Supreme Court Puts Adjudicators On Notice

Rebecca Roylance
Jon Erbacher

Where a decision of an adjudicator made under the Building and Construction Industry Payments Act 2004 (Qld) (BCIPA) determines an issue in dispute on a ground for which neither party contended, and the adjudicator fails to notify of that intended determination or allow submissions, the decision may be declared void. The decision in John Holland Pty Ltd v TAC Pacific Pty Ltd & Ors, recently handed down by the Supreme Court, demonstrates this.

The parties

John Holland Pty Ltd and TAC Pacific Pty Ltd were parties to a construction contract. A dispute over a payment claim that TAC submitted went to adjudication under BCIPA.

The adjudication

A key issue, which the adjudicator needed to determine, was whether certain contractual conditions that John Holland relied upon were void by reason of section 99 of BCIPA, and whether TAC was entitled to be paid its claim, where it was alleged that TAC had not complied with certain