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ARTICLE · 24 JULY 2021

No formal payment schedule for construction project? No worries…

Bennett & Philp Lawyers
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This Supreme Court decision considered the level of detail required for a valid payment schedule under the BIF Act.

AustraliaReal Estate and Construction
Tony Mylne
Tony Mylne
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The recent Supreme Court decision in ACP Properties (Townsville) Pty Ltd v Rodrigues Construction Group Pty Ltd & Anor [2021] QSC 45 considers the level of detail required for a valid payment schedule. The Court confirmed this should not be approached from an unduly critical viewpoint, finding that two conversational emails issued by a principal were valid payment schedules.

The Court was also required to consider whether the contractor's invoice contained the necessary detail to make it a valid payment claim under the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (Qld) ('BIFA').

Facts

ACP was the owner of Townsville Transit Centre. Rodrigues Construction Group ('RCG') was engaged to undertake refurbishing work on the building. RCG issued ACP an invoice claiming approximately $237,000. The invoice did not contain a great deal of detail but was accompanied by a series of annexures. Those annexures included employee timesheets and supplier invoices.

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