Start with the problem in front of you
Building disputes are decided by which statute they fall under, and that is rarely obvious from the argument itself. These pages take the six problems this site covers and set out how each one actually works.
General information, not legal advice. This page sets out how the law generally applies. It does not take account of your circumstances, and you should get advice about your own situation before acting on it. The official sources this page is written from are listed on it; where they differ from anything here, they are the authority.
A dispute about the same wall can be a defect claim under the Home Building Act 1989 (NSW), a variation dispute under the contract, or a payment dispute under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW), and each runs to a different timetable.
The Security of Payment timetable is the one that catches people out: it is measured in business days and it is unforgiving. If a payment claim has been served on you, read that page before any other.
Getting paid, and being asked to pay
The fastest-moving part of construction law, and the one with the least room to recover a missed step.
Security of Payment
Payment claims, payment schedules and adjudication under the Security of Payment Act. What happens if a schedule is not served in time, and why that is the deadline to diarise above all others.
Variations and scope disputes
Work said to be outside the contract. What the contract requires before a variation is payable, and what happens when the work is already done.
Delay and extensions of time
Extension of time claims, liquidated damages and concurrent delay. What has to be notified, and when.
Work that is wrong
Building defects
The statutory warranties in section 18B of the Home Building Act, the warranty periods in section 18E, and the duty of care under the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (NSW) that reaches owners who were never party to the contract.
Building contracts
Before you sign, and after it has gone wrong. What the Act requires a residential building contract to contain, and which terms decide the outcome when there is a dispute.
Where it is decided
NCAT and court
Which forum hears a building dispute and why it matters: NCAT’s Consumer and Commercial Division, the Local and District Courts, and the Supreme Court’s Technology and Construction List.
Before you sign anything
Served with a payment claim?
The response period under the Security of Payment Act is short and counted in business days. Tell us the date it was served and we will tell you what the timetable is.