VCAT delays could cost owners corporations their legal rights

The Melburnian reported on 3 November 2026 that a Supreme Court ruling in Cavey v Owners Corporation PS 719168C has narrowed a legal safety net for Victorian owners corporations: filing a VCAT joinder application before the Building Act’s 10-year limitation deadline is no longer enough to preserve a defect claim.

Why it matters

The case concerns an apartment building at 426 Hawthorn Rd, Caulfield South, where an owners corporation sought to join builder director Mark Cavey to an existing proceeding. Associate Justice Irving found VCAT had no power to join a party retrospectively: under section 118 of the VCAT Act, a joinder order takes effect only when made, or on a later date VCAT specifies. For the 10-year limitation period under section 134 of the Building Act, the court held an action against a newly joined party is brought when the joinder order is made, not when the application is filed. The court overturned VCAT’s orders and threw out the joinder bid. Associate Justice Irving’s preliminary view was that the owners corporation should meet Cavey’s appeal costs. Tom Bacon, principal at Strata Title Lawyers, said: “Filing a joinder application before the deadline is no longer enough.”

The court also said the Building Act was not intended to remedy VCAT’s own resourcing problems, placing the consequence of tribunal delay onto claimants rather than the tribunal.

The numbers

The joinder application was filed on 26 June 2024, about 10 months before the limitation period expired on 16 April 2025. VCAT did not hear the application until 2 July 2025 and decided it on 17 December, a wait Bacon said ran over 12 months. VCAT told the outlet ready cases now get a hearing slot in roughly 16 weeks, and it wants that down to 12. VCAT has also ruled against applicants in unrelated planning matters this year, including a bushfire-risk childcare centre decision at Huntly, near Bendigo.

What’s next

A VCAT spokesperson described a new process for multi-day domestic building hearings. The State Government had not responded to questions about urgent joinder listings or legislative reform at the time of publication. VCAT is aiming to move most of its Land and Environment Division onto a single case-management platform by June 2027.