Section 46(3) of the Construction Contracts Act 2004 (WA) (CC Act) broadly provides that except by way of application to the State Administrative Tribunal, a decision or determination of an adjudicator cannot be appealed or reviewed.
While it is established that s 46(3) does not exclude judicial review, the WA Supreme Court decision in Cape Range Electrical Contractors v Austral Construction Pty Ltd [2012] WASC 304 affirms the court’s tendency to limit interference with the decision of an adjudicator.
Background
The case involved a payment dispute which arose from a subcontract for electrical works on a mine site in Western Australia. The subcontractor, Cape Range Electrical Contractors (Cape Range), sought leave to enforce an adjudicator’s determination in its favour. The head contractor, Austral Construction Pty Ltd (Austral), applied for declaratory relief to displace the decision on the basis that the adjudicator lacked the jurisdiction to make the determination and
