BIF Act Update

WHO SHOULD READ THIS

• All participants in the Queensland construction industry.

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

• The commencement of the security of payment provisions of the BIF Act has been postponed until 17 December 2018.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

• Contracts and the administration of payment processes should be reviewed and updated prior to the commencement of the legislation.

Update: Next stages of the BIF Act to now commence from 17 December 2018

On Tuesday (12 June 2018), the Minister for Housing and Public Works, Mick de Brenni MP announced that the next tranche of the implementation of the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (Qld) (BIF Act) will commence from 17 December 2018.

Postponed commencement

Previously, the Government announced that the security of payment regime under the BIF Act – including the replacement of the Building and Construction Industry Payments Act 2004 (Qld) – would commence from 1 July 2018. Based on Tuesday’s announcement, the security of payment amendments will now not commence until 17 December 2018.

The announcement does not explain the reason for this delay, but as there are considerable aspects of the legislation to be dealt with in regulations (which have not yet all been published), we anticipate that the Government may release those further regulations in the intervening period.

Review of the BIF Act

Separately, the Government has established a panel to evaluate the operation and effectiveness of the BIF Act, including project bank accounts which commenced on certain Government projects on 1 March 2018. The terms of reference (which may be found here) include determining ‘the effectiveness of the legislative framework in achieving policy intent’. The panel members are appointed for 12 months and this process will result in a report being tabled in Parliament. It is likely that this process will result in changes to the BIF Act.

A copy of the Government’s press release may be found here.

We will keep you updated on the progressive implementation of the BIF Act and how it will affect your projects in Queensland. Our Annual Construction Conference which will be held on 20 September 2018 will feature a detailed update on the BIF Act.

This publication covers legal and technical issues in a general way. It is not designed to express opinions on specific cases. It is intended for information purposes only and should not be regarded as legal advice. Further advice should be obtained before taking action on any issue dealt with in this publication.