AUSTRALIA: A SNAPSHOT
Security-of-payment legislation has been enacted in every
Australian jurisdiction, providing a statutory regime for the
submission and payment of regular progress claims and the
resolution of any payment disputes in relation to construction work
that falls within the ambit of the relevant legislation. Each of
the regimes grant rights to submit progress claims and to have any
dispute in respect of those claims resolved more quickly, on an
interim basis, by a process of statutory adjudication governed by
specific rules and short timeframes. In broad terms, each regime
generally involves the following:
The overall time it takes to have a disputed payment claim
determined by adjudication varies in each jurisdiction, but it can
be as short as approximately 35 business days (in New South Wales
("NSW") and South Australia ("SA")—so the
process is a fast one, presenting both opportunities and challenges
for those involved. The adjudicator's
