Thread: how's liable

all electrical and plumbing work is supposed to come with something like 7 years guarantee on the labour, parts would be different i suppose.

as for your insurance, you'd have to check your product disclosure statement

Hi Rob,

it depends exactly what goes wrong. An Insurance assessor will come out and determine the nature of the problem and decide if it is a fault of the materials or labour.

Should the problem lie in workmanship the assessor will ask you who did the work and how long ago. There is no insurance for bad workmanship or bad design. Any work not up to Australian standard results in claims being rejected.

If all your work was performed by liscenced tradies and you still have the reciepts then the insurance company may take the issue up with the tradies. If you did the work yourself or can't produce receipts for the work it is up to the discretion of the insurance company.

In the example of a pipe bursting then the insurance would pay up - but if the pipe burst at a join that wasn't done properly then they may not. If your toilet blocks up and overflows becuase someone put a pad down it then they would pay - but if your toilet overflows becuase the waste pipe layout wasnt designed properly then they may not.

In the event of a personal liability claim becuase someone has been injured or even killed - then the property owner is primarily liable (irrespective of whether tradesmen were used, as legally , tradesmen are deemed to be your servants and work done was performed under your direction and consent) hence the reason you need liability insurance as part of your household insurance.

Doog

The last bloke who came out, finished the job and put his name to it would be responsible for the work that he done, but any plumber whos worth his salt would come out and check it out should something go wrong.