Payment issues can severely affect a project's success if they lead to prolonged legal battles or halted work. Contractors and project owners must know how to guide construction disputes through proper dispute resolution methods. You might deal with a building contract dispute through adjudication or construction litigation. Knowledge of the construction dispute resolution process can save time, money, and professional relationships. This piece explores common causes of dispu

Director Penalty Notices ( DPNs ) issued by the ATO expose directors to personal liability for company tax debts, including PAYG withholding, GST and superannuation guarantee charges. While DPNs can be severe in their consequences, the available statutory defences are limited and often difficult to establish in practice. When facing DPNs and potential proceedings, directors should focus not only on any available defences, but also on early strategic action to mitigate exposur

What is Commercial Litigation? Commercial litigation helps resolve disputes that arise from business relationships, transactions, and daily operations. This specialised law branch solves conflicts between businesses or individuals in commercial activities. Parties often turn to courts for intervention if they can't resolve disagreements through alternative dispute methods. Organisations of all sizes face commercial litigation across many industries. These disputes usually dea

Construction projects come with extensive specifications and deadlines that all parties must meet. Project delays and financial problems spread across the industry when teams fail to fulfil these requirements. Construction professionals face unique challenges with these disputes. Parties that can't resolve their building disputes end up taking their cases to administrative tribunals or courts. Australia's one million independent contractors risk getting into business disputes

Home warranty insurance plays a critical role in Queensland residential construction. It exists to protect consumers from financial loss where residential building work is defective or incomplete, and the original contractor is unable or unwilling to rectify the problem. Despite its importance, home warranty insurance is frequently misunderstood by homeowners, builders, subcontractors and developers alike. Disputes regularly arise because parties assume home warranty insuranc

In Queensland, there is a statutory insurance scheme, known as the Home Warranty Scheme, the purpose of which is to provide assistance to consumers of residential construction work for loss associated with work that is defective or incomplete ( scheme ). [1] Meaning of consumer The term “ consumer ” is defined in the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 (Qld) ( QBCC Act ) at section 67WA and means a person who “ contracts with a licensed contractor to ca

Terminating a building contract the wrong way often results in serious financial problems, and you might have to pay compensation to your builder. You need to weigh this decision carefully because ending a contract without proper justification and in accordance with the relevant procedure could expose you to court proceedings, damages and extra costs. A contract can end – or terminate – in several ways and for different reasons. Homeowners often consider whether they can term

Australian homeowners can lose thousands each month due to building delays. These delays create unnecessary financial pressure at a time which should be exciting. Fortunately, builders are typically required to pay compensation through liquidated damages clauses found in most building contracts. These clauses work as a pre-agreed payment of compensation for delay. This piece walks you through the process of claiming liquidated damages from builders for delays. You'll discover

Builder bankruptcies can cause significant stress to homeowners and result in financial loss for all parties involved. The collapse of prominent home builders has left many homes unfinished and underscored the risks to customers in Queensland. These builder liquidations have become more common, often catching families off guard. Your builder's insolvency or administration creates a tough situation, and you need to know your options. Queensland law requires QBCC Home Warranty

Finding out the time builders must fix defects in QLD is vital information for homeowners with construction issues. The timeframe changes greatly based on the defect type. Homeowners get up to 6 years and 6 months from completion to report structural defects. But non-structural defects need reporting within 12 months after the work is done. The stark contrast shows why Queensland's defects liability period matters so much. The Queensland Building and Construction Commission (

What is a payment claim? Section 68 of the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 ( BIF Act ) provides that a payment claim is a written document which: (a) identifies the construction work or related goods and services to which a progress payment relates; (b) states the amount (the claimed amount ) of the progress payment that the claimant claims is payable by the respondent; and (c) requests payment of the claimed amount; (d) includes the other informatio

ABC Glass was the respondent to an adjudication application in which an adjudicator decided it was liable to pay the claimant, Nik Nominees, a progress payment in the amount of $334,023.23. [1] ABC Glass applied to the Supreme Court for a declaration that the decision was void, together with an injunction restraining Nik Nominees from enforcing it, on the basis that there were two jurisdictional errors: (a) breach of natural justice by making a decision on the applicant’s su

Procon was the respondent to an adjudication application in which an adjudicator decided Procon was liable to pay the claimant, Hi-Cal, a progress payment in the amount of $13,699.25. [1] In arriving at his decision on jurisdiction, the adjudicator considered whether the payment claim before him was valid (as he was required to do), including by reference to whether there was an available reference date for it. But his finding on the existence and availability of a relevant

Who or what is an adjudicator under the BIF Act? An adjudicator under the BIF Act is an individual registered under chapter 5, part 2, division 2 as an adjudicator . [1] An individual becomes registered if they: (a) apply to the registrar for registration as an adjudicator, [2] (b) hold a requisite adjudication qualification, [3] (c) are a suitable person to be registered as an adjudicator having regard to their character, experience and other related matters [4] and (d) h

There are five basic and essential statutory requirements upon which the valid exercise of an adjudicator’s jurisdiction is conditioned upon. They are highlighted in Acciona Agua Australia Pty Ltd v Monadelphus Engineering Pty Ltd [2020] QSC 133 at [32]-[42]. They are not otherwise expressly stated in the BIF Act. The first is the existence of a construction contract between the claimant and the respondent, to which the BIF Act applies: sections 64 and 70. The second is the

The Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (Qld) at section 64 defines a construction contract as meaning “ a contract, agreement or other arrangement under which 1 party undertakes to carry out construction work for, or to supply related goods and services to, another party ” (emphasis added). It is those features of undertaking and either: (a) carry out construction work or (b) supply related goods and services , to another party which make a contract,

A claimant who is dissatisfied with the decision of an adjudicator under the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (Qld) ( BIF Act ) still has options to pursue payment of amounts not awarded by the adjudicator. These depend on whether or not the adjudicator decided they had jurisdiction to determine the application. Understanding the decision made by the adjudicator For an adjudicator to have the power (or "jurisdiction") to decide an adjudication appli

The two most common pitfalls of subcontractors’ charges are: incorrectly serving the notice of claim and failing to properly commence a proceeding to enforce it. In both cases, the charge fails; it either never attaches (BIF Act ss 122(9), 123(3), 124(3)) or it is extinguished (s 136(3)), and in almost all cases, it cannot be revived (s 118). Typically, there are three parties involved: the subcontractor, the contractor and the employer (often the principal). To properly se