This matter was an appeal concerning the validity of a payment claim made under the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (Qld) (BIF Act). The primary question before the Court of Appeal was whether the payment claim in question (which purported to be made under a one contract) concerned two separate contracts and should therefore be treated as a nullity. Resolving a previously ambiguous area of the security of payments legislation, the Court of Appeal held that where a payment claim purports to be made under one contract, it is not rendered invalid simply because at a later time it is determined that part of the claim was, in fact, a claim under a different contract. This decision will be of particular interest to construction lawyers operating with the security of payments space.
Jason Mitchenson (led by Tom Sullivan QC) appeared for the respondent instructed by Thomson Greer Lawyers.
The judgment is published here.
