Understanding What Warranties Apply to Your Work in SA

UNDERSTANDING WHAT WARRANTIES

AppLY tO YOUr WOrK IN SA

AN ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR HAS A GENERAL OBLIGATION TO DO THEIR WORK WITH DUE CARE AND DILIGENCE AND IN LINE WITH THE AGREED SCOPE. HOWEVER, ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS SHOULD ALSO BE AWARE THAT WARRANTIES MAY APPLY TO THEIR WORK.

Building Work Contractors Act

If an electrical contractor is contracted directly by a homeowner, the warranties under the Building Work Contractors Act will apply. Those warranties are:  the work will be done in a proper manner to accepted trade standards and in line with the plans and specifications agreed to by the parties;  all materials supplied will be good and proper;  the work will be done in accordance with all statutory requirements (which includes the National

Construction Code and of course the wiring standards);  if the contract does not state a period within which the work must be completed, the work will be performed with reasonable diligence;  if the homeowner has expressly made known to the contractor the particular purpose for which the work is required, or the result that the homeowner wants the work to achieve, there is a warranty that the work and any materials used in performing the work will be reasonably fit for that purpose or of such a nature and quality that they might reasonably be expected to achieve that result.

Australian Consumer Law

In addition to the general obligation and these statutory warranties, under the Australian Consumer Law an electrical contractor provides certain guarantees for any work they do for a “consumer” or any products/ appliances they supply to a “consumer”. Those guarantees include:  the work will be done with due care and skill;  the work will be fit for any particular purpose made known to the electrical contractor;  the work will be of such a nature, quality, state or condition, that they might reasonably be expected to achieve any result the consumer makes known that it wishes to achieve;  if no time period is stipulated in the contract, the work will be done within a reasonable time;  any products/appliances supplied will be of acceptable quality, including that the products/ appliances are safe, durable and fit for all the purposes for which products/appliances of that kind are commonly supplied;

 any products/appliances supplied are fit for any disclosed purpose and for any purpose of which the electrical contractor represents that they are reasonably fit;  any products/appliances supplied correspond with any description given to the consumer. A “consumer” is defined under the Australian Consumer Law as a person who acquires goods or services in circumstances where the amount paid or payable for the goods or services does not exceed $40,000 or the goods or services are of a kind ordinarily acquired for personal, domestic or household use or consumption. However, a party is not a consumer if the party:  purchases products/ appliances for the purpose of selling (or re-supplying) them to a third party - so where an electrical contractor supplies products/appliances pursuant to a contract with a builder, and those products/appliances are then re-supplied to the homeowner, the builder would not be a “consumer” with respect to the purchasing of those products/appliances; or  purchases products/appliances for the purpose of using them in the course of repairing a fixture.

Therefore, if work is performed or a product/appliance provided for a residential property, or the price of the work or products/ appliances is $40,000 or less, these guarantees will likely apply:  when the electrical contractor is engaged by the homeowner directly;  when the electrical subcontractor is subcontracted by the builder, but only with respect to the services supplied to the builder, not products/ appliances supplied to a builder which are then re-supplied by the builder to the homeowner or used by the builder in the course of repairing a fixture. With respect to defective products or appliances:  If an electrical contractor supplies a product or appliance to a job and it is later found that the product or appliance is defective, the electrical contractor may well have a claim against the supplier/manufacturer.

However, the consumer is entitled to require the contractor to honour the warranty claim before getting relief from the supplier/manufacturer.  A homeowner may have recourse against the supplier/manufacturer under a warranty provided by the supplier/manufacturer. Under the Australian Consumer Law, a consumer is guaranteed that the manufacturer of the goods will take reasonable action to ensure that facilities for the repair of the goods (or part of the goods) are reasonably available for a reasonable period after the goods are supplied.

There is a lot of overlap between the various laws but the common themes are:  do the work right;  use good materials and products; and  do the work according to the design, any requirements expressed to you and the wiring standards. NECA/RACCA Members in South Australia and the Northern Territory get half an hour of free advice on any new matter from Lynch Meyer Lawyers.

Charles Moran

Special Counsel, Lynch Meyer Lawyers cmoran@lynchmeyer.com.au