Rosenlund Constructions Pty Ltd v Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s of London Subscribing to Policy Number 08070017 [2026] FCA 1442 — Insurance & Construction Of Insurance Policy — Barrister AI
Rosenlund Constructions Pty Ltd v Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s of London Subscribing to Policy Number 08070017
application to recover amounts owed to it by a deregistered company from insurer of deregistered company under s 601AG of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)
construction of insurance policy
where deregistered company was obligated under contract to exercise its own professional skill and was responsible for advice and services provided by itself and its consultants
Quick Take
1Where a contractor is contractually obligated to warrant the designs of its consultants, ensure their suitability, and exercise its own professional skill, care and diligence in relation to those designs, the contractor's conduct in adopting and providing those designs as instructions constitutes the rendering of professional advice or service within the meaning of a professional advice or service exclusion clause, notwithstanding that a specialist consultant was separately retained to prepare the designs.
2A professional advice or service exclusion clause proviso requiring that the advice or service not be 'given for a fee' is not satisfied merely because the contract price does not separately identify a fee for professional services; where the contract price encompasses the exercise of professional skill and judgment, the advice or service is given for a fee.
3In a claim under s 601AG of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), the onus of proving that a loss falls within an exclusion rests on the insurer, but the onus of establishing that a case falls within a proviso or writeback to an exclusion clause rests on the party seeking to recover from the insurer.
