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The Respondent is the party receiving the payment claim.
Under the Act the Respondent has a specific role and
has only two (2) documents to manage. They are as follows:
Payment Schedule
A "payment schedule" is a document prepared
by the Respondent in support of the Respondent’s
case for paying less than the amount claimed by the
Claimant.
If the Respondent does not agree with the amount claimed
and assesses the amount due to be something less than
the amount claimed by the Claimant then the Respondent
may provide a "payment schedule" to the Claimant
within 10 business days from receipt of the payment
claim.
A payment schedule is a document that must identify
the payment claim to which it relates, must indicate
the amount that the Respondent proposes to pay and if
that scheduled amount is less than the claimed amount
the payment schedule must indicate why the scheduled
amount is less and (if it is less because the Respondent
is withholding for any reason) the Respondent’s
reasons for withholding payment.
The payment schedule document forms the basis of the
Respondent’s case for withholding payment. If
this document is not correct or of poor quality the
Respondent’s chances of success in an Adjudication
Application is significantly reduced.
The payment schedule is an important document for any
Respondent and requires careful consideration and
preparation prior to submission.
We recommend that "first time" Respondents
or those Respondents that are not comfortable with the
process should seek assistance and or further information
immediately after receiving a payment claim made under
the Act (Contact).
Adjudication Response
An "adjudication response" is a document prepared
by the Respondent and is provided to the Adjudicator
in response to the Claimant’s adjudication application.
If the Respondent has provided a valid payment schedule
under the Act the Respondent can provide an adjudication
response to the Adjudicator within 5 business days of
receiving the Claimant’s adjudication application
or within 2 business days of receiving the Adjudicator’s
acceptance, whichever time expires later.
A copy must be sent to the Claimant at the same time.
An adjudication response must be in writing, must identify
the adjudication application to which it relates, must
include the name and address of any relevant principal
of the respondent and should include all submissions
and documents in support of the reasons for withholding
payment.
The adjudication response cannot include any reasons
for withholding payment unless those reasons were already
included in the payment schedule. This highlights the
importance of providing a quality payment schedule.
We recommend that "first time" Respondents
or those Respondents that are not comfortable with the
process should seek assistance and or further information
immediately after receiving an adjudication application
(Contact).
If assistance or further information is required
please contact us on 1300 722 624 |
