BCIPA QLD Adjudication Application Assistance A Smart Move For Claimants

According to QBCC statistics approximately 70% of adjudication applications lodged by claimants are being found to be invalid based on jurisdictional issues that are easily avoided with the right know how.

While as the QLD Payments Act is a short, cost effective and normally successful way to fast track a judgment against a debtor it does require a degree of technical understanding as to how the legislation is intended to operate.

Unscrupulous respondents are preying on this no end to evade their legal and moral obligations of paying their debts.

Knowing when and how to serve a payment claim under the QLD Payments Act is critical to success. And equally important is knowing then how to respond in turn to  the respondents response to the payment claim, and then how to follow through and prepare a solid adjudication application that will withstand the respondents attempts to defeat it or have it thrown out on jurisdictional grounds.

Most importantly it is critical to understand that in Queensland you only get one chance at serving a payment claim under the Payments Act as a result of case-law that says once the work is finished there is only one reference date that arises to give a claimant the right to serve a payment claim under the QLD Payments Act.

For assistance preparing payment claims, 2nd notices, and adjudication applications call us for a free consultation that just may mean you get all of your money when otherwise you would be left with very little other alternative than to write it off as a bad loss.

Case Study: Shop Owner Denies Requesting Works

Shop owner engages roofer by phone to carry out roof repairs then later denies requesting works.

Outcome:

Week 1: RECOUP serves payment claim on shop owner for roofer.

Week 3: RECOUP serves 2nd Notice on shop owner.

Week 4: RECOUP applies for adjudication.

Week 7: RECOUP wins at adjudication for roofer.

Week 8: RECOUP enters judgment at local court and obtains bank garnishee order.

Week 9: RECOUP receives cheque direct from shop owner’s bank and pays roofer.

Get RECOUP Contractor Debt Recovery on the job for you today.

Alukat Facade Pty Ltd placed in liquidation on 16 September 2015

Our glass manufacturing industry has been decimated by the importation of cheap glass from China.

And now, Chinese companies are coming to Australia, setting up, sort of (but that’s another story), as building facade contractors and undercutting local companies like there is no tomorrow.

The problem is the conditions in our industry in our country are very different to China and these companies are failing and are dragging our local subcontractors down with them.

Alukat Facade is the second Alukat entity to go into liquidation within the space of a year.

And now, the word is that there is another Alukat entity newly incorporated so the business can rise again like the proverbial phoenix rising out of the ashes…..

And that is not to mention Alukat Queensland

Alukat Pty Ltd was the first of the Alukat entities to go into liquidation:

Alukat Facade Pty Ltd was the second of the Alukat entities to go into liquidation:

The details of Alukat Facade QLD Pty Ltd, still trading at this stage, are below:

The trading of the fourth Alukat entity will be posted here as soon as it is made known.

The Liquidator’s details for Alukat Facade Pty Ltd is below:

Liquidator Appointment

Construction Contracts

Contracts in the building & construction industry come in many and varied forms.

A construction contract can be a very simple oral agreement.

It could also be part written, and part oral. For example; you might email a quote to someone and they might pick up the phone and say go ahead.

Probably a safe minimum is a written quote and a written acceptance, be it sms text message or email or fax or hand delivered documents on letterheads / purchase orders, it’s good to have a written record of the agreement.

Organisations such as Master Builders Association (MBA) and Housing Industry Association (HIA) have basic contracts available for purchase at reasonable prices. These are a good basic agreement to use if there is nothing else available.

Larger projects will use quite substantial instruments of agreements such as AS4000, AS4902, AS2124 etc…

Government projects will use contracts such as the GC21.

Regardless of the form of the agreement made between two parties the law says that the agreed terms are binding. However it isn’t unusual for parties to recall the detail of the agreement differently resulting in a dispute. Hence the reason why a written record of the agreement is invaluable.

It is important to understand the key components of an agreement.

Who the parties to the contract are, correct and complete entity names inclusive of ABN’s and ACN’s if relevant. If an individual full name and identifier such as drivers licence is helpful.

Execution.

What the contract works / services are. Scope of works.

Type of contract, ie; fixed lump sum, schedule of rates, cost plus, etc…

Price, schedule of rates.

Commencement date and completion date.

Time for making claims.

Time for payment.

How to claim an extension of time in respect of the completion date when your work is delayed by others.

Liquidated damages.

How to claim a variation to the contract.

How to terminate the contract.

Completing the contract.

Retentions.

