Enforcing an Adjudication Determination
Won at adjudication but still not paid? A determination under the Security of Payment Act can be turned into a court judgment and enforced like any other judgment debt. We handle every step.
From determination to judgment
- 5 business days to pay: the respondent usually has 5 business days after the determination to pay the adjudicated amount.
- Adjudication certificate: if they don’t pay, we request an adjudication certificate from the nominating authority (or the registrar in Queensland).
- Judgment: we file the certificate in a court of competent jurisdiction, where it becomes a judgment debt.
Enforcement options
Once you have a judgment, we choose the fastest route to your money, depending on the debtor:
- Garnishee orders: on the debtor’s bank accounts, or on money owed to them by others
- Writ for levy of property: the sheriff seizes and sells the debtor’s assets
- Examination notice and order: the debtor must disclose their finances
- Creditor’s statutory demand: against a company, as the first step towards winding up
- Winding up: against a company that can’t pay
- Bankruptcy: against an individual
In NSW and Queensland, a payment withholding request served at the adjudication stage can also secure money held by the principal. In NSW, the Contractors Debts Act 1997 can make the principal pay you directly. See Claims on the principal.
Where legal advice is needed, we engage a licensed legal practitioner to assist if you don’t have your own lawyer.
Moving fast is what counts. The sooner enforcement starts, the less chance the debtor has to move or spend the money.