Construction Law Update - March 2016

The Queensland Government has launched a review of the Retail Shop Leases Act 1994, examining how the legislation governs rights, obligations and dispute resolution for retail tenancies. This review comes amid significant growth in retail turnover, constrained floorspace, rising rental prices, and a dramatic increase in mediation applications—from 24 in 2021-22 to 305 in 2024-25.

The collapse of the Bathla Group has sent ripples through Australia's construction sector, raising critical questions about financial distress management in major projects. With Queensland delivering an unprecedented infrastructure pipeline amid margin pressures and market uncertainty, are project participants adequately prepared to identify and respond to insolvency warning signs before external administrators arrive?

The NSW Land and Environment Court dismissed a heritage homeowner's claim against neighbouring trees, finding insufficient evidence to prove the trees caused structural damage. The decision establishes that property owners must demonstrate clear causal connections between specific trees and alleged damage, rather than relying on proximity alone.

This monthly roundup examines five significant NSW Supreme Court and Court of Appeal decisions from August 2026 that clarify critical aspects of the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999, including payment claim validity, procedural fairness in adjudications, and enforcement of judgment debts. The cases address contentious issues such as the 12-month limitation period for payment claims, the relevance of unpaid judgment debts in security for costs applications, and the scope of sec

The Court of Appeal of the NSW Supreme Court has found that emailing a link to documents stored in an online repository did not constitute valid service under the Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Act 2021 (WA), and that strict compliance with the Act’s one-business-day service requirement was necessary to establish jurisdiction.

The New South Wales Government has introduced Decennial Liability Insurance (DLI), a groundbreaking 10-year no-fault insurance policy for new apartment buildings that guarantees protection against serious defects even if developers or builders become insolvent. This legislative reform, passed through the Fair Trading and Building Legislation Amendment Bill 2026, fundamentally changes how apartment owners are protected from structural failures and serious defects.

Easements present significant challenges in property development, from securing third-party consent for infrastructure connections to navigating strict statutory requirements under Queensland's Planning and Building Acts. Understanding when easement holder consent is mandatory, what legal remedies exist when landowners refuse cooperation, and how approval conditions requiring new easements can create project uncertainty is essential for developers navigating these complex property rights.

Vanessa Thompson from Cooper Grace Ward's property, planning and environment team sits down with private client partner Scott Hay-Bartlem to share her professional journey and insights into the firm. The conversation explores the evolution of planning and environment law while offering a glimpse into balancing a legal career with family life.

Directors who sign retail leases on behalf of company tenants often provide personal guarantees without fully understanding the scope of their liability. This liability can extend far beyond unpaid rent to include outgoings, interest, make-good costs, and enforcement expenses, persisting even after resignation or business sale. Understanding the distinction between guarantees and indemnities, and knowing when statutory protections may apply, is essential for directors seeking to limit their personal exposur

When can a commercial landlord in Queensland legally terminate a lease, and what procedural requirements must be followed? Understanding the distinction between a tenant's breach and the landlord's right to re-enter is critical, as non-compliance with the Property Law Act 2023 can invalidate termination attempts and expose landlords to legal risk.

APRA and ASIC have issued coordinated guidance on frontier AI risks, requiring financial services boards to demonstrate direct oversight of AI governance, cyber resilience and third-party dependencies. The regulators' expectations build on existing prudential standards and directors' duties, with enforcement signals indicating that proportionate action must be taken before incidents occur.

Australia's Privacy Act reform has reached a critical milestone with the release of exposure draft legislation proposing fundamental changes to how organisations handle personal information. The reforms introduce a new 'fair and reasonable' test for data collection and use, a right of erasure for large digital platforms, strengthened consent standards, a statutory controller/processor framework, restrictions on trading personal data, and enhanced data breach obligations. These changes come at a time when em

Planning and environmental reforms are reshaping not just approval pathways, but where decision‑making power sits, how legitimacy is earned and how competing policy priorities collide in the delivery of Australia’s next wave of priority projects. The central challenge is no longer speed alone, but whether accelerated delivery can be sustained without undermining confidence, coordination and long‑term outcomes.

A key constraining factor for Australia’s energy transition is the need to convert increasingly complex and interdependent market, regulatory and infrastructure signals into bankable project structures which deliver internationally competitive returns – and to do so at scale and speed.

The Dexus v APAC decision provides important guidance on nominee directors, conflicts of duty and governance in consortium-owned entities, offering practical lessons for infrastructure, private capital and investment structures.

Critical minerals policy is shifting from a focus on export opportunity to a question of national security, energy resilience and regulatory control. As global demand accelerates and nuclear power is repositioned as a strategic energy source, Australia’s export‑focused and restrictive uranium framework is under increasing pressure.

Australia's director identification number regime has evolved from initial implementation to routine governance compliance. Recent legislative reforms strengthen ASIC's enforcement powers and integrate DINs more closely into corporate registry processes, requiring companies to embed verification procedures into director appointments, succession planning and ASIC reporting.

Australia’s social and affordable housing agenda is no longer constrained by policy intent alone – it is increasingly defined by how capital, risk and delivery are structured across the system. While funding has expanded, it remains finite, and will not, on its own, sustain delivery at the scale required. The central challenge is whether the system is configured to deploy that capital effectively, or whether structural barriers will continue to constrain supply.

Joint venture exit risk is no longer determined primarily by formal exit rights, but by whether the underlying confidentiality, information access and governance frameworks can operate effectively in a live sale process. Where they cannot, transaction outcomes – including price, timing and even viability – become materially exposed.

Australia's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 reforms continue to progress, with the commencement of further provisions and the introduction of four new National Environmental Standards.