Western Australian Current Acts

BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY (SECURITY OF PAYMENT) ACT 2021 - SECT 23

23 .         When payment claims may be made

        (1)         In this section —

        defects liability period , for a construction contract, means the period that —

            (a)         starts on the day of the practical completion of construction work under the contract; and

            (b)         ends on the last day that any omission or defect in the construction work may be required or directed to be rectified under the contract and written law;

        final payment means the final payment (or a single or one-off payment) for construction work carried out, or related goods and services supplied, under a construction contract;

        practical completion , of construction work under a construction contract, means —

            (a)         if the contract provides for the day on which there is practical completion of the work — that day; or

            (b)         in any other case — the day on which the work is completed in compliance with the requirements of the contract and without any omission or defect that unreasonably affects the intended use of the work.

        (2)         A payment claim for a progress payment may be made —

            (a)         on or after the last day of the named month in which construction work was first carried out, or related goods and services were first supplied, under the construction contract; and

            (b)         on or after the last day of each subsequent named month.

        (3)         However, if the construction contract provides that a payment claim for a particular named month may be made on or after an earlier date, then the payment claim may be made on or after that earlier date.

        (4)         A payment claim for a progress payment (other than for a final payment) may only be made before whichever of the following is the later —

            (a)         the date (if any) determined in accordance with the construction contract;

            (b)         the date that is 6 months after the construction work to which the payment claim relates was last carried out or the related goods and services to which the payment claim relates were last supplied.

        (5)         A payment claim for a final payment may only be made before whichever of the following is the latest —

            (a)         the date (if any) determined in accordance with the construction contract;

            (b)         the date that is 28 days after the end of the last defects liability period for the construction contract;

            (c)         the date that is 6 months after the completion of all construction work to be carried out under the construction contract;

            (d)         the date that is 6 months after the supply of all related goods and services to be supplied under the construction contract.

        (6)         If the construction contract is terminated, a payment claim may be made on or after the date of termination and before the relevant date provided by this section.

        (7)         Unless the construction contract otherwise provides, a claimant may only make one payment claim under the construction contract for a particular named month.

        (8)         Subsection (7) does not prevent the claimant from —

            (a)         making a single payment claim in respect of more than one progress payment; or

            (b)         including in a payment claim an unpaid amount that has been the subject of a previous payment claim.

                Note for this section:

                Division 6 extends the payment claim provisions of this Part to claims for the release of retention money or other performance security or for the substitution of performance security.