Complete Hire and Sales Pty Ltd v Terrafirma Constructions Pty Ltd [No 2]

Complete Hire and Sales Pty Ltd (CHS) filed an application to set aside a statutory demand issued by Terra Firma Constructions Pty Ltd (Terra Firma). The dispute arose from the Beadon Bay Project and the Decmil Project, where CHS claimed that Terra Firma had not completed the work to the required standard, resulting in additional costs for CHS. The primary legal issue was whether the evidence provided by CHS was sufficient to establish a genuine dispute or an offsetting claim, particularly in light of the time frame for filing affidavits and the nature of the claims made.

The court held that affidavits filed more than 21 days after the service of the statutory demand, which introduced new grounds for setting aside the demand, could not be used in the application. The First Dillon Affidavit did not support an offsetting claim by CHS against Terra Firma regarding the timing or quality of work performed at the Beadon Bay Project. The affidavit primarily referred to costs associated with the Decmil Project, and did not sufficiently support an offsetting claim regarding the Beadon Bay Project. The court also noted that while annexures to affidavits could sometimes support an offsetting claim, this was not the case where the nature of the dispute was not apparent from the body of the affidavit. The court concluded that the requirement for a supporting affidavit under s 459G(3) was met where the issue sought to be raised was one of construction within the four corners of the provision on which the statutory demand depended, and the document in question was put into evidence by the affidavit filed and served within the 21-day period.

The court dismissed CHS's application to set aside the statutory demand, finding that the evidence provided did not establish a genuine dispute or an offsetting claim. The court further found that the statutory demand was not defective in failing to list separate debts, and that no substantial injustice would be caused if the demand was not set aside. The application was dismissed with costs.