Queensland Consolidated Acts Queensland Consolidated Acts(1) If a notice of claim of charge is given pursuant to section 10, the person to whom it is given must retain, until the court in which the claim is heard directs to whom and in what manner the same is to be paid, a sufficient part of the money that is or is to become payable by the person under the contract to satisfy the claim.
(2) A person who fails to retain the amount that the person is required to retain is personally liable to pay to the subcontractor the amount of the claim not exceeding the amount that the person is required by this section to retain.
(3) Within 14 days after the notice of the claim of charge mentioned in subsection (1) is given under section 10(1)(b) to the contractor to whom the money is payable, the contractor must give to the employer or superior subcontractor by whom the money is payable, and to the subcontractor giving notice of the claim of charge, a notice (contractor's notice) in the approved form that the contractor--
(a) accepts liability to pay the amount claimed; or
(b) disputes the claim; or
(c) accepts liability to pay the amount (the stated amount) stated in the contractor's notice, but otherwise disputes the claim.
(4) If the contractor's notice is given under subsection (3)(a), the employer or superior contractor by whom the money is payable must pay to the subcontractor the amount the employer or superior contractor is required to retain.
(4A) If the contractor's notice is given under subsection (3)(c), the employer or superior contractor by whom money is payable must pay to the subcontractor the amount the employer or superior contractor is required to retain, up to the stated amount.
(4B) However, the employer or superior contractor is required to comply with subsection (4) or (4A) only if, after payment is made under the subsection, the retained amount will be equal to or more than the unsatisfied amount.
(5) An employer or superior contractor may, at any time after notice of claim of charge has been given to the employer or superior contractor, pay into court the amount that the employer or superior contractor is required to retain under this section.
(6) A payment made pursuant to this section discharges the employer or superior contractor, as the case may be, of all further liability in respect of the amount paid and of the costs of any proceeding in relation to the amount paid.
(7) Money paid into court under this section may be paid out only under an order of the court.
(8) A subcontractor may at any time withdraw, wholly or partly, a notice of claim of charge given pursuant to section 10 by giving a notice in the approved form--
(a) to the employer or superior contractor by whom the money is payable; and
(aa) to the holder of any security to whom notice was given under section 10(1)(aa); and
(b) to the contractor to whom the money is payable.
(9) In this section--
retained amount means the total of--
(a) all amounts still retained by the employer or superior contractor under subsection (1); and
(b) all amounts paid into court by the employer or superior contractor under subsection (5).
unsatisfied amount means the total of all amounts of claims of charge for which a notice of claim of charge has been given, other than amounts that have been--
(a) satisfied by payment under subsection (4) or (4A); or
(b) the subject of a withdrawal of notice of claim of charge under subsection (8).