A builder's failure to obtain domestic building work insurance or to be registered as a domestic builder does not render a major domestic building contract void or unenforceable under the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic) or the Building Act 1993 (Vic). Where the specified consequence of breach is a penalty, and the statutory scheme systematically prescribes different consequences for different breaches, no further consequence of contractual invalidity will be implied. Even if the contract were void, the builder would be entitled to restitutionary relief. An offer of settlement under s 112 of the VCAT Act need not resolve the question of costs to be efficacious; leaving costs to the tribunal's determination does not render the offer uncertain or incomplete.
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