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A Western Australia building company director has been fined $20,000 for building contract, registration and insurance offences, including the misuse of his father’s building credentials.
The former director of Bigwave Pty Ltd, trading as Bushewood Building Company, Timothy John Bushe-Jones, has been fined $20,000 after pleading guilty to multiple building offences.
Perth Magistrates Court was told Bigwave entered into contracts for building work at properties in Waikiki and Guilderton, valued at $231,000 and $48,000 in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
At the time of the contract, neither Bushe-Jones nor Bigwave held a building contractor registration, which is a legal requirement for conducting work exceeding $20,000 and requiring a permit.
While Bushe-Jones made contracts and building permits for Bigwave to carry out work on both properties, he used his father’s building contractor registration number.
At the time of the offences, Bushe-Jones’ father held a valid builder registration number but was not involved in the two construction projects, and Bigwave carried out work without its own building contractor registration.
Additionally, the court found that the company’s website falsely advertised its entitlement to carry out building services that required registration.
In Australia, building companies are required to have a builder’s registration to conduct any building work, or advertise or contract on the risk of breaching the Building Services (Registration) Act 2011.
Owners of the Waikiki house were unable to claim insurance on the project, as the home indemnity insurance certificate was found to be invalid because it named the Bush-Jones’ father as the builder.
The building director did not obtain insurance for the Guilderton property construction project.
In Australia, only registered building contractors can obtain a Home Indemnity Insurance (HII), which is required for residential building work over $20,000 and must list the same builder as named in the building contract.
The HII protects home owners if the builder is unable to complete or rectify the work under certain circumstances.
Court evidence also revealed that Bushe-Jones requested progress payments totalling $28,000 from the Guilderton home owners, before supplying the corresponding materials or services.
Requesting payments prematurely and failing to provide valid HII are offences under the Home Building Contracts Act 1991.
As the sole director, Bushe-Jones was held responsible for the actions of his company, which was deregistered by ASIC in 2023 and was ordered to pay more than $600 in costs.
Magistrate Catherine Crawford stated that while the court acknowledged that Bushe-Jones mistakenly believed he was operating legitimately, he should have still ensured that his company was lawful.
Building Commissioner Saj Abdoolakhan said that by obtaining their registrations, builders demonstrate that they possess the necessary skills, experience, and financial stability to deliver safe and compliant buildings.
“Situations like this show the significance of registration compliance as home owners can be stranded when a company ceases to exist and home indemnity insurance is not valid,” Abdoolakhan said.
He also emphasised that home owners should be familiar with the law and do their due diligence by checking builders’ registration online before entering into contracts.
“Home owners should only make progress payments when the goods or services have been provided,” he concluded.
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