When you undertake a building project, you expect the builder to see to the project until it is completed. However, if your builder becomes insolvent, dies or disappears, it is not the end of your project!

A Ministerial Order issued in May 2003 pursuant to the Building Act 1993, provides for the conditions upon which a Builder can undertake domestic construction. Specifically, it provides for obtaining and providing to the owner Builders Warranty Insurance (BWI). This provides insurance for owners to make a claim if their builder is insolvent, disappears or dies. Recently there has been a change to the Order that also provides for a claim by the Insurer to be accepted if an owner obtained a Tribunal’s order against their Builder and that Builder has refused to comply with the Order.

You should have BWI if your domestic building contract is for construction (or alteration) of a dwelling for a value that is more than $16,000 (since 16 June 2016). Prior to this date, BWI applied to any Domestic Building Work that was over $12,000.

Who arranges BWI?

The builder should arrange and pay for BWI before you pay them any money, including any deposit, under the Domestic Building Contract (the contract).

The insurer will send you the certificate and policy once the cover is obtained. It is important to check that the amount of the building works in the certificate is the same as the amount in the contract, and the name of the builder is the same in the certificate as the one stated in the contract.

What are limitations of BWI?

The amount claimable under BWI is limited. The time to make a claim is also limited to 6.5 years of the date the certificate of occupancy or certificate of final inspection is issued.

Within that time, if your individual builder dies or disappears, and you incur increased costs to finish the dwelling, you should make a claim under the BWI. We can help you prepare your claim.

What if you do not receive your payments from BWI?

Not only can we help you make the claim for payment of your entitlements pursuant to the BWI, we can also help you with VCAT proceedings to review any Insurer’s decision that rejects your claim.

For more information, call us on 9555-7233.

This article provides information that is general in nature and is not a substitute for legal advice.

You may know of a document called a “Medical Power of Attorney”, which is a legal document used when a person appoints another person(s) and gives that person(s) the power to make decisions about medical treatment on their behalf.

You may also know of a document called an “Enduring Power of Attorney”, which is a legal document used when a person appoints another person(s) and gives that person(s) the power to make decisions about financial and/or personal matters on their behalf.

But do you know what an Advance Statement is?

If you have been diagnosed with a mental illness and would like to have a say in the treatment you prefer to receive should you become unwell and need compulsory mental health treatment, you may make an Advance Statement, provided that you understand what an Advance Statement is and the consequences of making an Advance Statement.

An Advance Statement contains information of the person, their details such as their date of birth and address, details of their Psychiatrist, GP, details of your mental health worker/support worker and details of family members, carers, support people who are involved in your care. It also contains your treatment preferences and contact details of the person whom you nominate to be your contact should you require compulsory mental health treatment. In your Advance Statement, you could also indicate what treatment you would prefer not to receive, such as Electro Convulsive Therapy, and why.

If you have made an Advance Statement, your treating doctors and other health professionals must consider the treatment you would like as indicated within your Advance Statement.

The aim of the Mental Health Act 2014 and the Advance Statements are to make sure that people receiving mental health services are involved in all decisions about their assessment, treatment and recovery and are supported to make, or participate in, those decisions and have their views and preferences respected (Advance Statements under the Mental Health Act in Victoria brochure published by the Department of Health and Human Services Victoria).

One in five Australians will suffer from a mental illness in any given year (source). If you know a friend or family member who may benefit from this information, share this article with them!

If you would like more information about Advance Statements, visit the Department of Health and Human Services Victoria website via this link or speak with us today.

This article provides information that is general in nature and is not a substitute for legal advice.

Before your first meeting with a lawyer, the very best advice we can give you is to be prepared.

Spend time before the meeting gathering all of the relevant documents, setting out your objectives, summarising your expenses and listing the outcomes you would expect.

If you arrive at the meeting with the above information, the lawyer would spend less time trying to find out the facts of your matter from you and more time evaluating your case during the meeting. This is also a cost-effective way of utilising your time with a lawyer.

At HLS, the first hour of your consultation is free, so do your homework before a meeting with one of our lawyers!

You’ve arrived organised – now here’s what you may expect.

With all your documents organised and ready for us to review, we may advise you of your options. As we have not had to spend the majority of your free consultation sorting and interviewing you about your matter, we would have more time to discuss the real issues, to give you legal advice, to advise you on your options, to advise you on our proposed plan of action, to advise on legal costs and to answer your questions.

In short, if you prepare, you may expect to receive a lot more value from your initial consultation. This alone, is a huge relief to many clients.

Don’t have the time to attend at our office for a conference in person? Not a problem!

If you are unable to come to us, you may email us your documents and we may correspond with you via email. You still get one hour of our time, free, for us to read and evaluate your case. Our email address is – admin@hls.net.au.

This article provides information that is general in nature and is not a substitute for legal advice.