--- title: "Construction & Infrastructure" url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/construction-and-infrastructure" type: "practice_area" site: "AI Law Framework" id: "A11" task_count: 31 last_reviewed: "2026-10-10" --- # Construction & Infrastructure > Assess the contract, project records and applicable payment or dispute process together. Verify notices, time limits, variations and supporting quantities before relying on a draft claim or response. Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/construction-and-infrastructure Last reviewed: 2026-10-10 Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt Also covers: Building law, engineering and construction law, infrastructure projects law, procurement law, construction disputes, security of payment law Construction and infrastructure law in Australia spans contract procurement and negotiation (AS 4000-1997, AS 4000:2025, AS 2124-1992, GC21, NEC4, FIDIC), adjudication under eight concurrent state/territory Security of Payment regimes, major-project regulatory approvals, building-defects liability, and high-value quantum/delay disputes before courts, tribunals, and arbitral panels. The AI risk profile is among the highest in any practice area: time-critical notice and payment-claim deadlines measured in business days, fragmented and jurisdiction-specific legislation under active amendment, voluminous factual records with critical dependencies (project schedules, cost records, defect registers), and a litigation environment where a hallucinated authority or a wrong adjudication deadline date causes irrecoverable client harm in hours. ## Key facts - Tasks: 31 - Green: 8, Yellow: 17, Red: 6 - Levels: Green is AI drafts and the lawyer checks; Yellow is lawyer and AI draft together; Red is the lawyer writes and AI may only check, clarify or collect data. ## Principles - **Define the matter**: Confirm the client’s instructions, jurisdiction, intended output and the information available before dividing the work. - **Verify the authorities**: Open each relied-on authority independently. Confirm its existence, current status, proposition and any quotation or pinpoint reference. - **Preserve the witness’s evidence**: Confirm each factual assertion with the witness and original record. Preserve the witness’s own knowledge and words, and check the court’s rules for this document. ## Checklist - Open each relied-on authority independently. Confirm its existence, current status, proposition and any quotation or pinpoint reference. - Confirm each factual assertion with the witness and original record. Preserve the witness’s own knowledge and words, and check the court’s rules for this document. - Trace every relied-on figure to its source, confirm dates and assumptions, and independently recalculate totals or derived amounts. - Calculate operative dates independently from the current rule and actual triggering event. Check exceptions and record the verified deadline. - Check the current court or regulator requirements, prescribed form and attachments for the intended document and filing. - Review operative clauses in the complete document, including definitions, cross-references, schedules and inconsistencies with the instructions. - Confirm that the wording reflects the client’s instructions and contains no unintended admission, concession or commitment. Check the recipient and tone. - Confirm that the actual tool, feature and processing terms permit use of this information, including access, retention, training and disclosure conditions. - Check the specialist’s assumptions, qualifications and limits. Obtain the relevant expert or specialist review before relying on a technical conclusion. - Verify dates, people and sequence against contemporaneous records. Preserve uncertainty and identify gaps or conflicting accounts. - Verify the applicable jurisdiction and the version of each relevant law, rule or instrument in force at the material time. - Resolve exceptions and record the responsible lawyer’s approval of the exact output and intended use. ## Restrictions - Confirm firm, client and applicable court or professional restrictions before using any AI feature. ## Jurisdiction note Apply this guidance to the actual matter and jurisdiction. Confirm current requirements before relying on an example. ## Basis Practice guidance supports planning; the responsible lawyer confirms the scope, evidence and review requirements for the matter. Also covers: Building law, engineering and construction law, infrastructure projects law, procurement law, construction disputes, security of payment law Construction and infrastructure law in Australia spans contract procurement and negotiation (AS 4000-1997, AS 4000:2025, AS 2124-1992, GC21, NEC4, FIDIC), adjudication under eight concurrent state/territory Security of Payment regimes, major-project regulatory approvals, building-defects liability, and high-value quantum/delay disputes before courts, tribunals, and arbitral panels. The AI risk profile is among the highest in any practice area: time-critical notice and payment-claim deadlines measured in business days, fragmented and jurisdiction-specific legislation under active amendment, voluminous factual records with critical dependencies (project schedules, cost records, defect registers), and a litigation environment where a hallucinated authority or a wrong adjudication deadline date causes irrecoverable client harm in hours. ## Limits on AI assistance Red lines — never in this area ## Limits on AI assistance AI must never calculate Security of Payment reference dates, service dates, or adjudication lodgement deadlines without lawyer re-derivation from the actual Act text for the correct jurisdiction — NSW, Vic, Qld, WA, SA, ACT, NT and Tas each have materially different regimes and AI routinely conflates them; a miscalculation extinguishes adjudication rights. AI must never draft or finalise a payment claim or payment schedule for client use without lawyer verification of every figure against source cost records, the correct statutory endorsement wording, claimant eligibility (including NSW s8(2) licensed/insured contractor requirement effective 20 August 2024 for residential building work), and jurisdictional compliance. AI must never produce citations to adjudication determinations as authority — the vast majority are not published and AI fabricates specific determination references (adjudicator name, date, parties) with confidence; any adjudication determination cited must be from a jurisdiction that publishes determinations and must be independently verified. AI must never generate content for affidavits or witness statements intended for use in NSW Supreme Court proceedings without complying with NSW SC Gen 23 (3 February 2025), which prohibits AI-generated content in such documents without court leave; for Federal Court proceedings, the GPN-AI practice note (16 April 2026) requires disclosure of AI use and the responsible practitioner must personally verify all facts and authorities. AI must never calculate limitation periods in building defect matters without lawyer verification — DBPA s37 (10-year long-stop), Home Building Act NSW major defects (6 years), HBA minor defects (2 years), Domestic Building Contracts Act Vic (10 years) — errors extinguish claims. AI must never quote or reproduce legislative text for inclusion in court documents, submissions or formal advice without verification against the current version of the legislation from the applicable government legislation website — construction statutes in all jurisdictions have been amended at different dates and AI training data does not reflect all commencements. AI must never advise on the non-delegability of the DBPA s37 duty of care without applying the Pafburn [2024] HCA 49 principle — AI trained before December 2024 will produce wrong advice suggesting proportionate liability defences are available to developers and principal contractors. AI must never advise on industrial manslaughter or WHS criminal liability without lawyer verification against the specific jurisdiction's current legislation — provisions, elements, and available defences differ materially between Victoria (OHS Act), Queensland, Western Australia, ACT and NT, and an error in this area exposes the client to criminal risk. Confidential project documents — tender pricing, geotechnical data, claims correspondence, schedules of rates, financial models — must not be uploaded to any AI tool without confirming the tool operates under a current enterprise data-processing agreement that prohibits training on client data, consistent with ASCR r9 and applicable contractual confidentiality obligations. AI must never produce a novation deed or termination notice for client execution without lawyer review — these documents have irrevocable legal consequences (substitution of parties, extinguishment of rights, potential wrongful termination liability) that cannot be corrected after execution. - AI must never calculate Security of Payment reference dates, service dates, or adjudication lodgement deadlines without lawyer re-derivation from the actual Act text for the correct jurisdiction — NSW, Vic, Qld, WA, SA, ACT, NT and Tas each have materially different regimes and AI routinely conflates them; a miscalculation extinguishes adjudication rights. - AI must never draft or finalise a payment claim or payment schedule for client use without lawyer verification of every figure against source cost records, the correct statutory endorsement wording, claimant eligibility (including NSW s8(2) licensed/insured contractor requirement effective 20 August 2024 for residential building work), and jurisdictional compliance. - AI must never produce citations to adjudication determinations as authority — the vast majority are not published and AI fabricates specific determination references (adjudicator name, date, parties) with confidence; any adjudication determination cited must be from a jurisdiction that publishes determinations and must be independently verified. - AI must never generate content for affidavits or witness statements intended for use in NSW Supreme Court proceedings without complying with NSW SC Gen 23 (3 February 2025), which prohibits AI-generated content in such documents without court leave; for Federal Court proceedings, the GPN-AI practice