BCIPA reforms are on the agenda
The Queensland government has approved wide-ranging reforms to the Building and Construction Industry Payments Act 2004 (Qld) (BCIPA).
There will be a number of changes to the legislation, which are proposed to take effect as of 1 September 2014:
- the QBCC will handle the appointment of adjudicators
- claims may be made for the return of security, not only the return of retention
- extended timeframes for a payment schedule of up to 15 Business Days for responding to large or complex claims (ie. claims in excess of $750,000 or latent condition- or time-related cost claims) and 30 Business Days for a payment claim served more than 91 days after a reference date
- the timeframe for providing an adjudication response will be extended from 5 Business Days to 10 Business Days, unless it is a large or complex claim when the timeframe will be up to 15 Business Days, with the potential for the adjudicator to grant an additional 15 Business Days
- extended blackout periods for Easter and Christmas when counting Business Days
- respondents will be able to raise additional reasons in adjudication responses, with claimants given a right of reply