1Clause 10.3(c) of the HIA Queensland Residential Building Contract (New Homes) is permissive: it confers on the owner, persons authorised by the owner, and officers of the lending body a right to access the works, subject only to the conditions of reasonable times and reasonable prior written notice — the builder does not retain a discretion to refuse access where those conditions are met.
2Section 109 of the QBCC Act grants a right of reasonable access to the 'consumer' (the person for whom building work is carried out) but does not, on its plain language, extend that right to third parties authorised by the consumer; reading in such words would be 'too big, or too much at variance with the language in fact used by the legislature' per Taylor v The Owners – Strata Plan No 11564.
3A corporate consumer can exercise its right of access under s 109 through its controlling natural persons, so there is no gap in the statute requiring an expansive construction to accommodate corporate consumers.
