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ARTICLE · 12 FEBRUARY 2025

High Court provides clarity on construction liability

Corrs Chambers Westgarth
Corrs Chambers Westgarth
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Corrs Chambers Westgarth

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Looks at recent HC decision (Pafburn v The Owners - Strata Plan No 84674) & its implications for distressed construction matters.

AustraliaReal Estate and Construction
Craig Ensor
Craig Ensor
Andrew Edington
Andrew Edington
Hannah Tsavalas
Hannah Tsavalas
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In this week's TGIF, we look at the recent High Court of Australia decision in Pafburn Pty Limited v The Owners - Strata Plan No 84674 [2024] HCA 49 and its implications for distressed construction matters.

Key takeaways

  • Where a financier has greater oversight or control over activities being undertaken on the project site (e.g. where it has appointed a receiver/AMIP or is otherwise controlling the activities), the financier may consider taking proactive steps to monitor the quality of the works to minimise the risk of defects.

  • Where controllers have delegated the actual construction work to be undertaken by a builder or a subcontractor, the property owners may still allege that defects were either caused by the controllers or that they occurred during the period of controllers' appointment.

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