These services are provided to parties as an alternative to the commencement of court proceedings.
Regulated building services include:
- any building service carried out by a registered building service provider (including builders, building surveyors and painters) or approved owner builder;
- home building work carried out under a contract for gain or reward (excluding work performed under a sub-contract arrangement); and
- unauthorised work (being work that was performed in the absence of a building permit when one was required).
Building and Energy remains impartial when dealing with a building service or home building work contract complaint, with decisions being made having regard to the evidence presented by the parties.
A good place to start is with the checklist Can I lodge a building service complaint? which provides preliminary guidance as to whether you will be eligible to lodge a complaint. Next, read the detailed information below and ensure you've read each section before proceeding to the next.
Who can make a complaint?
A complaint under the Building Services (Complaint Resolution and Administration) Act 2011 can be made by any person who is adversely affected by the carrying out of regulated building services.
A complaint may be made to the Building Commissioner by:
- a person whose interests are being or have been adversely affected by the carrying out of a regulated building service (i.e. the owner of the work or an affected third party); or
- an owner or builder under a contract for home building work valued between $7,500 and $500,000.
Not only may a person who has directly contracted a building service lodge a complaint, but also any person adversely affected by that building service. This can include a neighbour whose property has been damaged as a result of unsatisfactory building services or some other third party.
** Please note: The Building Commissioner, does not have jurisdiction to accept or continue with complaints where the parties are individuals and one resides or comes to reside in a state other than Western Australia. Affected persons may wish to seek legal advice on their ability to pursue this through the Courts.
Time limits for making a complaint
There are time limits for lodging complaints with the Building Commissioner. In general, a complaint cannot be considered more than six years after completion of the work.
You should consider the following when ascertaining the completion date of a regulated building service:
- If the work was done under a permit and the person responsible for the work ceases their responsibility under the permit, the work is completed when the notice of cessation is given.
- If not the above, the work is completed when the notice of completion is given.
- If the work is not carried out under a permit, then the work is completed on the date that practical completion is achieved.
For specific home building work contract matters (contract variations, breach of contract, termination payments) the time limit for making a complaint is generally three years from when the contract was entered into or from when the cause of dispute arose.
Preliminary requirements
Before initiating a complaint with Building and Energy, read the important information provided in the Building complaint resolution guide. Complete the Notice of proposed complaint and provide it to the party against who the complaint is going to be made at least 14 days before submitting a formal complaint to the Building Commissioner (service by email is sufficient, please retain a copy of the sent email as proof of service).
If a satisfactory response to your notice of proposed complaint is not received, complete the Building complaint form and lodge it with Building and Energy together with copies of relevant documents and the complaint fee.
When preparing your complaint form, detailed information is required to enable proper investigation of the complaint. The Building Commissioner may, in writing, require a person making a complaint provide further details about the complaint. Where these details are not provided within a reasonable time, the Building Commissioner may refuse to accept a complaint.
