Keep­ing you up-to-date with the lat­est legal devel­op­ments, leg­is­la­tion changes and case precedents.

All pub­li­ca­tions relat­ing to ​‘Stra­ta’

Tem­po­rary Dis­con­for­mi­ty in Build­ing Defects: Myth, Not Law

The ​“tem­po­rary dis­con­for­mi­ty” argu­ment in con­struc­tion dis­putes sug­gests that defec­tive work iden­ti­fied before prac­ti­cal com­ple­tion is not a breach while the builder retains a con­trac­tu­al right to rec­ti­fy. NSW courts have con­sis­tent­ly reject­ed this propo­si­tion, con­firm­ing that defec­tive work con­sti­tutes a breach at the time it is performed.The notion of ​“tem­po­rary dis­con­for­mi­ty” is some­times…

More Changes for Stra­ta — effec­tive 1 April 2026

The Fair Trad­ing and Build­ing Leg­is­la­tion Amend­ment Bill 2026 was passed by par­lia­ment dur­ing Feb­ru­ary 2026 with the changes effec­tive on 1 April 2026. This forms part of a broad­er reg­u­la­to­ry over­haul aimed at strength­en­ing con­sumer pro­tec­tion, tight­en­ing com­pli­ance stan­dards and improv­ing account­abil­i­ty across build­ing and real estate indus­tries. The objec­tive is to reduce…

Aqua­land North Syd­ney Laven­der Devel­op­ment Pty Ltd v The Own­ers — Stra­ta Plan No 102091 [2025] NSW­CA 143

A recent NSW Court of Appeal deci­sion gives Own­ers Cor­po­ra­tions greater con­fi­dence in defect lit­i­ga­tion, ensur­ing devel­op­ers using SPV struc­tures can­not eas­i­ly avoid liability.An impor­tant deci­sion hand­ed by the NSW Court of Appeal in July has giv­en Own­ers Cor­po­ra­tions engag­ing in defect lit­i­ga­tion against devel­op­ers util­is­ing a typ­i­cal spe­cial pur­pose vehi­cle cor­po­rate…

Know Your Con­struc­tion Con­tract — A Cau­tion­ary ​‘Time Bar’ Tale from West­con­nex M5 Motor­way Tun­nel Project Sydney

The NSW Court of Appeal has con­firmed that Own­ers Cor­po­ra­tions can seek freez­ing orders to stop devel­op­ers using SPV struc­tures from divest­ing assets, strength­en­ing recov­ery prospects in defect litigation.Con­struc­tion con­tracts often include detailed pro­vi­sions set­ting out pre­scribed regimes for the pro­vi­sion of claims. Such regimes pro­vide for the form and detail…

One Devel­op­ment, Two Tow­ers and Two Occu­pa­tion Cer­tifi­cates (one Inter­im and one Final). When Does the Home Build­ing Act Statu­to­ry War­ran­ty Peri­od Commence?

The NSW Supreme Court has clar­i­fied when statu­to­ry war­ran­ty peri­ods start for staged devel­op­ments under the Home Build­ing Act 1989 (NSW). In The Own­ers – Stra­ta Plan No 93543 v Zhang (No 3) [2025] NSWSC 571, the Court exam­ined com­ple­tion dates for sep­a­rate build­ings, impact­ing lim­i­ta­tion peri­ods for defect claims.Most pro­ceed­ings brought…

Stra­ta Schemes Leg­is­la­tion Amend­ment (Mis­cel­la­neous) Bill 2025 — Round 4 Pro­posed Changes

The pro­posed NSW stra­ta reform Bill intro­duced into Par­lia­ment on 19 Novem­ber 2025 aims to clar­i­fy exist­ing pro­vi­sions, boost con­sumer pro­tec­tions, and reduce reg­u­la­to­ry bur­dens. Key changes include exemp­tions for two-lot schemes, stricter rules on stra­ta man­ag­er terms and com­mis­sions, manda­to­ry com­mit­tee train­ing, and tight­ened rules on bonds, fees, and…

Restraints and Real Estate – what is enforceable

What do post-employ­ment restraints in real estate real­ly mean for agents and employ­ers? In the prop­er­ty indus­try, employ­ment agree­ments often include three key restraints: non-solic­i­ta­tion, non-accep­tance, and non-com­pe­ti­tion. These claus­es aim to pro­tect client rela­tion­ships, con­fi­den­tial infor­ma­tion, and busi­ness good­will, but their enforce­abil­i­ty depends on how they’re draft­ed and applied…

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