High Court of Australia dismisses builder’s application to appeal QBCC insurance payout

At the end of last year, the High Court of Australia, in Turcinovic v Queensland Building and Construction Commission [2017] HCASL 306, dismissed the builder’s application for special leave to appeal a decision of the Queensland Court of Appeal granting the QBCC the right to summarily recover its insurance payout from the builder.

In Queensland Building and Construction Commission v Turcinovic [2017] QCA 77, the Queensland Court of Appeal found that, once the QBCC has made a payment to a homeowner under the statutory insurance scheme, a builder has only limited grounds on which to contest the QBCC’s recovery of that payment from the builder. Cooper Grace Ward’s summary of that decision can be found here.

Accordingly, this Queensland Court of Appeal’s decision will remain the binding law in Queensland and builders should ensure that they challenge any adverse QBCC decisions before the QBCC makes an insurance payout.

Cooper Grace Ward has extensive expertise in all aspects of construction disputes and review of QBCC decisions. To discuss how we can assist you, please don’t hesitate to call Rocco Russo or Imogen Kenny from our building and construction disputes team on 07 3231 2444.