A landmark legal decision on why developers can’t use finger-pointing tactics to diminish their liabilities for defects will be a key part of a new webinar from our friends at Bannermans Lawyers, the week after next.

David Bannerman will look at where building defects stand right now as he gets into the practical fallout from the High Court’s recent Pafburn decision.

In a 4:3 split, the High Court has ruled that builders and developers can no longer dodge the bill for defects by carving up the blame among everyone else who touched the project.

In the case itself, the builder and developer tried to point the finger at nine other parties — the architect, certifiers, subcontractors, even the council. The Court said no: their duty of care under the Design and Building Practitioners Act is “non-delegable”, so an owners corporation can now sue the builder or developer directly for the whole job, without having to chase down a dozen other parties first.

Builders can still pursue subbies separately to recover costs, but the buck now stops with them. Fittingly, the ruling landed almost six years to the day after the Opal Tower evacuation that kicked off the whole defects crisis.

There are two webinars from Bannermans locked in for June, both kicking off at 2pm on a Monday, and both worth an hour of your time, even if strata law makes your eyes glaze over.

Building Defects — Monday 15 June, 2pm

Apart from the Pafburn ruling, David Bannerman will examine regulated designs, the trending headaches around the Strata Building Bond and Inspections Scheme (SBBIS), and what to do when deeds aren’t honoured or NCAT rectification orders are ignored — plus the strategies he’d recommend for dealing with the situation. Register for the June 15 session here.

Renovations — Monday 29 June, 2pm

Joseph Bannerman takes the second session, on the perennial minefield of renovations. He’ll run through the different types of reno, how they get approved, and the disputes that flare up along the way — including subdivisions, refusals, and the question of consenting to development applications being lodged. Register for the June 29 session here.

Questions about the program can go to ma*******@************om.au.