BIF Act QLD Amendments Came Into Force 17 December 2018

The Queensland Security Of Payment Act legislation is known as the Building Industry Fairness (Security Of Payment) Act 2017 (BIF Act)

Changes to the Security of Payments Act In Queensland and How it Affects You

Changes to the Building Industry Fairness (Security Of Payment) Act 2017 commenced on 17 December 2018.

The amendments seek to make changes in the way claimants file their adjudications and for respondents to have more time in filing their response.

What the amendments mean to you as a claimant: Adjudication applications will no longer be lodged to ANA: the Authorised Nominating Authorities (ANA) will be abolished. The Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) will be established as the adjudication registry.

QBCC will be responsible for: referring claimants to adjudicators and making appointments based on skills, knowledge, and experience appropriate to the case at hand; and monitoring the performance of adjudicators to ensure qualification

Shorter claim time: payment claims can no longer be made 6 months after construction work has been finished

Three week’s response time: claimants will have three weeks to respond to any matter raised by the respondent

What amendments mean to respondents: Longer timeframes for “complex” claims: respondents are now given 15 business days to respond to claims exceeding $750,000 or claims that have high time-related costs; standard claims are given the same response time of 10 business days

Business days close to Holidays not included: the definition of “business day” will no longer include the three business days leading up to Christmas and the 10 business days after New Year’s Day

More opportunity to raise reasons for withholding payment: under current law, respondents are not allowed to raise reasons for not not providing payment if such reasons are not included in the payment schedule. But with the amendment, respondents are now allowed to raise additional information and reasons even if those are not cited in the payment schedule. These new changes are set to take effect on 17 December 2018. The aim of such change is to strike a better balance between respondents and claimants. Previously, the BCIPA has been criticized for favoring claimants. Moreover, ANA adjudicators have been criticized for favoring claimants and causing losses to respondents. While the pending amendments may favor construction firms and head contractors, claimants may face new challenges. If you are a sub-contractor, supplier, or consultant, you may encounter some difficulties when the laws take effect in September. The pending amendments are set to affect all players in the construction industry. If you want to recover the debt owed to you, best consult our experts at Recoup.

For more information about the Queensland Security Of Payment Act known as the Building Industry Fairness (Security Of Payment) Act 2017 (BIF Act), please click BCIPA Information.

Building Construction Industry Payments Act 2004 QLD Bill Update

In May 2014, the Building and Construction Industry Payments Act 2004 QLD (BCIPA) Bill 2014 (Bill) was introduced to the Queensland Parliament. Changes based on the Bill expected to commence 1 September 2014 did not occur. Subsequently an amendment to the Building and Construction Industry Payments Act 2004 QLD (BCIPA) Bill (Amended Bill) was passed on 11 September 2014 following the delivery of a Parliamentary Committee Report (Report) on 1 September 2014.

Resulting from the 18 recommendations suggested by the Report, a limited number of the recommendations were subsequently incorporated into the Amended BCIPA Bill. The limited adoption of all 18 recommendations despite general support of its principles was due to the consideration that their objectives could be achieved in other ways such as through amending regulations instead of amending the Bill.

Below is a brief summary of several key changes included with the Amended Bill (Building and Construction Industry Payments Act 2004 QLD).

• For matters relating the registration and appointment of adjudicators, the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) replaces the current system with the claimant selecting an authorised nominating authority (ANA) and then the ANA referring the matter to an adjudicator. Despite the Report recommending the Amended Bill to include high-level guiding principles regarding the appointment process of adjudicators, the Government has proposed that a policy approved by the QBCC Board and published on the QBCC’s website by completed instead. Included within the Amended Bill is an allowance for the QBCC Board to make a policy governing the administration of Building and Construction Industry Payments Act (BCIPA).
• The duration for which a payment claim can be made submitted has been halved from 12 months to six months from the date of the completion of construction work or the supply of related goods and services supplied (unless a longer period is stipulated within the contract).
• A dual model regime will commence replacing a generalised scheme to allow for extended time frames in order to settle complex payment claims. The Bill defines that a ‘complex payment claim’ is a claim with an amount in excess of $750,000.00 (or a greater amount prescribed by regulation), a latent condition or a time-related cost. However in the Amended Bill reference to the latest and time-related cost is removed resulting in a change to the definition of a ‘complex payment claim’. A ‘complex payment claim’ is now defined pursuant to the Amended Bill as a claim that is assessed solely on monetary value e.g. $750,000 and above as prescribed by regulations excluding GST.
• Changes have also been applied to the Christmas shut down period. The extension as a result of changes to the definition of business days will now exclude the period between 22 December and 10 January over the industry shut down period.
• Respondents can now include new reasons for withholding payment in their adjudication responses that were not previously included in the payment schedule. A right of reply for the new reasons is provided to the claimants for up to 15 business days as well as applying via the adjudicator for an additional 15 days if the nature of the new reasoning is complex.
• Transitional arrangements are included within the Amended BCIPA Bill to deal with construction contracts entered into before commencement. Such transitional arrangements are a combination of the unamended BCIPA and changes to the Bill included by the passing of the Amended Bill. Construction contracts signed before commencement will maintain the existing security of progress payment provisions under BCIPA and progress payments. Under the Amended Bill, the changes to the functions of the ANA’s such as the appointment of adjudicators have being transferred to the registrar will apply to the construction contract. Any application that is submitted before the official commencement of the Amended Bill be handled under the previous BCIPA processes as the Amended Bill is currently awaiting Royal Assent for commencement.