note (16 April 2026) requires disclosure of AI use and the responsible practitioner must personally verify all facts and authorities. - AI must never calculate limitation periods in building defect matters without lawyer verification — DBPA s37 (10-year long-stop), Home Building Act NSW major defects (6 years), HBA minor defects (2 years), Domestic Building Contracts Act Vic (10 years) — errors extinguish claims. - AI must never quote or reproduce legislative text for inclusion in court documents, submissions or formal advice without verification against the current version of the legislation from the applicable government legislation website — construction statutes in all jurisdictions have been amended at different dates and AI training data does not reflect all commencements. - AI must never advise on the non-delegability of the DBPA s37 duty of care without applying the Pafburn [2024] HCA 49 principle — AI trained before December 2024 will produce wrong advice suggesting proportionate liability defences are available to developers and principal contractors. - AI must never advise on industrial manslaughter or WHS criminal liability without lawyer verification against the specific jurisdiction's current legislation — provisions, elements, and available defences differ materially between Victoria (OHS Act), Queensland, Western Australia, ACT and NT, and an error in this area exposes the client to criminal risk. - Confidential project documents — tender pricing, geotechnical data, claims correspondence, schedules of rates, financial models — must not be uploaded to any AI tool without confirming the tool operates under a current enterprise data-processing agreement that prohibits training on client data, consistent with ASCR r9 and applicable contractual confidentiality obligations. - AI must never produce a novation deed or termination notice for client execution without lawyer review — these documents have irrevocable legal consequences (substitution of parties, extinguishment of rights, potential wrongful termination liability) that cannot be corrected after execution. ## Jurisdiction-specific considerations Australian traps ## Jurisdiction-specific considerations Security of Payment regimes are eight separate statutes: NSW BCISP Act 1999, Vic SOPA 2002, Qld BIF Act 2017, WA CCA 2004 (fundamentally different model — no ANAs, adjudicator applied to directly, 90 business day window), SA BCISOP Act 2009, ACT BCISP Act 2009, NT BCISP Act, Tas BCISP Act — reference dates, time limits, excluded contracts, and endorsement requirements all differ; always establish jurisdiction before any AI output is used. NSW BCISP Act 1999 s8(2): unlicensed or uninsured contractors cannot use SOPA for residential building work — in force 20 August 2024. AI trained before late 2024 will not apply this restriction; check the current licence status of any NSW residential claimant before lodging a payment claim. AS 4000:2025 was published by Standards Australia on 30 June 2025, replacing AS 4000-1997 after 28 years. Key changes include: default dispute resolution changed from arbitration to litigation; updated PPSA and WHS clauses; revised variation and provisional sum regime. AI will apply 1997 clause numbers and provisions unless specifically directed to the 2025 version; always confirm which edition is in the contract. NSW SC Gen 23 (in force 3 February 2025): AI-generated content in affidavits and witness statements is prohibited without court leave; expert reports must disclose any AI used in formulating opinions (program, prompts and outputs to be identified). Non-compliance exposes the practitioner to discipline and the document to rejection — applies to all NSW Supreme Court construction litigation. Federal Court GPN-AI practice note (16 April 2026): applies to all Federal Court proceedings including construction-related arbitration matters subject to the Federal Court's jurisdiction; requires disclosure of where and how AI was used in any filed document; the responsible practitioner must personally verify facts, authorities, admissibility and discovery obligations. This practice note is recent and AI will not have been trained on it. Qld SC Practice Direction 5 of 2025: for written submissions to the Supreme, District or Planning and Environment Courts, an individual named legal practitioner (not the firm) must be identified as responsible; hallucinated or inaccurate authorities may result in referral to the Legal Services Commission and a personal costs order. Applies to all Qld construction court submissions. Qld SC Practice Direction 14 of 2024 (as amended): disclosure of AI use in expert reports is required — but as currently drafted this PD applies to criminal proceedings. It does not yet have a formal civil equivalent in Queensland; do not treat it as the civil standard but be aware courts may apply analogous expectations. Pafburn Pty Ltd v The Owners – Strata Plan No 84674 [2024] HCA 49 (11 December 2024, 4:3 majority): confirmed the DBPA s37 duty of care is non-delegable and proportionate liability (Civil Liability Act apportionment) cannot reduce a developer or head contractor's liability; AI trained before December 2024 will produce wrong advice on developer liability exposure in NSW building defect matters. EPBC Act Reform — Environment Protection Reform Act 2025 (Cth): Royal Assent 1 December 2025; Part 19B (National Environmental Standards) commenced 2 December 2025; NEPA commences 1 July 2026; balance of reforms roll out to 2028. There is no single commencement date — AI advice on EPBC Act approval pathways must be verified against the commencement schedule for each provision. NSW Strata Building Bond (RAB Act): the strata building bond under the Residential Apartment Buildings (Compliance and Enforcement Powers) Act 2020 increased from 2% to 3% of contract price with effect 1 July 2025 for class 2 buildings. AI trained before mid-2025 will apply the outdated 2% rate. ACL unfair contract terms: since 9 November 2023, s23 ACL applies to standard form contracts with small business parties for contracts up to $5 million. This is a material change for construction subcontracts that AI tools trained before 2024 will not apply. Handa & Mallick — the sentinel Australian AI disciplinary outcome: the solicitor's practising certificate was varied by the Victorian Legal Services Board on 19 August 2025 — he can no longer act as a principal lawyer or run his own practice and must work as an employed solicitor under supervision for at least two years. The underlying conduct was submitting AI-generated case citations (four non-existent cases) in a Family Circuit Court hearing. This outcome applies to all Australian practitioners regardless of practice area. Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (Cth): APP 1 amendments requiring disclosure of substantially automated decision-making that could significantly affect individual rights commence 10 December 2026 — relevant where AI is used to assess adjudication merit, produce claim valuations relied on in advice, or automate procurement decisions for government construction entities. WHS harmonisation is incomplete: Western Australia (WHS Act 2020, commenced 31 March 2022) and Victoria (OHS Act 2004) do not operate under the Model WHS Act — AI routinely applies harmonised WHS Act provisions to WA and Vic projects; verify jurisdiction before advising on PCBU duties, officer due diligence, industrial manslaughter exposure, or notifiable incidents. - Security of Payment regimes are eight separate statutes: NSW BCISP Act 1999, Vic SOPA 2002, Qld BIF Act 2017, WA CCA 2004 (fundamentally different model — no ANAs, adjudicator applied to directly, 90 business day window), SA BCISOP Act 2009, ACT BCISP Act 2009, NT BCISP Act, Tas BCISP Act — reference dates, time limits, excluded contracts, and endorsement requirements all differ; always establish jurisdiction before any AI output is used. - NSW BCISP Act 1999 s8(2): unlicensed or uninsured contractors cannot use SOPA for residential building work — in force 20 August 2024. AI trained before late 2024 will not apply this restriction; check the current licence status of any NSW residential claimant before lodging a payment claim. - AS 4000:2025 was published by Standards Australia on 30 June 2025, replacing AS 4000-1997 after 28 years. Key changes include: default dispute resolution changed from arbitration to litigation; updated PPSA and WHS clauses; revised variation and provisional sum regime. AI will apply 1997 clause numbers and provisions unless specifically directed to the 2025 version; always confirm which edition is in the contract. - NSW SC Gen 23 (in force 3 February 2025): AI-generated content in affidavits and witness statements is prohibited without court leave; expert reports must disclose any AI used in formulating opinions (program, prompts and outputs to be identified). Non-compliance exposes the practitioner to discipline and the document to rejection — applies to all NSW Supreme Court construction litigation. - Federal Court GPN-AI practice note (16 April 2026): applies to all Federal Court proceedings including construction-related arbitration matters subject to the Federal Court's jurisdiction; requires disclosure of where and how AI was used in any filed document; the responsible practitioner must personally verify facts, authorities, admissibility and discovery obligations. This practice note is recent and AI will not have been trained on it. - Qld SC Practice Direction 5 of 2025: for written submissions to the Supreme, District or Planning and Environment Courts, an individual named legal practitioner (not the firm) must be identified as responsible; hallucinated or inaccurate authorities may result in referral to the Legal Services Commission and a personal costs order. Applies to all Qld construction court submissions. - Qld SC Practice Direction 14 of 2024 (as amended): disclosure of AI use in expert reports is required — but as currently drafted this PD applies to criminal proceedings. It does not yet have a formal civil equivalent in Queensland; do not treat it as the civil standard but be aware courts may apply analogous expectations. - Pafburn Pty Ltd v The Owners – Strata Plan No 84674 [2024] HCA 49 (11 December 2024, 4:3 majority): confirmed the DBPA s37 duty of care is non-delegable and proportionate