Courts cannot overturn building & construction decisions based on non-jurisdictional errors

On Valentine's Day 2018 the High Court handed down a significant decision affecting the building and construction industry. This particular decision has defined the parameters of the court's powers with regard to overturning an adjudicator's determination made pursuant to the , Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW) (SOPA).

In short, the High Court has determined that the courts do not have the power to overturn an adjudicator's determination based on a non-jurisdictional error of law on the face of the record. What this effectively means, is that unless an adjudicator has made an error of jurisdiction in his/her determination, a court has no power to overturn that ruling.