South Australian Numbered Acts South Australian Numbered Acts16—Consequences of not paying claimant in accordance with payment
schedule
(1) This section
applies if—
(a) a
claimant serves a payment claim on a respondent; and
(b) the
respondent provides a payment schedule to the claimant—
(i)
within the time required by the relevant construction
contract; or
(ii)
within 15 business days after the payment claim is
served,
whichever time expires earlier; and
(c) the
payment schedule indicates a scheduled amount that the respondent proposes to
pay to the claimant; and
(d) the
respondent fails to pay the whole or a part of the scheduled amount to the
claimant on or before the due date for the progress payment to which the
payment claim relates.
(2) In those
circumstances, the claimant—
(a)
may—
(i)
recover the unpaid portion of the scheduled amount from
the respondent, as a debt due to the claimant, in a court of competent
jurisdiction; or
(ii)
make an adjudication application under
section 17(1)(a)(ii) in relation to the payment claim; and
(b) may
serve notice on the respondent of the claimant's intention to suspend carrying
out construction work (or to suspend supplying related goods and services)
under the construction contract.
(3) A notice referred
to in subsection (2)(b) must state that it is made under this Act.
(4) If the claimant
commences proceedings under subsection (2)(a)(i) to recover the unpaid
portion of the claimed amount from the respondent as a debt—
(a)
judgment in favour of the claimant is not to be given unless the court is
satisfied of the existence of the circumstances referred to in
subsection (1); and
(b) the
respondent is not, in those proceedings, entitled—
(i)
to bring a cross-claim against the claimant; or
(ii)
to raise a defence in relation to matters arising under
the construction contract.