DES HOUGHTON: Tribunal accused of ‘cherrypicking’ evidence when it comes to QBCC

A senior barrister has made serious allegations against a Queensland court and accused Queensland’s building watchdog of trampling citizens’ rights.

Queensland’s civil justice tribunal repeatedly failed to stop cruel and oppressive decisions made by the state government building regulator, according to a senior barrister who studied dozens of cases over a decade.

Andrew Lyons from Kenmore said the Queensland Building and Construction Commission had trampled citizens’ rights and the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal had backed the regulator nearly 90 per cent of the time.

Lyons said QCAT had made errors “that were easily discernible but favourable to the QBCC”.

He questioned QCAT’s independence and accused it of “cherrypicking” evidence.

Lyons outlines some of his complaints in documents filed at QCAT. He also tendered to the tribunal a letter he wrote to QCAT president Justice Martin Daubney in August 2018 in which he alleges some serious problems.

“The lack of proper review by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal allows the QBCC to engage in wrongful and cruel conduct oppressing homeowners,” he said.

“That is a reason why some of them seek a political remedy by complaining to their MPs.

“A cause of the problems with the QBCC is that it has captured the tribunal, QCAT, that is meant to review its conduct.”

After studying the QBCC annual reports, Lyons painstakingly compiled a detailed spreadsheet “showing a clear pattern of bias in favour of the QBCC”.

In fact, Lyons says the QBCC repeatedly boasted of its success in repelling attempts by homeowners to overturn its decisions. Lyons calculated that approximately 88 per cent of QBCC decisions were not overturned by QCAT. And the 12 per cent of homeowners who “win” may still lose out financially.

“Private citizens who beat the QBCC on a claim may find their victory pyrrhic if they do not recover their costs,” he said. Lyons stressed that most of his interactions with QCAT began well before Daubney was appointed president.

Barrister Andrew Lyons has complained of serious failures in Queensland’s civil justice tribunal, QCAT. Picture: Des Houghton.

Lyons’ complaints about the tribunal and the regulator come after he studied them for many years. It began when he lodged a claim under the QBCC’s home warranty scheme after a bungled renovation of a house he owns at Paddington in 2009.

The building firm was forced into liquidation and the builder subsequently declared himself bankrupt.

After an exhausting nine-year battle Lyons notched up three wins in QCAT.

“They knew I wasn’t going away,” he said.

He was paid a “substantial sum” for his legal costs but had to sign a confidentiality agreement not to reveal the amount. However, he was still worse off.

“Nine years of litigation is appalling,” Lyons said. “The QBCC strategy was to admit nothing, deny everything and drag it out.

“I went into the law because I believe in justice. Yes, I would have been better paying to fix the problems myself and walking away.

“The QBCC refused all my offers to settle.”

Lyons, 62, speaks with authority as a barrister of 30 years with experience in commercial and property disputes and contract, corporations, equity, insolvency, property, and trade practices law. The State High old boy has appeared in courts and tribunals from the High Court down.

He told Daubney he believed the tribunal had breached its statutory duty.

Lyons added: “The conduct of this statutory tribunal and GOC is a scandal calling for exposure and remedy. It has persisted for over a decade.

“Appeal rights have been ineffective in solving the problem.”

A spokesman for QCAT said it would be inappropriate to comment on Lyons’ letter to Daubney. The spokesman rejected suggestions the court was not independent.

“Every year, QCAT members and adjudicators make thousands of decisions in a wide variety of matters across a broad range of jurisdictions,” he said.

“Any suggestion that QCAT decision makers do not act with complete independence from the government agencies whose decisions are under review is false and misconceived.”

Des Houghton is a media consultant and a former editor of The Courier-Mail, the Sunday Mail, and the Sunday Sun