The Amended Bill, Building and Construction Industry Payments Act 2004 QLD (BCIPA) Bill (Amended Bill) upon receiving the Royal Assent will be an important development in the construction industry. It is highly advised that both claimants and respondents familiarise themselves with the new procedures and amendments to understand the implication of such changes. The drafting of new construction contracts should also take into account the changes to BCIPA for both Claimants and Respondents seeking resolution to building and construction payment Disputes.

BCIPA QLD Adjudication Applications will remain the most efficient means of Debt Recovery and Debt Collection for Queensland Building & Construction Contractors.

Search BCIPA Adjudication Decisions

Building & Construction Industry Payments Act 2004 QLD BCIPA Adjudication Decisions can be searched.
Search BCIPA QLD Adjudication Decisions through the BCIPA QLD link below:

Call RECOUP Contractor Debt Recovery on 1300 732 687 for further assistance as required.

RECOUP Contractor Debt Recovery Are Your Best Option For Preparing & Running BCIPA QLD Payment Claims & Adjudication Applications

We are Queensland’s No #1 BCIPA QLD Specialist – GET STARTED HERE…
Now at over $100 million in recovered Contractor Payments – RECOUP Contractor Debt Recovery are Trusted by more Industry Groups and Trade Associations throughout Queensland than any other debt collection agency.

RECOUP Contractor Debt Recovery are Building & Construction Industry Payments Act 2004 Experts & Debt Recovery and Debt Collection Specialists for Building and Construction Contractors in Queensland. RECOUP aims to keep all stakeholders in each state up to date with changes and developments in the BCIPA QLD legislation that impacts claiming payments for Queensland building and construction work.

BCIPA QLD Decision Search is a valuable tool for learning how to develop successful contract admin and claiming techniques.

RECOUP provides information and assistance regarding the following legislation:

Queensland: “Building and Construction Industry Payments Act 2004″

Security Of Payments Act NSW Changes Commence 21 April 2014

The Security Of Payments Act NSW changes  are:

• introduction of maximum payment terms for progress payments for all invoices served for building and construction work and or related goods or services under the Security Of Payments Act NSW
• requirement that payment claims made under the Security Of Payments Act NSW by a head contractor include a supporting statement declaring that all subcontractors have been paid what is due and payable up to and including at the time of the claim
• removal of the requirement that a payment claim must state that it is being made under the Security Of Payments Act NSW – all invoices will be deemed claims made under the Security Of Payments Act NSW.

What this means for Claimants:

• Danger of serving invalid payment claims
• Maximum time to wait for payment

What this means for Respondents

• All invoices received need to be treated as payment claims made under the Act
• Must pay all invoices on time
• Serious penalties for falsifying subcontractor statement

Subscribe to our Newsletter and keep up to date as case law develops and determines the true implications of these changes

RECOUP Contractor Debt Recovery Are Your Best Option For Preparing & Running Security Of Payments Act NSW Payment Claims & Adjudication Applications

We are the No #1 Security of Payments Act NSW Specialist – GET STARTED HERE…
Now at more than $100 million in recovered Contractor Payments – RECOUP Contractor Debt Recovery are Trusted by more Industry Groups and Trade Associations throughout New South Wales than any other debt collection agency.

RECOUP are Security Of Payments Act NSW Experts & Debt Recovery and Debt Collection Specialists for New South Wales Building and Construction Contractors. RECOUP aims to keep all stakeholders in each state up to date with changes and developments in the Security Of Payments Act NSW legislation that impact claiming payments for building and construction work.

RECOUP provides information and assistance regarding the following legislation:

New South Wales: Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999

New South Wales: Contractors Debts Act 1997