liability (Civil Liability Act apportionment) cannot reduce a developer or head contractor's liability; AI trained before December 2024 will produce wrong advice on developer liability exposure in NSW building defect matters. - EPBC Act Reform — Environment Protection Reform Act 2025 (Cth): Royal Assent 1 December 2025; Part 19B (National Environmental Standards) commenced 2 December 2025; NEPA commences 1 July 2026; balance of reforms roll out to 2028. There is no single commencement date — AI advice on EPBC Act approval pathways must be verified against the commencement schedule for each provision. - NSW Strata Building Bond (RAB Act): the strata building bond under the Residential Apartment Buildings (Compliance and Enforcement Powers) Act 2020 increased from 2% to 3% of contract price with effect 1 July 2025 for class 2 buildings. AI trained before mid-2025 will apply the outdated 2% rate. - ACL unfair contract terms: since 9 November 2023, s23 ACL applies to standard form contracts with small business parties for contracts up to $5 million. This is a material change for construction subcontracts that AI tools trained before 2024 will not apply. - Handa & Mallick — the sentinel Australian AI disciplinary outcome: the solicitor's practising certificate was varied by the Victorian Legal Services Board on 19 August 2025 — he can no longer act as a principal lawyer or run his own practice and must work as an employed solicitor under supervision for at least two years. The underlying conduct was submitting AI-generated case citations (four non-existent cases) in a Family Circuit Court hearing. This outcome applies to all Australian practitioners regardless of practice area. - Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (Cth): APP 1 amendments requiring disclosure of substantially automated decision-making that could significantly affect individual rights commence 10 December 2026 — relevant where AI is used to assess adjudication merit, produce claim valuations relied on in advice, or automate procurement decisions for government construction entities. - WHS harmonisation is incomplete: Western Australia (WHS Act 2020, commenced 31 March 2022) and Victoria (OHS Act 2004) do not operate under the Model WHS Act — AI routinely applies harmonised WHS Act provisions to WA and Vic projects; verify jurisdiction before advising on PCBU duties, officer due diligence, industrial manslaughter exposure, or notifiable incidents. ## Risks to address How it goes wrong ## Risks to address Jurisdiction confusion in Security of Payment matters: AI generates a payment claim timeline using the wrong state's Act — e.g., applying NSW reference date rules to a WA project under the CCA 2004 (which has no ANAs and a 90 business day application window), causing a missed lodgement window and total loss of adjudication rights. Hallucinated adjudication determinations: AI cites a specific adjudicator's determination (e.g., 'Jones v Smith Constructions, Adjudicator Williams, 2024') that does not exist — these are not on AustLII, AI fabricates them with specificity, and submission of a false authority to an adjudicator or court carries disciplinary risk (see Handa & Mallick, VLSB August 2025). AS 4000:2025 misapplication: AI advises on a contract made under the June 2025 AS 4000:2025 edition by applying AS 4000-1997 clause numbers and the arbitration default — the client's dispute resolution rights are incorrectly characterised, as the 2025 edition defaults to litigation, not arbitration. Wrong limitation period in defect claims: AI applies the Home Building Act 2-year minor defect period to a DBPA s37 claim (10 years), causing advice to a strata scheme that their claim is statute-barred when it is not — or vice versa for a minor defect claim, opening the firm to malpractice. Post-Pafburn advice error: AI advice (trained pre-December 2024) tells a developer they can reduce DBPA liability by subcontracting design or invoking proportionate liability — wrong after Pafburn [2024] HCA 49, which confirmed non-delegability and bars apportionment defences. EPBC Act transitional error: AI describes the pre-reform EPBC Act approval pathway for a 2026 project referral without reflecting the Environment Protection Reform Act 2025 provisions in force from December 2025 and NEPA's commencement on 1 July 2026, causing the client to follow a process that is obsolete or partially superseded. - Jurisdiction confusion in Security of Payment matters: AI generates a payment claim timeline using the wrong state's Act — e.g., applying NSW reference date rules to a WA project under the CCA 2004 (which has no ANAs and a 90 business day application window), causing a missed lodgement window and total loss of adjudication rights. - Hallucinated adjudication determinations: AI cites a specific adjudicator's determination (e.g., 'Jones v Smith Constructions, Adjudicator Williams, 2024') that does not exist — these are not on AustLII, AI fabricates them with specificity, and submission of a false authority to an adjudicator or court carries disciplinary risk (see Handa & Mallick, VLSB August 2025). - AS 4000:2025 misapplication: AI advises on a contract made under the June 2025 AS 4000:2025 edition by applying AS 4000-1997 clause numbers and the arbitration default — the client's dispute resolution rights are incorrectly characterised, as the 2025 edition defaults to litigation, not arbitration. - Wrong limitation period in defect claims: AI applies the Home Building Act 2-year minor defect period to a DBPA s37 claim (10 years), causing advice to a strata scheme that their claim is statute-barred when it is not — or vice versa for a minor defect claim, opening the firm to malpractice. - Post-Pafburn advice error: AI advice (trained pre-December 2024) tells a developer they can reduce DBPA liability by subcontracting design or invoking proportionate liability — wrong after Pafburn [2024] HCA 49, which confirmed non-delegability and bars apportionment defences. - EPBC Act transitional error: AI describes the pre-reform EPBC Act approval pathway for a 2026 project referral without reflecting the Environment Protection Reform Act 2025 provisions in force from December 2025 and NEPA's commencement on 1 July 2026, causing the client to follow a process that is obsolete or partially superseded. ## Review checklist The lawyer's review checklist ## Review checklist All statutory deadlines — payment claim service, payment schedule response, adjudication lodgement, limitation periods, EOT and variation notice windows — have been independently re-derived by the reviewing lawyer from the correct jurisdiction's current Act, not accepted from AI output; business day calculations must exclude the relevant jurisdiction's public holidays. Every case citation in any AI-assisted document has been located and verified on AustLII or a trusted legal database; the proposition for which it is cited matches the actual ratio of the decision; no adjudication determination references are included unless from a jurisdiction that publishes determinations and the determination has been independently retrieved. The correct version of every relevant standard form contract (AS 4000-1997 vs AS 4000:2025 vs AS 2124-1992 vs GC21 vs bespoke) has been confirmed from the contract document itself, and all departures from the published standard form have been specifically flagged — not normalised by AI against the baseline. Legislative text reproduced in advice, pleadings or court documents has been verified against the current version of the statute on the applicable government legislation website (legislation.nsw.gov.au, legislation.vic.gov.au, legislation.qld.gov.au, legislation.wa.gov.au, legislation.gov.au) — not accepted from AI output. Court and tribunal disclosure obligations have been assessed for the specific forum: NSW SC Gen 23 compliance (AI-non-use declaration in affidavits; expert report AI disclosure); Federal Court GPN-AI (16 April 2026) compliance for any Federal Court filing (disclosure of where/how AI was used; responsible practitioner verification); Qld SC PD 5 of 2025 compliance (named individual practitioner in all submissions); and the individual named practitioner has reviewed and approved the document. All confidential project documents (pricing, geotechnical data, claims correspondence, schedules of rates, financial models, technical specifications) have been confirmed to have been processed only through AI tools operating under a current enterprise data-processing agreement prohibiting training on client data, consistent with ASCR r9 and any contractual confidentiality obligations. AI-generated variation, EOT, or delay claim narratives have been cross-checked against contemporaneous source documents — site records, superintendent instructions, program updates, cost records — and no factual dates, durations, or cost figures have been accepted from AI without source document verification. For NSW building defect matters: the Pafburn [2024] HCA 49 non-delegable duty analysis has been applied; the correct limitation period has been verified from the specific statute (not accepted from AI); the DBPA supply chain (confirming certifiers are excluded) has been reviewed against the actual project participants. - All statutory deadlines — payment claim service, payment schedule response, adjudication lodgement, limitation periods, EOT and variation notice windows — have been independently re-derived by the reviewing lawyer from the correct jurisdiction's current Act, not accepted from AI output; business day calculations must exclude the relevant jurisdiction's public holidays. - Every case citation in any AI-assisted document has been located and verified on AustLII or a trusted legal database; the proposition for which it is cited matches the actual ratio of the decision; no adjudication determination references are included unless from a jurisdiction that publishes determinations and the determination has been independently retrieved. - The correct version of every relevant standard form contract (AS 4000-1997 vs AS 4000:2025 vs AS 2124-1992 vs GC21 vs bespoke) has been confirmed from the contract document itself, and all departures from the published standard form have been specifically flagged — not normalised by AI against the baseline. - Legislative text reproduced in advice, pleadings or