General Information

Adjudication Resources

Australian Solutions Centre provides educational resources to assist industry participants with some knowledge of the various security of payment regimes.

If you are unsure or not confident with your legal rights it is strongly recommended you seek professional/legal advice for the specifics of your situation and read our disclaimer.

For information specific to individual states and territories please click the links below:

ACT          NSW         QLD          SA          TAS

Court Judgements

Security of Payments Acts are drafted to reflect the intention of the various governments to provide legislation which enables persons who undertake to carry out construction work or supply related goods and services under a construction contract are entitled to receive, and is able to recover, progress payments for the work, goods and services delivered.

Although the governments have this intention, no matter how well drafted the legislations are they are invariably interpreted in many ways which in turn leads to disputes on the appliction of the Acts. The courts are thus called upon to provide guidance and clarification of the legislations which shapes the applciation of the Acts for the future. Industry participants and in particular their legal representatives should keep abreast of court judgements so they can change the way they operate under construction contracts which meay be affected by secuirty of payment legislation.

Sometimes court judgements cause governments to reflect, review and possibly amend their legislation to ensure the objectives and intention are maintained or improved.

Australian Solutions Centre does not provide legal advice or interpretation of the various judgments but provides the following links to websites which will allow the reader to search for themselves.

High Court of Australia

Federal Court of Australia

NSW CaseLaw

QLD Case Law

ACT Supreme Court

SA Court Administration Authority

TAS Supreme Court

Securing payment under the various legislations across a number of States & Territories:

ABN Lookup (ABN/CAN, Company, Sole Traders, Business names etc)

Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ABN/CAN Business names etc)

ASIC Information Brokers (ABN/CAN, Business names etc.

ASIC Insolvency Search (official Governement Site) 

If you know the ABN/CAN but do not know where their registered address is you may be able to find details through an Information Broker who is linded to the ASIC public registeries. A list of information Brokers can be found o nthe ASIC website. Additionally, you may wish to consider business cards and search engine searches on phone numbers and addresses or seek information from clients, other contractors, or local government on details on those undertaking works at a site.

Security of Payment training

Australian Solutions Centre periodically offers trainig for both industry and accreditation of Adjudicators under the various legislations.

Industry Training -

ASC intends holding training information events to support industry to understand and potentially use the various security of payment legislations.

The broad basis of the proposed training regime may be described as:

Basic Security of Payment training

Intensive Security of Payment training

Adjudicator Training Course

Adjudication Preparation training

The courses will be provided by highly qualifed and experienced adjudicators. Fees will be disclosed once a course has een programmed.

ASC can also organise training for individual companies and/or is also willing to attend association information meetings to provide basic entry level information on the legislation(s). Contact us via email with the details of your proposal and we will contact you as soon as possible to arrange the appropriate trainer to liaise with you.

Adjudicator Training -

ASC periodically offers training for accreditation of Adjudicators under the Act.

The course also provides the essential tools for people who currently prepare or intend to prepare documents relating to adjudication, including adjudication applications and adjudication responses.

If you would like to be informed of our next round of courses, please register your interest by completing the attached form and emailing it to info@solutionscentre.com.au.

An Adjudicator must:

• Be a natrual person; and
• Have the qualifications, expertise and experience as prescribed by the Regulations.
• A person is not eligible to be an adjudicator if:
• The person is a party to the contract; or
• Any circumstances prescribed by the Regulations.

ASC maintains a small panel of trained adjudicators. We believe that a small panel is beneficial as it allows our adjudicators to adjudicate on more matters which means greater experience and knowledge and determinations that can withstand Supreme Court challenges. A brief overview of our adjudicators' experience is provided below:

• Contract Law Specialists
• Business Development Management
• Building and Construction Law
• Arbitration and Dispute Resolution
• Practising Lawyers
• Graded Commercial Arbitrators
• Accredited Construction Adjudicator (Academy of Construction Adjudicators, London UK)
• Bachelor of Engineering
• Practising Civil Engineers
• Electrical
• Building
• Plumbing
• Trainer of Construction Adjudicators (NSW and VIC Acts)
• Trainer of Project and Contract Management Trainig Courses

The Role of the Adjudicator

The Adjudicator is the person who is appointed by the ANA and makes the adjudication decision. The adjudicatore will decide:

• Amount of the progress payment, if any, to be paid by the respondent to the claimant;
• Date on which the amount became or becomes payable; and
• Rate of interest payable on any amount

The adjudicator is to consider the following matters only:

• The provisions of the ACt;
• The construction contract;
• The payment Claim and all submissions properly made by the Claimant in support of the claim;
• The Payment Schedule, if any, together with all submissions that have been properly made by the Respondent in support of the schedule;
• The results of any inspection carried out by the adjudicator of any matter to which the claim relates.

The Adjudicator is to determine an application within the times stipulated under the State Act and the decision will be in writing an include reasons for the decision.

Adjudicators must not have a conflict of interest, must act impartial, be neutral and objective and comply with the Act.

To ensure that issues of probity are maintained, prior to nomination there is a requirement for each Adjudicator to declare the following:

• They have the qualifications, expertise and experience necessary to competently carry out the adjudication in accordance with the Act;
• They are not a party to the contract;
• They will at all times act in accordance with the ASC Code of Conduct; and
• They consider they have no conflict of interest in adjudicating this application.
• There may be times when a party or parties consider that an adjudicator has breached the Code of Conduct or Code of Ethics and wish to lodge a complaint.