Section 158 of the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 (SA) affects liability for defective building work in certain cases. If a building defect arises from the wrongful acts of more than one person who would be jointly and severally liable for damage or loss resulting from the defective work, the court may, in an action to recover damages for that damage or loss, only order a defendant to pay damages that are just and equitable, having regard to the extent to which their actions contributed to the damage or loss. Section 158 is designed to stop relevant authorities from being liable for the full amount of damages claimed in an action where the builder was mainly to blame for the defective building work, as both the builder and the relevant authority are joined as defendants to the action.

Under s 159 of the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 (SA), no action for damages for economic loss or rectification costs resulting from defective building work (including an action for breach of statutory duty) may be commenced more than 10 years after completion of the building work. This operates as a "long stop limitation period", barring all claims of this kind after 10 years have elapsed and preventing a court from extending time to bring an action [Duncan v Bert Farina Constructions Pty Ltd [2024] SASCA 67].

The High Court of Australia has previously accepted that subsequent owners may be able to take action against a builder for defective building work, at least in relation to residential dwellings [Bryan v Maloney [1995] HCA 17, see also Woolcock Street Investments Pty Ltd v CDG Pty Ltd [2004] HCA 16].

In Brookfield Multiplex Ltd v Owners Corporation Strata Plan 61288 [2014] HCA 36 the case of Bryan v Maloney was distinguished on its facts. The High Court held that the builder (Brookfield) of a strata-titled apartment complex did not owe a duty of care to the Owners Corporation to avoid causing it economic loss resulting from latent defects in the common property. This case discussed the notion of vulnerability of the plaintiff, and not just the proximity of the plaintiff to the defendant [at [22] - [24]].

Both the Building Work Contractors Act 1995 (SA) and the Australian Consumer Law may also be relevant to disputes about defective building work. Time limits under these laws are different. See Building Work Contracts for more information.