A summary of the Construction Contracts Act 2002

The Construction Contracts Act 2002 (the Act) was enacted with three specified purposes:

• to facilitate regular and timely payments between the parties to a construction contract;
• to provide for the speedy resolution of disputes arising under a construction contract; and
• to provide remedies for the recovery of payments under a construction contract.

The Act was ushered in after a spate of large construction company collapses which resulted in the liquidation of many smaller construction businesses and the bankruptcies of many sole traders, after their invoices went unpaid by the head contractors. One of the principal effects of the Act was to put an end to pay-when-paid and pay-if-paid provisions.