court documents has been verified against the current version of the statute on the applicable government legislation website (legislation.nsw.gov.au, legislation.vic.gov.au, legislation.qld.gov.au, legislation.wa.gov.au, legislation.gov.au) — not accepted from AI output. - Court and tribunal disclosure obligations have been assessed for the specific forum: NSW SC Gen 23 compliance (AI-non-use declaration in affidavits; expert report AI disclosure); Federal Court GPN-AI (16 April 2026) compliance for any Federal Court filing (disclosure of where/how AI was used; responsible practitioner verification); Qld SC PD 5 of 2025 compliance (named individual practitioner in all submissions); and the individual named practitioner has reviewed and approved the document. - All confidential project documents (pricing, geotechnical data, claims correspondence, schedules of rates, financial models, technical specifications) have been confirmed to have been processed only through AI tools operating under a current enterprise data-processing agreement prohibiting training on client data, consistent with ASCR r9 and any contractual confidentiality obligations. - AI-generated variation, EOT, or delay claim narratives have been cross-checked against contemporaneous source documents — site records, superintendent instructions, program updates, cost records — and no factual dates, durations, or cost figures have been accepted from AI without source document verification. - For NSW building defect matters: the Pafburn [2024] HCA 49 non-delegable duty analysis has been applied; the correct limitation period has been verified from the specific statute (not accepted from AI); the DBPA supply chain (confirming certifiers are excluded) has been reviewed against the actual project participants. ## Security of payment check, 22 September 2026 Authorised Version No. 015 of the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 incorporates amendments as at 24 June 2026. The Building and Plumbing Commission says the Fairer Payments amendments take effect from 15 April 2026, and section 54 applies the amended Act to contracts made before that day, with a saving for a payment claim already served. A payment claim may be served on and from the last day of the named month in which the work was carried out or the goods or services were supplied, unless the contract allows an earlier day. Work done from 1 to 21 December may be claimed on and from 22 December. Work done from 22 to 31 December may be claimed on and from 31 January. Section 14C says the claim may be served no later than the day before the latest of the contract date, 6 months after practical completion of all the construction work, and 6 months after supply of all the related goods and services. Under section 15(4) the respondent who serves no payment schedule by the earlier of the contract time and 10 business days after service becomes liable for the claimed amount on the due date. If the contract states no due date, section 12(1)(b) makes the progress payment due 10 business days after the earliest day the claim may be served, and section 12(1B) deprives a later contractual date of effect past 20 business days after the claim is served. A business day is not a Saturday, Sunday, a day wholly or partly observed as a public holiday throughout Victoria, or a day in the period commencing on 22 December and ending on 10 January. Section 50(2)(c) takes a posted document as served 7 business days after the day it is posted, or on an earlier day if it is delivered then. A section 18(2) notice, served within 10 business days after the due date, gives the respondent 5 business days under section 18(2A) to serve a schedule. The Act says a claim or schedule must be in the relevant prescribed form if any. No prescribed form number was read. Open the current regulations before using a Commission sample form. ## Security of payment check, 22 September 2026 Section 18(3) of Authorised Version No. 015 requires an adjudication application to be lodged within 10 business days after the claimant receives the payment schedule where the scheduled amount is less than the claimed amount, and within 10 business days after the due date for payment where the schedule is not paid in full. Where no schedule was served and the claimed amount is not paid, section 18(2) requires a notice within 10 business days after the due date, telling the respondent of the intention to apply and that a schedule may be served within 5 business days after the notice. Section 18(3)(e) then requires lodgement within 5 business days after the end of that 5 business day period. Section 18(5) requires a copy of the application on the respondent within 3 business days after lodgement. Section 21(1) allows an adjudication response at any time within the later of 5 business days after the respondent receives a copy of the application and 2 business days after notice of the adjudicator accepting the application. Section 21(2A) allows that response only where a payment schedule was served within the time in section 15(4) or section 18(2A). The response may not add a reason that was not in the schedule, and section 23(2A) says the adjudicator must not take such a reason into account. Section 22(4) requires the determination within 10 business days after the later of the day the adjudicator is taken to have been appointed under section 20 and the last day for a response under section 21(1), or within any further time the parties agree, not exceeding 20 business days after that period. A late determination is not invalid solely because it is late. Section 45(5), as substituted by Act No. 22 of 2026, says the adjudicator is not entitled to fees or expenses if the decision is outside the section 22(4) time, unless the claim is resolved or the application is withdrawn, and section 45(6) sets out when that fee rule does not apply. Section 28 lets the claimant withdraw and make a new application within 5 business days after becoming entitled to withdraw, including where no notice of acceptance arrives within 4 business days after the adjudicator receives the application. The contents and the definition of an adjudication review application show that review adjudication is repealed. Section 18A repeats the same day counts for a performance security claim. The Commission adjudication page states the same 10, 5, 3, 4 and 2 business day figures for the payment-claim path. It describes its notice forms as sample forms. No prescribed form number was read. ## Security of payment check, 22 September 2026 The in-force text of the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2009, version current from 1 July 2025, was read on 22 September 2026. A reference date is the date the contract sets for a progress claim or, if the contract does not, the last day of each month in which work is carried out or goods and services are supplied. Section 17(4) allows one payment claim for each reference date, and a later claim may include an unpaid amount from an earlier claim. Section 17(6) allows service only within the later of the period fixed by the contract and 12 months after the work was last carried out or the related goods and services were last supplied. Section 15(1) makes a progress payment due on the contractual date. If the contract does not expressly provide a due date, section 15(2) makes it due before the expiry of the applicable day in section 19(3). That day is the day 20 business days after service where the claim relates to a residential structure to be built on land, the respondent is the owner of the land, and the respondent is not a building practitioner. Otherwise it is the day 10 business days after service. A residential structure is a class 1 or class 10 building or structure under the Building Code of Australia. Section 19(2) requires the payment schedule before the end of the contract payment period or before the expiry of that applicable day, whichever expires earlier, and, in a section 19(3)(a) case, whichever expires later. Missing that time makes the respondent liable for the claimed amount on the due date. Section 4A says a business day is not a Saturday or Sunday, a day specified in section 4 or in the named schedules of the Statutory Holidays Act 2000, or 27, 28, 29, 30 or 31 December. The CBOS making-a-claim page, updated 12 July 2023, describes a residential home owner and uses day counts the Act does not use. The schedule date is taken from section 19. ## Security of payment check, 22 September 2026 Section 21(3) requires an application made because the scheduled amount is less than the claimed amount to be made within 10 business days after the claimant receives the payment schedule, and an application made because the scheduled amount was not paid in full to be made within 20 business days after the due date for payment. Where no schedule was provided and the claimed amount was not paid, section 21(4) requires notice to the respondent within 20 business days after the due date, stating the intention to apply and that a payment schedule may be provided within 5 business days after the notice. The respondent must not have provided a schedule in those 5 business days, and the application must be made within 10 business days after the end of that period. Section 21(7) requires a copy of the application to be served on the respondent and does not state a number of days. Section 23(1) allows an adjudication response only where a payment schedule was provided within the time in section 19(2)(b) or section 21(4)(b). Section 23(2) allows it within the later of 10 business days after receiving a copy of the application and 5 business days after notice of the adjudicator accepting the application. Section 23(4) says reasons for withholding payment must already have been in the payment schedule. Section 24 requires the determination as soon as practicable and, in any case, within 10 business days after the adjudicator receives the response, or within 10 business days after the last day for a response where a payment schedule was lodged, or within 10 business days after acceptance under section 22(4) where no payment schedule was lodged, or within any further period the parties agree. Section 28 allows a new application within 5 business days after the claimant becomes entitled to withdraw, including where no notice of acceptance arrives within 