New house building rights are in force to protect consumers. The measures, which took effect on on January 1, 2015, include:
- Mandatory written contracts for residential building work costing $30,000 or more (including GST)
- A requirement for building contractors to provide checklists and disclose certain information for residential building work $30,000 or more (including GST) or when they are asked for this
- Minimum content that must be included in all residential building contracts
- Clauses that are taken to be included in a residential building contract that does not contain all of the minimum content, or in a contract for work $30,000 or more (including GST) that is not in writing
- Information that a building contractor must provide to their client after the building work is completed
- Infringement fees of $500 for breaching the contract, disclosure or checklist requirements.
See the information available on this Government website page (under the heading “New Consumer protection Measures”).