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ARTICLE · 09 FEBRUARY 2023

Payment schedules in construction contacts: Beware the own goal!

Piper Alderman
Piper Alderman
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Late or inadequate payment schedules in standard form construction contracts attract harsh consequences.

AustraliaReal Estate and Construction
Karyn Reardon
Karyn Reardon
Elijah Png
Elijah Png
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Late or inadequate payment schedules attract harsh consequences.
In a busy project office with competing time demands, it's remarkably easy to suffer those consequences.

It's also remarkably easy to set your team up for an own goal – before you have even broken ground.

This is illustrated by a recent decision of the Queensland Court of Appeal (Allencon v Carruthers)1, where, Carruthers's subcontract (seemingly unwittingly) reduced the time for Carruthers to deliver payment schedules.

Payment Certificates vPayment Schedules

BIFA2 requires that payment schedules be given in response to payment claims by whichever is the earliest of:

  • 15 business days after the payment claim is given to the respondent; and

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