BUILDING INDUSTRY FAIRNESS (SECURITY OF PAYMENT) ACT 2017 - SECT 19
All payments from contracting party to be deposited in project trust account
BUILDING INDUSTRY FAIRNESS (SECURITY OF PAYMENT) ACT 2017 - SECT 19
All payments from contracting party to be deposited in project trust account
(1) This section applies to any of the following amounts paid by the
contracting party to the contracted party in connection with a contract for
which a project trust is required— (a) an amount paid in accordance with the
terms of the contract;
(b) an amount paid because the contracting party is
liable under section 77 to pay the amount to the contracted party in
connection with the contract;
(c) an amount paid under chapter 3 , part 4
because of an adjudication of a disputed progress payment relating to the
contract;
(d) an amount paid because of a final and binding dispute
resolution process relating to the contract;
(e) an amount paid because of a
court order relating to the contract;
(f) an amount, paid for any other
reason, that reduces the unpaid amount of the contract price for the contract.
(2) The contracting party must deposit the amount into the
project trust account for the contract (the
"deposit obligation" ) unless— (a) the amount was due to be paid before the
trust was established; or
(b) the amount is paid into court; or
(c) the
amount is to be withheld because of a payment withholding request given to the
contracting party under section 97B ; or
(d) the amount is paid directly to a
person under chapter 4 in connection with a subcontractor’s charge; or
(e)
the contracting party has a reasonable excuse for failing to deposit the
amount into the account.
Penalty— Maximum penalty—200 penalty units.
(3) Once the amount is deposited into the project trust account, the deposit
is taken to be a payment made by the contracting party to the contracted party
and discharges the contracting party’s liability to pay that amount to the
contracted party.
(4) If an amount is paid to the contracted party or its
agent in contravention of the deposit obligation, the contracted party must
deposit the amount into the project trust account as soon as practicable after
receiving the amount. Penalty— Maximum penalty for subsection (4)
—200 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment.
