FAQ
For your convenience, our most common questions are answered right here.
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We are building and construction experts. We can assist you in strictly a non-legal way (valuing construction work, responding to defect and delay claims). We are not a debt collector, we don’t act on your behalf or issue demand letters. We work closely with a Sydney based law firm, so in an all matters which need legal advice, you will liaise directly with them.
The Act provides for an entitlement to payment for construction work. However, the interpretation of the contractual provisions as well as the conduct of the parties are both of vital importance. Contrary to the common belief, you may be barred from making a payment claim for the variation in certain circumstances.
I did work on day labour but have no signed labour dockets. Can I still get paid for the time spent?
It’s not ideal, that said, it might be possible. How did you record your hours? Is there any correspondence which can support your claim? It really all depends on your circumstances.
The contract does not have to be in writing. However, you will need to tender some evidence of terms of the contract such as the sum, scope of work, plans, specifications and so on…
Our principal has a bachelor degree in building and is also a licensed builder with vast experience in the industry including cost planning, project management and as an expert witness.
Your options are rather limited. Time is of the essence, you need to act immediately. It all depends at what stage of the insolvency the client/builder is.
Adjudication does not mean your contract is terminated. Essentially it all depends on your financial position i.e. can you afford to wait till the end of the job? The larger the sum you are owed the harder the other party will do anything to hold on to it. If your client/becomes insolvent your chances of full (or even considerable) recovery are slim.
Yes, the Act now applies to home owners who reside or propose to reside at the premises.
In our opinion if you haven’t done this before at very least you should get legal advice. This doesn’t mean that you should not do at least some of the work yourself. We can help you with your written submission which relates to construction work costs, delays, defects and expert reports.
Yes, but don’t wait too long. The Act provides for limited time frames to take action.
No, a contract cannot stop you from using the Act.
Why not? In our experience the other party simply presumes that you won’t do anything about it. If you have done your work in accordance with the contract you should be able to get a good result. The important thing to understand is that the Act was designed to help to do just that, help you to get paid for work quickly. Please read our Why Use the Act page.
An adjudication outcome is usually enforceable just as a court judgement. Please refer to our Adjudication page.
There are no limits either way.
It depends, some contracts may provide for longer periods or you may not even realise that you actually have carried out some construction work. Tell us your story.
This is the whole point of the Act, to make it easy, cheap and quick to get your money. However, we can’t stress this enough, you must know what you are doing.