ACP Properties (Townsville) Pty Ltd v Rodrigues Construction Group Pty Ltd

The matter between ACP Properties (Townsville) Pty Ltd and Rodrigues Construction Group Pty Ltd, along with an adjudication decision by a third party, was heard in the Supreme Court of Queensland. The applicant, ACP Properties, had engaged the first respondent, Rodrigues Construction Group, to carry out refurbishment work on a commercial building. ACP Properties questioned the validity of an adjudication decision made by the second respondent, who was acting as an adjudicator under the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017. The central issues were whether an invoice from Rodrigues Construction Group contained adequate details to qualify as a payment claim under the Act, and whether two emails from ACP Properties to Rodrigues Construction Group constituted payment schedules within the Act's definition. The court was also required to determine if the adjudicator's failure to recognise either email as a payment schedule was a jurisdictional error that nullified the adjudication decision, or whether the error was within the adjudicator's jurisdiction and did not invalidate the decision.

The court found that the adjudication decision was void due to the adjudicator's failure to recognise the two emails as payment schedules, which was a jurisdictional error. The court held that the adjudicator did not have jurisdiction to make the adjudication decision because the failure to recognise the emails as payment schedules meant the decision was not made in accordance with the Act. The court also determined that the invoice from Rodrigues Construction Group did not contain sufficient detail to be considered a payment claim under the Act. Consequently, the adjudication decision was void and of no effect. The court ordered that the amount paid into court by ACP Properties be paid back to them, along with any interest accrued. Rodrigues Construction Group was also ordered to pay ACP Properties' costs related to the adjudication validity issue. Lastly, the court corrected an administrative error in a previous order, specifying that the order was made by Ryan J, not Crow J.

The final orders of the court were that the adjudication decision made by the adjudicator on 6 November 2020 was declared void and of no effect. The money paid into court by ACP Properties, with any accrued interest, was to be returned to them. Rodrigues Construction Group was ordered to pay the costs incurred by ACP Properties in relation to the adjudication validity issue. Finally, a clerical error in a previous order was corrected to reflect that the order was made by Ryan J.