Western Australian Consolidated Acts Western Australian Consolidated Acts (1) Where an owner or
a builder under a contract claims that —
(a)
there has been a breach of —
(i)
the contract, not being a breach in respect of which an
order may be made under section 12A of the Builders’ Registration
Act 1939 ; or
(ii)
a provision in Part 2;
or
(b) the
owner or the builder is entitled to compensation under Schedule 1,
he or she may apply to
the Disputes Tribunal for relief.
(2) An application
under subsection (1) cannot be made —
(a)
before the applicant has given to the other party a preliminary notice under
subsection (3); or
(b)
after the expiry of 3 years from the time when the cause of action arose.
(3) A preliminary
notice is a notice in writing in the prescribed form setting out the matters
of which the intending applicant complains and calling on the other party
to —
(a)
rectify them; or
(b)
otherwise attempt to settle any matters that are in dispute.
(3a) A copy of the
preliminary notice is to be given to the Disputes Tribunal at the time an
application is made under subsection (1).
(4) Upon the making of
an application under subsection (1) the Disputes Tribunal
may —
(a) by
such order as it considers appropriate in the circumstances —
(i)
restrain any action in breach of the contract or of a
provision in Part 2; or
(ii)
require any work to be done in performance of the
contract or to ensure compliance with a provision of Part 2 or to remedy a
breach of the contract or of a provision of Part 2;
(b)
order the payment of any amount payable under the contract;
(ba) by
order declare that an amount is not payable to a person under the contract
and, if already paid, order the repayment of that amount;
(c)
order the payment of compensation for loss or damage —
(i)
caused by any breach of the contract or of a provision of
Part 2; or
(ii)
referred to in Schedule 1;
(d) by
order declare that a specified amount of money claimed or money claimed for
specified work is not payable by a person;
(e) make
such ancillary or incidental orders as the Disputes Tribunal considers
appropriate.
(5) An order under
subsection (4) may require that the terms of the order be complied with
within a specified time.
(6) A person must not,
without reasonable excuse, fail to comply with an order under
subsection (4).
Penalty: $10 000.
(7) If a person fails
to comply with an order under subsection (4)(a) the Disputes Tribunal
may, upon further application, make an order against the person for the
payment of a sum of money as compensation for the failure.
[Section 17 amended by No. 76 of 2000
s. 52 and 57.]