Contractors can make payment claims for construction work on mining leases - Queensland decision overturned

In brief - Contractors in Queensland can recover payments under Act for construction work on mining lease

A recent Court of Appeal decision has determined that contractors can make payment claims under the Building and Construction Industry Payments Act 2004 (Qld) (the Act) for construction work performed on mining leases, overturning an earlier decision by the Queensland Supreme Court.

Payment claims for construction work carried out on "land"

In mid-2013, the Supreme Court of Queensland delivered its decision in Agripower Australia Ltd v J & D Rigging Pty Ltd & Ors [2013] QSC 164. In that case, the Supreme Court controversially determined that construction work carried out on land the subject of a mining lease was not construction work carried out on "land" and therefore could not found a payment claim made under the Act. The court's reasons for concluding so were complicated. (The decision was discussed in our earlier article, Agripower Australia v J & D