In light of yesterday’s news that Canberra-based construction company PBS Building has put its NSW, ACT and Queensland construction businesses into voluntary administration, many sub-contractors and stakeholders now find themselves in daunting territory with respect to their legal rights and will require urgent advice regarding payments owed pursuant to their contractual arrangements.

Sub-contractors who performed building work in Queensland are granted very powerful tools under the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (BIF Act) and should not be hesitant in exercising their powers to maximise their prospects of recovery for work completed, as well as work in the process of being completed.

It is timely for sub-contractors across the industry to consider their rights of recovery against a head-contractor or builder.

As set out within our recent article, Options Available to Subcontractors, it is important to remember that sub-contractors engaged in building and construction work in Queensland do not have to wait for an invoice/payment claim to be overdue before they can issue a notice of claim to commence the ‘Subcontractors Charge’ process.

There are strict time limits and legal notice requirements under the BIF Act that sub-contractors must comply with in order to successfully commence this process to enliven the right to issue a payment withholding request.

We at Rose Litigation Lawyers are experts in building and construction law, and regularly act on behalf of sub-contractors in respect of these types of matters. If you have any questions in relation to this topic or would like to discuss how this may impact you or your business, please give us a call and we would be happy to assist.