The owners succeeded: the Tribunal ordered the builder to pay $21,850.97 in damages (refund of two paid variations for unperformed work), ordered Master Builders Queensland to return $195,755.32 held in the security account, and dismissed the builder's counter application. The key legal proposition is that where a fixed-price building contract contains a specific provision entitling a builder to claim an extension of time for inclement weather delays, the builder cannot bypass that mechanism and instead continue working through the delay, incur additional costs, and claim those costs as a variation — the express provision for extensions of time excludes implied reliance on broader variation clauses covering the same subject matter. Interest on damages under s 77(3)(c) QBCC Act and s 54 of the QBCC Regulation runs only from the date of judgment, not from an earlier date, and an order for restitution of security monies under s 77(3)(d) is not an award of damages upon which interest can be awarded.
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