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ARTICLE · 17 MARCH 2018

Residential Focus - 14 March 2018 - Part 1: Unlicensed building

Holding Redlich
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The decision is a warning to repeat offenders who undertake or supervise construction work without a contractor licence.

AustraliaReal Estate and Construction
Christine Jones
Christine Jones
Eleanor Grounds
Eleanor Grounds
Christopher Aaron Yong
Christopher Aaron Yong
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Unlicensed building and its consequences

The Supreme Court of New South Wales has issued a stern warning to builders who repeatedly operate unlicensed in breach of the Home Building Act 1989 (NSW) (the Act). In NSW Commissioner for Fair Trading v Rixon (No. 4) [2018] NSWSC 1, the defendant was convicted of contempt of court and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment (with a non-parole period of 12 months) for breaching orders prohibiting him from operating without a valid contractor licence.

Licensing requirements under the Act

Section 4 of the Act provides that a person must not contract to do any residential building work or specialist work except if they, or the partnership or corporation they're contracting on behalf of, holds a valid contractor licence authorising its holder to contract to do such work. Section 12 of the Act prohibits the actual performance of residential building work or specialist work without a valid licence.

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