4 business days after the application is made. Section 26 requires the adjudicated amount to be paid before the end of 5 business days immediately after the determination is served on the respondent, or by any later date set under section 25(1)(b)(ii). The CBOS adjudication page states some of these times and also states a determination within 10 business days after lodgement, which section 24 does not say. The CBOS responding page states a 5 business day submission time and does not state the 10 business day alternative. The dates used are the ones in the Act. ## Security of payment check, 22 September 2026 The in-force Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW), read on 22 September 2026, allows a payment claim on and from the last day of the named month, or an earlier date the contract sets for that month, or from the date of termination. It may be served only within the later of the contract period and 12 months after the construction work was last carried out or the related goods and services were last supplied. Except as the contract provides, one payment claim may be served in a named month. The claim must identify the work or related goods and services, indicate the claimed amount, and state that it is made under the Act. A head contractor must not serve a claim on the principal unless it is accompanied by a supporting statement in the form approved by the Secretary. Section 11(1A) makes a progress payment by a principal to a head contractor, other than under an exempt residential construction contract, due 15 business days after the claim, or on an earlier contractual date. Section 11(1B) makes a progress payment to a subcontractor, other than under an exempt residential construction contract, due 20 business days after the claim, or on an earlier contractual date. Section 11(8) says a contractual provision has no effect to the extent it allows a later date under subsection (1A) or (1B). Section 11(1C) makes a progress payment under an exempt residential construction contract due on the contractual date, or, if the contract makes no express provision, 10 business days after the claim. A business day excludes a Saturday, Sunday, public holiday, and 27, 28, 29, 30 or 31 December. The Act and the two NSW Government pages read that day state no dollar threshold. ## Security of payment check, 22 September 2026 The Queensland regime read on 22 September 2026 is the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017, in the reprint current from 28 May 2026. Business Queensland describes progress payments and adjudication and does not state a number of days. Section 67 defines a reference date as the date the contract states, or, if the contract does not, the last day of the month in which construction work was first carried out or related goods and services were first supplied, and the last day of each later month. If the contract is terminated and does not provide for a reference date after termination, or purports to prevent one, the final reference date is the date of termination. From each reference date, section 70 gives a right to a progress payment. Section 68 requires a written payment claim that identifies the construction work or related goods and services, states the claimed amount, requests payment of that amount, and includes the other information prescribed by regulation. A document bearing the word invoice is taken to satisfy the request for payment. Section 75(4) says the claimant cannot make more than one payment claim for each reference date. Section 75(5) allows a later claim to include an amount from a previous claim. Unless the claim is for a final payment, section 75(2) requires it to be given before the end of the longest of the contract period, if any, and 6 months after the construction work was last carried out or the related goods and services were last supplied. A final-payment claim must be given before the end of the longest of the contract period, 28 days after the end of the last defects liability period, 6 months after completion of all construction work, and 6 months after the complete supply of related goods and services. Where there is a subcontract and this construction contract is not itself a subcontract, section 75(7) requires a supporting statement. The maximum penalty is 100 penalty units. Section 75(8) says failure to include it does not affect the validity of the payment claim. Section 73(1) makes the progress payment payable on the day the contract provides or, if the contract does not provide for the matter, 10 business days after the day the payment claim is made. Section 73(4) treats three contracts as contracts to which that 10-business-day rule applies: a contract with a pay-when-paid provision, a construction management trade contract or subcontract mentioned in the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 section 67U, and a commercial building contract mentioned in section 67W of that Act. Section 74 says a pay-when-paid provision has no effect. Schedule 2 says a business day does not include a Saturday or Sunday, a public holiday, special holiday or bank holiday in the place where the act is to be done, or a day in the periods 22 to 24 December, 27 to 31 December, and 2 to 10 January. The editorial notes under section 73 refer to 25 business days and 15 business days in the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act. Those sections were not opened, so those figures are not used here as the due date. ## Security of payment check, 22 September 2026 Section 14 of the NSW Act requires a payment schedule to identify the payment claim and indicate the scheduled amount. If that amount is less than the claimed amount, the schedule must indicate why, and the reasons for withholding. If the respondent does not provide a schedule within the time the contract requires, or within 10 business days after the claim is served, whichever expires earlier, the respondent becomes liable to pay the claimed amount on the due date. Where that schedule was not given and the claimant serves the written notice in section 17(2)(a) within 20 business days immediately following the due date, the respondent has 5 business days after receiving the notice to provide a payment schedule. Section 20(2A) allows an adjudication response only if a payment schedule was provided within the time in section 14(4) or section 17(2)(b). Section 20(2B) keeps out any withholding reason that was not in the payment schedule. The response may be lodged within 5 business days after the respondent receives a copy of the application, or 2 business days after notice of the adjudicator’s acceptance, whichever time expires later. The NSW Government deadline table marks these day counts as business days. ## Security of payment check, 22 September 2026 Section 76 of the current Building Industry Fairness reprint requires a respondent who is given a payment claim to give a payment schedule within whichever ends first of the contract period, if any, and 15 business days after the payment claim is given. The maximum penalty is 100 penalty units. Section 76(2) says no schedule is required if the claimed amount is paid in full on or before the due date. Section 69 says the schedule identifies the payment claim, states the amount proposed to be paid, and, if that amount is less, states why, including the reasons for withholding. The QBCC respond-to-a-payment-request page states the same 15 business days, or earlier if the contract states another timeframe. If no schedule is given as required, section 77 makes the respondent liable to pay the claimed amount on the due date. Section 79 lets the claimant apply to the registrar where the respondent has not paid an amount owed by the due date, or where the scheduled amount is less than the claimed amount. The application must be in the approved form and made within one of three periods: where no payment schedule was given and the full claimed amount was not paid, 30 business days after the later of the due date and the last day for a payment schedule under section 76; where the full scheduled amount was not paid, 20 business days after the due date; where the scheduled amount is less than the claimed amount, 30 business days after the claimant receives the payment schedule. The QBCC apply-for-adjudication page states those three periods and says an application must be lodged with the Registrar on a business day before 5.00pm AEST, with a later lodgement taken to be delivered on the next business day. Section 79(4) requires the claimant to give the respondent a copy of the application and of any submissions within 4 business days after making the application. Section 79(5) requires the registrar to refer the application within 4 business days after it is received. Section 82 says the respondent must not give an adjudication response if no payment schedule was given as required by section 76, and the response must not add withholding reasons that were not in the schedule. For a standard payment claim, section 83 requires the response within the later of 10 business days after receiving the section 79(4) documents and 7 business days after notice of the adjudicator’s acceptance. For a complex payment claim the later of 15 and 12 business days applies, and the respondent may ask for up to 15 additional business days. Section 64 defines a complex payment claim as a claim for more than $750,000, or a greater prescribed amount. The regulation was not read. Section 99, for proceedings to recover the unpaid portion as a debt, requires a warning notice in the approved form no later than 30 business days after the due date, and the proceedings must not start before the end of 5 business days after that notice. An August 2022 QBCC industry guide states 20 business days for that warning notice. That guide figure is not used. ## Security of payment check, 22 September 2026 Republication No 14 of the Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Act 2009 (ACT), effective 6 December 2025, says in section 13 that a progress payment is payable on the earlier of 15 business days after the payment claim is given and the day the payment becomes payable under the contract. The ACT Government page states that same earlier-of test, and says the statutory timeframe applies except where the contract provides a shorter time. Section 15 allows a claim on or after the