Author: QBM Lawyers

The Queensland Building and Construction Commission are cracking down on licensing requirements for builders, contractors and subcontractors. Under Section 48 of the Queensland Building and Constructions Commission Act 1991 the Commission may suspend or cancel a license for a variety of reasons including where a builder or contractor’s financial circumstances do not satisfy the relevant financial requirements in accordance with the Commission’s policy. If builders or contractors receive a notice to suspend or cancel their licenses from the QBCC they must act quickly. Strict time limits apply to challenge such notices and to apply to have any decision by the QBBC either suspending or cancelling a license reviewed by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal. If you require assistance you can contact our partner Justin Mathews of our office on (07) 5574 0111 or email justinm@qbmlaw.com.au.

Earlier this year, the Queensland Building and Construction Commission announced that Chapters 3, 4 and 5 of the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (“BIFSPA”) that relate to statutory progress payments and subcontractors charges would commence on 1 July 2018. The Government has now announced that Chapters 3, 4 and 5 of BIFSPA will not commence until 17 December 2018.  That means that payment claims, payment schedules and adjudication applications will continue to be governed by the Building and Construction Industry Payments Act 2004 (“BCIPA”). Remember, under BCIPA:- Your invoice must have an endorsement that it is made under the BCIPA. A payment claim must be served within 6 months of completion of work. Your payment claim must be issued on the reference date specified in the construction contract. If you do not receive a payment schedule, you nevertheless must send a second chance notice to a contractor inviting the contractor to submit a payment schedule prior to issuing proceedings or making an adjudication application to recover the amount owing pursuant to a payment claim. Strict time limits apply that must be complied with. Strict time limits apply to make an adjudication application if you receive a payment schedule in response to a payment claim. Sometimes you may have to choose between recovery under BCIPA or proceeding with notices to secure funds by way of a charge to a contractor and enforcement under the SCA.  If you pursue the option of proceeding under the SCA you are unable to pursue recovery under BCIPA. Strict time limits apply under the SCA for the issuing of notices.  You may have to act swiftly to utilise these processes to secure funds, if contractors are delaying payments and/or unable to pay you,  prior to you issuing proceedings to recover monies owing to you under a construction contract. We have acted for subcontractors in various building projects, where the mechanisms available under the SCA have been successfully used to assist subcontractors to secure monies and ultimately recover monies owing from contractors who engaged them and become insolvent. For further enquiries and assistance please contact Justin Mathews of our office on (07) 5574 0111 or email justinm@qbmlaw.com.au.