Written by The NSW Supreme Court has recently clarified that the duty of care part 4 of the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (NSW) (DPB Act) applies to ‘any building’ in NSW within the meaning of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW), not just ‘class 2 buildings, or buildings containing a class 2 part, or ‘dwellings’ within the meaning of the Home Building Act 1989 (NSW).
The decision in Goodwin Street Developments Pty Ltd atf Jesmond Unit Trust v DSD Builders Pty Ltd (in liq) [2022] NSWSC 624, clarifies that the duty of care is not confined to residential apartment buildings and that builders (and other building professionals who fall under the duty) cannot contract out of the duty to exercise reasonable care to avoid economic loss.
In this case, Goodwin Street Developments Pty Ltd contracted with DSD Builders Pty Ltd to construct boarding houses on property owned by Goodwin. Defects and delays in construction caused Goodwin to terminate the contract, and commence proceedings against DSD. Goodwin also sued Mr Roberts (DSD’s representative) for breach of the statutory duty of case in 37 to avoid economic loss to Goodwin when carrying out ‘construction work.’ The Court upheld both of Goodwin’s claims and found DSD and Mr Roberts in breach of their duty of care.
This case demonstrates that the scope of the duty of care in the DPB Act is considerably wide.