when reno goes wrong b/c poor workmanship - what to do? Help

Hi
I'm currently near the end of renovating a kitchen & new room with a renovation co who mainly specialises in kitchens. I live in NSW and chose a co. who call themselves "kitchen experts" but have a "great builder" (this is a shock to me now that I see his work).

In a nutshell, there are some outstanding issues which I have addressed with the co.
1. a total of 4 poorly rendered walls.EG. You can see the lines in the walls from the doorway going up to the ceiling. The co. agreed after much argument to re-render only one of the walls. I want all 4 done.
2. In the kitchen there are 12 down lights - we had another electrician advise that only 5-6 are needed. (The down lights were not put in straight by the sub-contracted electrian). I requested energy saving down lights. We were told that they do not exist (by the subcontracted electrician) and had the normal down lights put in. I recently found out that energy saving down lights do exist but the refused to put it in as well as straighten the lights & take out 7 down lights - all at their expense. They said that they will not do this & that I should have mentioned this to them before. I said that I did not know that it was going to be so bright as I am not an electrian & I did not know that the lights will not be in a straight line until they wer e put in. It is not my responsibility for poor workmanship.
The new room has 9 down lights - 3 too many. This room has a new roof.

3. The powerpoints in the kitchen were too high (305mm) and just looked out of place. I got a brilliant electrian to lower them and I want the reno co. to pay the bill. 5 powerpoints were changed. i have not discussed this with the co - yeeks I just didnt think about it.
There is a lot of defective electrial work done by the subcontractor. The reno co. plans to pass the invoice for the work to the subcontractor. I just don;t want to end up paying for this work.
3. The reno co said that I am "too demanding" and that it is too late in the job to "add stuff" as they will be there til Christmas (this job was supposed to take 8wks, so far it's taken 8 months). I just want a satisfactory job completed & have told them this.
4. The reno co. said that they would take this to the Dept of Fair Trading to resolve this.

Has anryone had experience with Dept of Fair Trading?
I called them & got the impression that they were weak - all about negotiating, not about what's right or fair -ie get them to do thier job & fix their work.
I just don't know if Dept Fair Tradig will resolve this matter in my favour.

I don't know what laws/regulations are in my favour.
I don;t know what to do.
What is fair? Everyone who sees the workmanship agrees that it is of poor quality. But will this be enough to get them to do the job properly
I cannot throw any more $$ at this as we cannot afford it.
Are there any Acts or Laws in my favour for poor workmanship which will get them to do things again?
any suggestions/advice is greatly appreciated.
Absolutely Livid

Dept of Fair Trading will make you go to mediation first. You will both be able to have your say and then you will be asked to try and come to a mutual agreement. If this fails then you will go to Tribunal where a person (like a judge but not as official) will hear both sides. They will then make the decision of what is to happen.

Did you get everything in writing prior to starting the work? This is going to be the main thing. If the job is completed as per specs and contract then it may go in their favour. Any major works like this should have a detailed contract and plans stating what is going where.

Good luck with everything.

Have you discussed it to your contractor (reno co)? What did they tell you? Everything should be in writing. You must disclose on your contract that if you find their work unsatisfactory you have the right to demand a refund or a rework out of his pocket.

Yes. Fair Trading has a tribunal. For $36 you can have a hearing who's decision is final.

Im a plumber and Ive had occasion to summons bad debts there and have the case heard and a decision made to recover the monies I'm owed. Its much cheaper for me to recover my monies in this way than in any other way.
But it works best for the consumer, in regards claims of poor workmanship. You need to prepare a simple brief, with copies of letters, photos etc to present at the hearing. The hearing is informal and quick.