracts and insurance in place for most jobs. A consultation paper hasbeen prepared outlining a number of options for reform that could beincorporated in the new Act with submissions closing on Friday 19 March.More...

VIC:Registered builders for insulation work
15 February 2010
The department has a list of registered builderson its website; it also carries out random checks on installations andprovides a list of deregistered installers who have failed to complywith the registration requirements for the program. More...

VIC:Buying off-the-plan Alert
15 February 2010
Melbourne’s booming property market has seen an increase inapartment approvals - but consumers should be aware of the inherentrisks of buying off-the-plan. The law protects off-the-plan buyers byrequiring their deposit be no more than 10 % of the contract price. Thebuyer also has the right to end the contract if the plan of subdivisionis not registered by the time specified in the contract, or within 18months. More...

Legislation

NSW
Regulations
Building Professionals Amendment (Savings andTransitional) Regulation 2010 (2010-42) - published LW 19 February 2010

QLD
Regulations
Proclamation commencing remaining provisions ofthe Building and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2009

Cases

Farzan Fur Pty Ltd &Ors v Tabrizi; Tabrizi & Anor v Farzon Fur Pty Ltd & Ors [2010]QSC 25
Procedure - Supreme Court procedure - Queensland -procedure under rules of court - summary judgment - where there are anumber of interlocutory applications before the court - where theplaintiffs entered into a written “commercial cost plus contract” bywhich the defendant agreed to construct a residential building - wherethe terms of the contract allowed the defendant to engage subcontractors- where under the contract the defendant would issue a fortnightly ormonthly cost statement to the plaintiffs listing which amounts were tobe paid - where defendant submitted documents purporting to be taxinvoices - where the plaintiff, believing the invoices andrepresentations to be true, paid the monies to the defendant - where itis alleged the defendant knew these representations to be false anduntrue - where the defendant claims for his actual expenditure or areasonable sum for the work done - whether the defendant has satisfiedthat he has a real prospect of establishing the actual costs pleaded -whether summary judgment should be entered in favour of the plaintiff. More...

Cozadinos v Construction,Forestry, Mining and Energy Union[2010] FCA 48
Industrial law - penalty hearing -contraventions of ss 38 and 43 of the Building and Construction IndustryImprovement Act 2005 (Cth) by first and third respondents -contraventions admitted - determination of penalties to be imposed. More...

United Group Resources PtyLtd v Calabro (No 2) [2010] FCA 71
Industrial law - interim injunction - extension ofinterim injunction - jurisdiction to grant injunction -unlawfulindustrial action - relevant considerations in exercising discretion -whether injunction until trial or at all should be granted when unlawfulconduct has ceased and evidence as to probable imminent recurrence isvery limited - relevance of previous history - no notice to respondentsof intention to seek interlocutory injunction until trial - strongprimary case as to historical breaches and very strong balance ofconvenience. Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005(Cth) ss 37, 38, 39, 49(3). Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). More...

Padlyn Pools Pty Ltdtrading as Smart Pools & Renovations v Muggridge (No 2) [2010]NSWSC 19
Costs - ordinary rule that costs follow theevent to be displaced only if onus satisfied that order should not bemade - onus satisfied - unusual proceeding in which leave to appealrefused - no order for costs. More...

The Owners Strata Plan No.64970 v Austruc Constructions Limited & Anor(No 3) [2010] NSWSC 60
Referees/references - Whether the Referee’sexplanation impacts on findings previously made in judgment ([2009]NSWSC 208) - Whether Referee addressed matter remitted - Whether Reportin respect of architect’s liability for Contents Claim should be adopted- Whether architect’s limitation defence available. More...

Coastline Constructions(Aust) Pty Ltd & Ors v Kakavas & Ors[2010] NSWSC 62
Procedure - costs - general rule costs followthe event - multiple issues - failure on one issue - no departure fromgeneral rule - refusal of costs of successful party - nominal success oncross claim - each party to bear their own costs of cross claim. More...

Walton Construction (Qld)P/L & Anor v Venture Management Resources International P/L &Anor [2010] QSC 31
Contracts - Building, engineering and relatedcontracts - the contracts - construction of particular contracts andimplied conditions - security and retention of funds - where anapplication was made to restrain the second respondent from accessingfunds secured by a bank guarantee pursuant to a building contractbetween the first applicant and the second respondent - where the firstrespondent issued a payment certificate pursuant to cl 47.1 of thebuilding contract stating an amount of payment due to be paid by thefirst applicant to the second respondent - whether the amount could beproperly described as “otherwise due”. Equity - equitable remedies -injunctions - interlocutory injunctions - balance of convenience -whether the calling in of bank guarantees would cause the applicantsirreparable harm - whether there is a serious question to be tried. More...

2020 Construction SystemsPty Ltd v Dryka & Associates Pty Ltd [2010]WASC 22
Injunctions - Interlocutory injunctions -Corporations - Winding up - Statutory demand under s 459E CorporationsAct - Application to restrain winding up proceedings based on statutorydemand - Alleged formal defects in statutory demand - Whether statutorydemand a nullity or abuse of process - Turns on own facts. More...

Condor Developments PtyLtd v Helsby [2010] WASCA 16
Contracts - Interpretation - Building contract -Contract for construction of apartment block - Appellant entitled toterminate contract if specified conditions not satisfied - Whetherconditions satisfied - Effect of viability condition - Turns on ownfacts. More...

Nicita v Owners of StrataPlan 64837 [2010] NSWSC 68
Strata titles - Duty of Owners’ Corporation tomaintain common property in Strata Schemes Management Act 1996 s 62(1) -Ingress of water through exterior walls caused damage to carpet inAugust 2003, ineffective repairs were arranged by Owners’ Corporation,dampness and water leaks in 2005 and 2006, flooding in June 2007,extensive interior damage, tenant left, premises uninhabitable fromabout August 2006 - Many calls for action by Owners’ Corporation and noeffective response - Claim for damages and mandatory injunction -Owners’ Corporation joined Insurer in Cross-claim but discontinuedduring hearing. Held: Mandatory Injunction appropriate - Damagesawarded. More...

David & Gai Spankie& Northern Investment Holdings Pty Limited v James TrowseConstructions Pty Limited & Ors[2010] QSC 29
Contracts - Building, engineering and relatedcontracts - Remuneration - Statutory regulation of entitlement to andrecovery of progress payments - Where errors in the allowance of aprogress claim by an adjudicator - Whether adjudication void for want ofgood faith or failure to accord natural justice. Building andConstruction Industry Payments Act 2004 (Qld).QueenslandBuilding ServicesAuthority Act 1991 (Qld) ss 13, 26, 29(2), 67J, 99. More...