last day of the calendar month, an earlier day the contract provides, or the day of termination. The claim may be given only before the later of the end of the contract period and the end of 12 months after the work was last carried out or the related goods and services were last supplied. A claimant must not give more than one payment claim for each calendar month unless the contract provides for more. The claim must identify the construction work or related goods and services, state the claimed amount, and state that it is made under the Act. The dictionary says a business day does not include 27, 28, 29, 30 or 31 December, and notes that the Legislation Act dictionary defines business day. The republication note says that, at the republication date, a penalty unit for an offence against the Act is $160 for an individual and $810 for a corporation. Those values are not a threshold for a payment claim or for whether the Act applies. ## Security of payment check, 22 September 2026 The Act read on 22 September 2026 is the Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Act 2021, compilation mrdoc_46833. Its compilation table shows the payment-claim provisions in Part 3, other than sections 57, 59 to 61 and 65, commenced on 1 August 2022. Section 22 is in that set, so it commenced on 1 August 2022. The note to section 9 says the Construction Contracts Act 2004, renamed the Construction Contracts (Former Provisions) Act 2004, continues to apply to construction contracts entered into before section 22 commenced. That former Act was not read. The Topic 1 page on wa.gov.au describes the 2021 Act and does not state a number of days. Section 23 allows a payment claim on or after the last day of the named month in which construction work was first carried out, or related goods and services were first supplied, and on or after the last day of each later named month, or on an earlier date the contract sets for that month. A claim other than a final payment may be made only before the later of the contract date, if any, and 6 months after the work was last carried out or the related goods and services were last supplied. A final-payment claim may be made only before the latest of the contract date, 28 days after the end of the last defects liability period, 6 months after completion of all construction work, and 6 months after supply of all related goods and services. Unless the contract otherwise provides, only one payment claim may be made for a particular named month. Section 24 requires the claim to be in writing and in the approved form if any, to indicate the claimed amount, to describe the items and quantities, to state that it is made under the Act, and to include any other information required by the regulations. Those regulations were not read. An invoice can be a payment claim. Section 20(1) makes a progress payment other than for home building work payable 20 business days after the payment claim where a principal pays a head contractor, and 25 business days after the payment claim where the payment is to a subcontractor. The note says payment by a principal where there is no head contractor is the 25-business-day case. An earlier date in the contract applies. For home building work, section 20(3) uses the contractual date, or 10 business days after the payment claim if the contract does not provide for the matter. Section 10(1) says the Act does not apply to a construction contract for home building work if the principal is an individual, the work is not for multiple dwellings or a residential development business, the value does not exceed $500,000 or any greater amount prescribed by the regulations, and the contract is not between a head contractor and a subcontractor or between two subcontractors. The regulations were not read, so a higher prescribed amount is not stated. Section 4 says a business day is a day other than a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, or any other day from 22 December to 10 January inclusive. ## Security of payment check, 22 September 2026 Section 16 of the ACT Act says the respondent becomes liable to pay the claimed amount on the due date if no payment schedule is given within the earlier of the time required by the contract and 10 business days after the payment claim is given. The schedule must identify the payment claim and state the scheduled amount. If that amount is less, it must indicate why, and, where payment is withheld, the reasons for withholding. Section 22(3) allows an adjudication response only if a payment schedule was provided within the time in section 16(4) or section 19(2)(b). Section 22(4) says the response must not include a withholding reason that was not in the payment schedule. The response may be given at any time before the later of 7 business days after the respondent receives a copy of the application and 5 business days after notice of the adjudicator’s acceptance. A copy must be given to the claimant not later than 2 days after the response is given to the adjudicator. If no schedule was given in the section 16(4) time, section 19(2) requires notice of an intended adjudication application within 20 business days immediately following the due date, and then gives the respondent 5 business days after that notice to provide a payment schedule. The ACT Government page describes the adjudication process and does not restate these schedule periods. Use the Act for the count. ## Security of payment check, 22 September 2026 Section 25 lets the respondent give a payment schedule before the earlier of the time required by the construction contract and 15 business days after the payment claim is made. The schedule must be in writing and in the approved form if any, identify the payment claim, and indicate the scheduled amount, or indicate that no payment is proposed. If the scheduled amount is less or no payment is proposed, it must indicate why, and the reason for any withholding. Section 26 says the respondent becomes liable to pay the claimed amount on the due date if no payment schedule is given within the time allowed. The notes to section 25 say that, without a payment schedule in time, the respondent cannot give an adjudication response, and is not entitled to make an adjudication review application. Section 28 lets the claimant apply for adjudication if the claimed or scheduled amount owed is not paid in full on or before the due date, or if the scheduled amount is less than the claimed amount or no payment is proposed. If no payment schedule was given, an application cannot be made unless the claimant has, within 20 business days after the due date, given written notice of intention to apply, and the respondent has had an opportunity to provide a payment schedule within 5 business days after receiving that notice. The due date is not extended by that opportunity. The application must be made within 20 business days after the claimant first becomes entitled to make it. Section 30 requires a copy of the application and accompanying documents to be given to the respondent within 1 business day after the application is made. Section 34 lets the respondent give an adjudication response within 10 business days after receiving a copy of the application, and only if a payment schedule was given within time. The response cannot include a withholding reason that was not in the payment schedule. A copy of the response must be given to the claimant within 1 business day after it is given to the adjudicator. Section 4 excludes from a business day a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, and any day from 22 December to 10 January inclusive. The Topic 1 page does not restate these periods. ## Security of payment check, 22 September 2026 On 22 September 2026 the South Australian legislation page presented the authorised PDF of the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2009, version 10.12.2011, as the current version, and listed the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Regulations 2026. Those regulations were not read. The Small Business Commission construction page says the Act sets rules for progress payments and response timeframes and does not state a number of days. Section 7(2) says the Act does not apply to a construction contract for domestic building work, within the Building Work Contractors Act 1995, on such part of any premises that the party for whom the work is carried out resides in or proposes to reside in. Section 8 gives a right to a progress payment on and from each reference date. Section 4 defines a reference date as a date determined by or in accordance with the contract, or, if the contract makes no express provision, the last day of the named month in which the work was first carried out or the related goods and services were first supplied, and the last day of each subsequent named month. Section 13 requires a payment claim to identify the construction work or related goods and services, indicate the claimed amount, and state that it is made under the Act. It may be served only within the later of the period determined by the contract and 6 months after the work was last carried out or the related goods and services were last supplied. A claimant cannot serve more than one payment claim for each reference date, and may include an amount that was in a previous claim. Section 11(1)(a) says a progress payment becomes due and payable on the date on which it becomes due and payable in accordance with the contract. The authorised PDF places an “or” after that paragraph. The alternative limb did not come through as readable text, so no default number of days is stated. Section 4, in the definition sitting between authorised nominating authority and claimant, excludes from a business day a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, 27, 28, 29, 30 or 31 December, and any other day on which there is a Statewide shut-down of the operations of the building and construction industry. The PDF columns put those limbs out of order, so section 4 should be opened again before the count. ## Security of payment check, 22 September 2026 Section 14 says the respondent may reply to a payment claim by providing a payment schedule. The schedule must identify the payment claim and indicate the scheduled amount. If the respondent does not provide it within the time required by the contract, or within 15 