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ARTICLE · 21 DECEMBER 2015

Is your construction contract valid and enforceable?

ClarkeKann Lawyers
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The BCIPA adjudication decision was void, due to the illegal construction contract that underpinned the payment claim.

AustraliaReal Estate and Construction
Melanie McGuire (Formerly With ClarkeKann Lawyers)
Melanie McGuire (Formerly With ClarkeKann Lawyers)
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If you're an unlicensed electrician or an unregistered engineer, then maybe not - at least according to a recent decision of Agripower Australia Ltd v Queensland Engineering and Electrical Pty Ltd & Ors ("AgriPower decision").

The Supreme Court determined that an adjudication decision made under the Building and Construction Industry Payment Act 2004 (Qld) ("BCIPA") was void, due to the illegal construction contract that underpinned the payment claim.

The construction contract was found to be illegal because the contractor:

  • conducted a business or undertaking that included the performance of electrical work while unlicensed, in breach of the Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld) ("ES Act"); and

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