Security of Payment Flashcards
(169 cards)
“…stamp out the un-Australian practice of not paying contractors for work they undertake on construction.”

NSW Hansard Second Reading Speech 22 September 1999.
“Cash flow is the lifeblood of the construction industry.”
Dawnays v FG Minter [1971] EWCA per Denning LJ
Work performed - Architect certifies sum - P has no right of set-off.

What does the superintendant certify in a progress payment?

The work undertaken, labour and materials and other costs in accordance with the contract.
“Construction work“ is defined broadly, but does not include drilling for oil and gas, or mining operations.

s 5 BCIPA Act 2002 (Vic)
- “Despite subsection (1), construction work does not include any of the following work—*
- (a) the drilling for, or extraction of, oil or natural gas;*
- (b) the extraction (whether by underground or surface working) of minerals…”*
Security of Payment does not apply to domestic building work with a building owner.

s 7(2)(b) BCIPA Act 2002 (Vic)
‘…a domestic building contract within the meaning of the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 between a builder and a building owner …’
On and from each reference date, a builder or supplier is entitled to a progress payment, calculated by reference to that date.
s 9(1) BCIPA Act 2002 (Vic)
Reference dates may be calculated under the contract, or in default, every 20 days after construction work first performed.
s 9(2) BCIPA Act 2002 (Vic)
The amount of the progress payment is as per the contract (ie installment), or as valued under the contract.
s 10(1) BCIPA Act 2002 (Vic)
Deductions may be made for defective work.
s 11(1)(b)(iv) BCIPA Act 2002 (Vic)
What is a first class claimable variation?
s 10A(2) BCIPA Act 2002 (Vic)
Parties have agreed that the work was done, that it constitutes a variation and the amount that it is worth.
When is a second class claimable variation claimable under s 10A(3)-(4)?
Aside from non-claimable variations, what are the five (5) other excluded amounts in s 10B?
- Latent conditions;
- Time related costs;
- Changes in regulatory requirements;
- Damages under contract; and
- Any amount claimed at law other than under the contract.
“Pay when paid” provisions are void.
s 13 BCIPA Act 2002 (Vic)

A contractor entitled to a progress payment may make a payment clam.
s 14(1) BCIPA Act 2002 (Vic)

A person referred to in section 9(1) who is or who claims to be entitled to a progress payment may serve a payment claim…
Under s 15 BCIPA Act 2002 (Vic) how long does a respondent have to submit a payment schedule, and what is the consequence of non compliance?
10 days (or less if required by the contract).
Non-compliance means claim is immediately due and payable.

Under s 16 BCIPA Act 2002 (Vic), what are the claimant’s options if no payment claim is issued?
Suspend works, then claim for debt in court, or adjudicate.
A clause providing the parties “agree on a method to resolve the dispute” is an agreement to agree and unenforcable.

WTE Co-generation and Visy Energy P/L v RCR Energy P/L [2013] VSC per Vickery J
Meeting skipped - sought injunction - clause unenforcable.
“What is required by ss. (3)(d)(ii), in my view is a binding dispute resolution mechanism separate from the Court system.”
AC Hall Airconditioning Pty Ltd v Schiavello (Vic) Pty Ltd [2008] VCC

What is a good rule of thumb for identifying excluded variations?
Contract too expensive, or porportion to big, or there is DR clause.

Liquidated damages can offset the adjudication debt which supports a statutory demand under s 459H(1)(b) Corporations Act 2001.
Scrohn Pty Ltd v Newearth Constructions Pty Ltd [2015] VSC
LD proceedings - new payment claim - Queen Anne causes’ irony’ at final hurdle.

State parliaments cannot remove a court’s power to review for jurisdictional error.
Kirk v Industrial Court of New South Wales [2010] HCA
Industrial Court - convicted of OHS breach - privitive clause immunising judgement.

What was the primary recommendation of the Senate’s Insolvency in the Australian Construction Industry report in December 2015?

The most significant of which is that the Commonwealth should enact national, harmonised SOP legislation.
Mediation not a “method of resolving disputes” for the purposes of the Victorian Security of Payment Act.
SSC Plenty Road v Construction Engineering (Aust) & Anor [2015] VSC
Mediation - “capable of resulting in a binding resolution of the dispute”






















































