business days after the payment claim is served, whichever expires earlier, the respondent becomes liable to pay the claimed amount on the due date. Section 15 then lets the claimant sue for the unpaid portion or make an adjudication application under section 17(1)(b), and serve a notice of intention to suspend. Section 16 is the corresponding path where a schedule was provided and the scheduled amount is not paid. Section 17 lets the claimant apply where the scheduled amount is less than the claimed amount, where the scheduled amount is not paid by the due date, or where no schedule was provided and the claimed amount is not paid by the due date. An application in that last case cannot be made unless the claimant has notified the respondent, within the 20 business days immediately following the due date, of the intention to apply, and the respondent has been given an opportunity to provide a payment schedule within 5 business days after receiving the notice. The application must be in writing, made to an authorised nominating authority chosen by the claimant, and made within 15 business days after the claimant receives the payment schedule where the scheduled amount is less, within 20 business days after the due date where the scheduled amount is not paid, or within 15 business days after the end of the 5 business day period in section 17(2)(b) where no schedule was provided. A copy must be served on the respondent. Section 20 lets the respondent lodge an adjudication response within the later of 5 business days after receiving a copy of the application and 2 business days after receiving notice of the adjudicator acceptance, and only if a payment schedule was provided within the time in section 14(4) or section 17(2)(b). The response cannot include a withholding reason that was not already in the payment schedule. The Small Business Commission page does not state these periods. ## Security of payment check, 22 September 2026 The Act read on 22 September 2026 is the Construction Contracts (Security of Payments) Act 2004, as in force at 25 May 2024. The clean text was the official Word file linked from the legislation page, after the PDF extract dropped clauses. Section 8 says a payment dispute arises if a payment claim has been made and either the claim has been rejected or wholly or partly disputed, or when the amount claimed is due to be paid it has not been paid in full; or if an amount retained under the contract is due and has not been paid; or if security due to be returned has not been returned. Section 13 says a provision that purports to require a payment more than 30 working days after the payment is claimed must be read as requiring payment within 30 working days after it is claimed. Sections 19 and 20 imply Schedule 1 only where the contract does not have a written provision about the matter. Schedule 1 clause 6, where it is implied, says a party who rejects the claim or disputes all or part of it must, within 10 working days after receiving the payment claim, give a notice of dispute and pay any undisputed part, or, within 20 working days, pay the whole amount. Section 28 says a party applies by, within 65 working days after the dispute arises, preparing a written application, serving it on each other party, and serving it on the consented adjudicator, the appointed prescribed appointer, or a prescribed appointer chosen by the applicant. Section 28(3) says the first day of that period is the day after the payment dispute arises. Section 39(2)(b) is the alternative period where an earlier application is taken to be dismissed: a further application must be made within 20 working days after that dismissal. The Northern Territory Government page says you have 65 working days from the date the payment dispute arose, and later says a “65 day” limit and that a dismissed application can be the subject of a further application within 28 days. The Act figures are 65 working days, with the first day the day after, and 20 working days for the further application. Those page figures are not used. Section 4 says a working day is a day other than a Saturday or Sunday, a public holiday in the place in which the act is to be or may be done other than a public holiday that is part of a day, or a day from 25 December to 7 January. Section 4A defines a high value construction contract as one under which the amount payable is equal to or greater than the amount prescribed by regulation. That amount was not read. Section 10A allows the parties to a high value construction contract to agree to have payment disputes adjudicated other than under Part 3 where that agreement is a term of the contract and the contract contains a dispute-resolution mechanism in accordance with the Regulations. ## Security of payment check, 22 September 2026 Section 28 requires the written application to state the details of, or attach, the construction contract or relevant extracts and any payment claim that has given rise to the payment dispute, and to state or attach all the information, documents and submissions on which the applicant relies. It must be served on each other party and on the adjudicator or prescribed appointer named in section 28(1)(c). Section 29(1) says that within 15 working days after the date on which a party is served with an application, the party must prepare a written response and serve it on the applicant and on any other party that has been served, and on the appointed adjudicator or, if there is no appointed adjudicator, on the prescribed appointer. The response must contain the information prescribed by the Regulations and the documents on which the party relies. Those regulation fields were not read. Section 30 requires a prescribed appointer served with an application to appoint a registered adjudicator within 5 working days after being served. Section 33 requires the appointed adjudicator to dismiss or determine the application within the prescribed time, or an extension. The prescribed time is 10 working days after the date of service of a response under section 29(1), or, if no response is served, 10 working days after the last date on which a response is required to be served. Section 33(2B) lets the adjudicator, without the parties’ consent, extend that time by an additional 5 working days where that is necessary for procedural fairness. If the application is not dismissed or determined in time, section 33(2) says it is taken to be dismissed. Section 39(2)(b) then allows a further application within 20 working days after that dismissal. The government page says 15 working days to respond and 10 working days for a decision, which matches sections 29 and 33, and also says a further application may be made within 28 days and that a suspension notice gives at least three days’ notice. Those last two page figures are not used. Section 44 lets the contractor give notice of intention to suspend if a determination requiring payment is not paid. The notice must state the date of the intended suspension and be given at least 3 working days before that date. Suspension may then continue until no longer than 3 working days after the amount is paid. ## Tasks (31) | Task | Level | How AI is used | What the lawyer must review | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Prepare and check a progress-payment claim before it is served](https://ailawframework.com/practice/construction-and-infrastructure/prepare-and-check-a-progress-payment-claim-before-it-is-served.md) | Red | Draft a progress-payment claim structure from the schedule of rates or invoices, and list reference-date and endorsement points still to confirm. | Apply the security-of-payment or prompt-payment rules for the site Check reference dates, endorsements and service windows; they differ and are fatal if wrong | | [Draft the payment schedule and adjudication response](https://ailawframework.com/practice/construction-and-infrastructure/draft-the-payment-schedule-and-adjudication-response.md) | Red | Draft a payment schedule or adjudication response from the claim, the contract and the reasons on the file, mapping each disputed item to a document. | Calendar the statutory window yourself Attach every document cited Do not invent adjudication authorities | | [Review a construction contract against the chosen standard form](https://ailawframework.com/practice/construction-and-infrastructure/review-a-construction-contract-against-the-chosen-standard-form.md) | Yellow | Compare the draft to the named standard form, list departures on payment, variation, time-bar, risk allocation and dispute clauses, and produce an issues table. | Identify the actual standard-form version Check time-bars and conditions precedent;… | | Prepare a variation or extension-of-time claim from the site records | Yellow | From the contract, site diaries, programmes and correspondence, draft a variation or EOT claim with a chronology, clause references and a list of missing… | Check notice and time-bar clauses; missing them is fatal Check the claim against the actual clause and contemporaneous records | | [Build a defects schedule and draft the demand from the inspection reports](https://ailawframework.com/practice/construction-and-infrastructure/build-a-defects-schedule-and-draft-the-demand-from-the-inspection-report.md) | Yellow | Turn inspection reports into a defects schedule and a first-draft demand, with each item tagged to a report page and a list of limitation facts still needed. | Confirm which building statute and limitation period apply Confirm expert reports meet the court's expert-witness code before they are served | | Prepare a delay-and-quantum issues table from the experts' drafts | Yellow | From delay reports and cost files, table critical-path allegations, concurrent-delay arguments and quantum heads with document cites. | Decide causation and recoverable heads yourself Do not let a generated table become the expert's opinion | | Draft construction-dispute pleadings or arbitration submissions | Red | Map each issue in the lawyer's issues table to the clause, notice or variation the lawyer has cited for it and to the documents in the evidence index, and set… | The lawyer drafts the pleading, the particulars or the memorial, settles each allegation against the contract and the evidence, and writes the entries in any… | | Review tender and procurement documents for risk