The Owners - Units Plan No. 3115 v The Trustees of the Master Builders Fidelity Fund Scheme

[2019] FCAFC 227

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Statutory Interpretation
2. › Building legislation
3. › Fidelity fund scheme
4. › Construction of trust deed incorporating statutory provisions
5. › Whether paragraphs (f), (g) and (h) of s 64(1) identified separate risks or whether paragraph (f) was a precondition to claims under paragraphs (g) and (h)
6. › Building Act 1972 (ACT), s 64(1)
7. › Building Act 2004 (ACT), ss 88, 90, 93
1. Statutory Interpretation
2. › Building legislation
3. › Fidelity fund scheme
4. › Time for lodging claims
5. › Whether 90-day time limit for claims was mandatory or discretionary
6. › Whether trustees had power to waive compliance
7. › Building Act 1972 (ACT), s 64(1)(i)
8. › Building Act 2004 (ACT), s 90(1)(i)
1. Insurance
2. › Residential building warranty
3. › Fidelity fund scheme as alternative to insurance
4. › Whether fidelity certificates constituted contracts of insurance
5. › Whether s 54 of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) applied to fidelity fund scheme
6. › Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth), s 54

Quick Take

Claims against the Master Builders Fidelity Fund in the ACT must be lodged within 90 days of becoming aware of grounds for the claim, and this time limit is mandatory — the trustees have no discretion to waive it. The insolvency of the builder is not a precondition to making a claim for breach of statutory warranty.