On top of your contract sit two safety nets that cannot be switched off — your state's statutory warranties and the ACL consumer guarantees. Together they decide who fixes a defect, for how long after the job, and at whose cost. Here is the map.
Statutory warranty periods by state
The basic pattern is 6 years for structural / major defects and 2 years for everything else, running from completion — but watch the exceptions:
- NSW / ACT / TAS: 6 years major, 2 years other ("6 and 2"). TAS runs from practical completion.
- QLD: 6 years structural, 1 year other ("6 and 1" — the exception). If a breach appears in the last 6 months of the period, you get a further 6 months to start proceedings.
- VIC: up to 10 years for structural and building-defect actions (tracking the 10-year long-stop), from completion or occupancy.
- WA / SA: broadly ~6 years structural, with shorter non-structural complaint windows via the state building commission — confirm the exact period from local guidance.
None of these can be shortened or excluded by the contract.
The warranties implied into every contract
These are implied into every residential/domestic building contract and cannot be excluded:
- Work done in a proper and workmanlike manner with reasonable care and skill.
- Materials good, suitable, and (unless specified) new.
- The dwelling fit for occupation on completion and fit for any made-known purpose.
- Compliance with all laws and the National Construction Code.
- Built to the plans and specs, within the contract time (or a reasonable time).
ACL guarantees run alongside — and win conflicts
The ACL consumer guarantees (due care and skill, fitness for purpose, acceptable quality) sit alongside the state warranties as parallel, cumulative rights. A contract cannot exclude or limit either — and where a clause conflicts with the ACL (for example "no liability after 90 days"), the ACL prevails to the extent of the inconsistency.
Who pays to fix a defect
- If the defect arises from your breach — defective workmanship or materials — you rectify it at no extra cost.
- You may charge where it is genuinely a variation (extra scope, not rectification of bad work), where the issue comes from owner-supplied design or products, or where it falls outside the warranty/limitation period with no other cause of action.
- If you refuse to fix within a reasonable time, the owner can engage someone else and claim the reasonable rectification cost from you as damages.
The bottom line: you cannot charge to fix your own defective work where it breaches a warranty or guarantee — trying to is itself an ACL contravention risk.
Victoria: DBDRV before VCAT
In Victoria, most domestic building disputes must go through Domestic Building Dispute Resolution Victoria (DBDRV) first — a free, largely online conciliation (with a building assessor inspection if needed) — before you can file at VCAT. It is "DBDRV first, VCAT second", bar narrow exceptions (pure debt claims, urgent injunctions). Other states go straight to their tribunal — see Building Dispute Tribunals.
Common mistakes
- Believing a contract clause can shorten the warranty — it cannot.
- Charging to fix your own defective work — an ACL risk.
- In VIC, filing at VCAT before DBDRV — it will be sent back.
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