Understanding QBCC Mediation: Easy Steps to Win

Dealing with defects in your new home is hard work, especially when communication with your builder breaks down. In Queensland you have two safety nets: QBCC's dispute resolution process and QBCC Home Warranty insurance.

Here's how the process works, and how to present your case so it has the best chance of a fair outcome. Mediation aims for an agreed fix, not a "win", and the homeowners who do best are the ones who come prepared.

If you're building in Queensland, QBCC Home Warranty insurance is included in your contract price. Your contract also gives you a 12-month defects period from practical completion, so report defects to your builder in writing first. Under the Home Warranty Scheme, non-structural defects must appear within 6 months of completion and be lodged within 7 months; structural defects are covered for 6 years and 6 months. Miss those windows and you'll most likely get a letter saying your claim is outside the period of cover.

The Beginning

Once your builder pays the premium, QBCC sends you confirmation of your Home Warranty cover. Keep it somewhere safe.

In my experience, this is the most misplaced document in construction. At practical completion I ask clients if they've read it, and most often I get blank faces. Think of home warranty insurance like health insurance: if you have an issue with your new home, it can decide whether you pay to fix it.

If that's not enough to interest you, consider what you've paid for it. The premium depends on your contract value (check QBCC's current premium calculator), and it's often more than your home and contents and car insurance combined. Most people are pleased to know they're covered, and surprised it existed at all.

QBCC's dispute resolution is a good option if your builder isn't fixing your concerns. The idea is that a neutral QBCC officer helps you and the builder agree on a fix, before it escalates.

How does this work?

Check the steps on the QBCC website before you start, but in general it goes like this:
1. Tell your builder in writing what the defects are and give them a reasonable chance to fix them.
2. Lodge a defective work complaint with QBCC. Include a timeline, your correspondence with the builder and their responses, and photos.
3. Early dispute resolution. QBCC contacts the builder, explains your complaint and tries to help you both agree on a fix.
4. Site inspection. If that doesn't resolve it, a QBCC building inspector may inspect the work.
5. Decision. If the work is defective, QBCC can direct the builder to fix it. If it isn't, QBCC will tell you why.

At the site inspection, the QBCC officer looks at the issues, takes photos and notes, and asks both of you questions. Ideally you reach an agreed fix on the day, and it's written down for both parties to acknowledge.

If not, the inspector assesses the work against the National Construction Code (NCC) and its referenced Australian Standards, and may ask either party for more information. You might need to engage consultants, like an engineer, independent inspector or surveyor.

If the work is found to be defective, the builder is directed to fix it at their cost, and the decision sets out how it was reached so both parties can see what was considered.

If the builder doesn't comply with a direction to rectify, or can't (for example, because they've become insolvent), that's when you may be able to claim under the Home Warranty Scheme.

If the work is found not to be defective, the inspector may decide it meets the NCC's Deemed-to-Satisfy provisions, meaning it meets the minimum acceptable performance set by the NCC and Australian Standards. You might not like the answer, but you'll know the reasons.

How to present your case

First, as hard as it is, try not to be emotional. I know how difficult that is, coming from a reformed hothead, but it's the best way to present a logical case.

Second, don't make things up to score points. QBCC officers do this for a living and have heard every trick. Anything that sounds like fluff will be discounted or ignored.

Third, keep good records.

Take measurements and photos as soon as you notice an issue, then keep doing it regularly. When photographing cracks, always include a ruler or crack gauge in the shot so the viewer can see the size.

Use simple words. You don't need to speak "builder" to explain an issue. And don't use abusive language, in writing or face to face. As soon as things get emotional or abusive, everyone's guard goes up and the chance of a good outcome drops.