allocation | Yellow | Compare the tender conditions, proposed contract and scope against the client's risk list; produce an issues table on design risk, time, payment and liability. | Leave bid qualifications to the client as a commercial decision Check mandatory government-procurement rules if the principal is a public body | | Draft contract-administration notices from the clause and the facts | Yellow | Draft notices (default, suspension, termination, superintendent directions) that follow the contract's notice clause, with a service checklist. | Check form, timing and who is authorised to issue the notice Get it right; a defective notice can lose the right | | Draft or review a design novation package | Yellow | From the consultant appointments and the proposed D&C contract, draft a novation deed and a table of warranties, IP and professional-indemnity issues. | Confirm the consultant's consent mechanics Confirm design liability sits where the client intends | | Review a PPP or alliance project deed for a bid or dispute | Yellow | Extract payment, KPIs, change, termination, interface and dispute clauses into an issues table with clause references. | Read the deed itself; these deeds are fact-specific Do not advise from a generated summary of a 400-page deed | | Build a notice-compliance register from the contract and correspondence | Green | Extract every notice obligation (time bars, variation, EOT, delay, latent conditions) into a register with trigger, form, addressee and whether the file shows… | Decide whether each notice was valid Check time-bar compliance; missing it can kill a claim | | Assemble and lodge the adjudication application within the statutory window | Yellow | Build the item-by-item table of the payment claim against every reason for withholding in the payment schedule, index the contract, site records and payment… | Confirm the triggering event and the last day of the window against the applicable Act, confirm the nominating authority or registry is the correct one, and… | | Serve a payment withholding request or subcontractors' charge to reach money held upstream | Yellow | Complete the approved form's particulars from the subcontract and the payment records, build the schedule of work and amounts claimed, and check the claim… | Confirm money is still owing up the chain, confirm the window has not closed, and advise the client what electing this remedy costs them before it is served. | | Verify the head contractor's supporting statement before the payment claim is served | Red | Index the subcontract ledger and payment records against the subcontractor list for the claim period, list every subcontractor whose payment status is… | Check the reconciliation against the actual accounts, confirm the signatory can properly make the declaration, and confirm the statement accompanies the claim… | | File the adjudication certificate as a judgment debt and set the recovery route | Yellow | Reconcile the adjudicated amount against payments received to fix the unpaid balance, assemble the filing pack and covering material for the court, and draft… | Check the unpaid balance against the accounts, confirm the court's jurisdiction for the amount, and take the affidavit from the claimant yourself. | | Build the project trust and retention money compliance register for the project | Green | Draft the register from the contract values, dates and retention terms, applying the threshold and account requirements of the applicable regime, and list the… | Confirm the contract values and the dates the thresholds were reached, confirm which contracts the regime actually catches, and advise on the consequence of… | | Build the statutory warranty and liability cut-off schedule for a residential building claim | Red | Extract the completion, occupancy permit and certificate dates from the documents the lawyer identifies, tabulate each defect item from the inspection reports… | Classify each defect and fix the trigger date yourself against the primary document, then check every barred and near-barred item before advising. | | Check a residential building contract and the builder's licence against the statutory requirements | Green | Draft the compliance schedule by comparing the contract clause by clause against the statutory requirements and the prescribed terms, list the mandatory terms… | Confirm the work is residential building work and which contract provisions of the Act apply, check the licence and insurance against the register rather than… | | Compare an adjudication determination against the application and response for review grounds | Red | Compare the determination paragraph by paragraph against the adjudication application and response, index where each claimed item and each reason for… | Identify the grounds yourself from the comparison, confirm the window and the correct forum, and settle whether the point is jurisdictional or an error within… | | Draft a security-of-payment adjudication response from the site records | Yellow | Organise payment claim, schedule, contract and site diaries into a cited issues table. | Verify each date and reason against the record; reasons not in the payment schedule may be excluded. | | Check AI-summarised delay and variation claims against the programme | Yellow | Extract notices, dates and claimed EOT days into a table linked to source documents. | Test causation and notice compliance yourself. | | Prepare a construction expert brief that addresses AI use | Green | Draft instructions requiring disclosure of any Gen AI use in the report. | Confirm forum rules (e.g. NSW SC Gen 23, LEC note). | | [Summarise a construction contract's clauses in plain language for the client](https://ailawframework.com/practice/construction-and-infrastructure/summarise-a-construction-contract-s-clauses-in-plain-language-for-the-cl.md) | Green | Produce a clause-by-clause plain-English summary from the executed contract. | Check each summary against the clause text; flag special conditions. | | [Flag non-standard clauses against the AS 4000/AS 11000 base form](https://ailawframework.com/practice/construction-and-infrastructure/flag-non-standard-clauses-against-the-as-4000-as-11000-base-form.md) | Yellow | Compare the amended contract with the standard form and list departures. | Lawyer confirms each departure and its risk allocation. | | [Build a time-bar and notice-trigger table from the subcontract](https://ailawframework.com/practice/construction-and-infrastructure/build-a-time-bar-and-notice-trigger-table-from-the-subcontract.md) | Yellow | Extract every notice clause, trigger and time limit with clause references. | Verify each time limit against the clause and SOPA overrides. | | [Draft a first-pass expert brief for a delay or quantum expert](https://ailawframework.com/practice/construction-and-infrastructure/draft-a-first-pass-expert-brief-for-a-delay-or-quantum-expert.md) | Yellow | Assemble questions and document list from the issues table. | No AI in the expert's report without leave (Federal Court GPN-AI; NSW SC Gen 23). | | [Prepare a site-diary search and summary for a variation dispute](https://ailawframework.com/practice/construction-and-infrastructure/prepare-a-site-diary-search-and-summary-for-a-variation-dispute.md) | Green | Search diaries and correspondence for events tied to each variation. | Spot-check every cited diary entry. | | Check AI-drafted payment claims and schedules against the security-of-payment Act | Yellow | Compare the claim or schedule content and timing against the statutory requirements. | Lawyer confirms the statutory deadlines. | | Index expert reports in a building dispute | Green | Index and cross-reference expert opinions by defect item. | Verify against the reports. | | Draft a variation-claim chronology from site correspondence | Green | Build a dated chronology of directions and notices. | Check against source emails. | ## Jurisdiction notes ### New Zealand #### Payment regime Construction Contracts Act 2002, not the East Coast SOP Acts. It sets a payment regime, fast adjudication and enforcement of unpaid amounts. #### Retention money Protected on commercial contracts. The 2023 Amendment Act came into force on 5 October 2023: new commercial contracts from that date and existing ones renewed on or after it. #### Homeowners The retention-money rules do not apply to contracts with homeowners or residential occupiers. #### Not Australian law Do not serve a NSW payment claim or Victorian payment schedule as a CCA notice. - Do not generate a payment claim or adjudication notice on an Australian SOP form. Sources: - [Construction Contracts Act 2002](https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2002/46/en/latest/) (checked 2026-09-23) - [MBIE: Understanding the Construction Contracts Act 2002](https://www.mbie.govt.nz/building-and-energy/building/supporting-a-skilled-and-productive-workforce/understanding-the-construction-contracts-act-2002) (checked 2026-09-23) - [Courts of New Zealand: GenAI guidelines — Lawyers (7 December 2023)](https://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/assets/6-Going-to-Court/practice-directions/practice-guidelines/all-benches/20231207-GenAI-Guidelines-Lawyers.pdf) (checked 2026-09-23) ### United States Local name: Construction and infrastructure #### Payment rights Prompt-payment and mechanic's-lien rights are state statutes, not the Security of Payment Acts. Federal construction can add the Miller Act. #### Checking Formal Opinion 512: check generated claims, dates and statutory references against the contract and the current state lien statute. - Do not serve a generated payment claim or lien notice until you have matched it to the governing state statute and the contract. Sources: - [ABA Formal Opinion 512, Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools (29 July 2024)](https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/professional_responsibility/ethics-opinions/aba-formal-opinion-512.pdf) (checked 2026-09-23) - [ABA Model Rule 1.1, Comment 8](https://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/rule_1_1_competence/comment_on_rule_1_1/) (checked 2026-09-23) - [40 U.S.C. § 3131 (Miller Act): bonds of contractors of public buildings or works](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/40/3131) (checked 2026-09-23) *Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*