Precept Services Pty Ltd v Concrete Equipment Australia; (Trading) Pty Ltd and Anor

Precept Services Pty Ltd sought to recover charges from Concrete Equipment Australia, alleging breach of contract. The dispute reached the court, where the primary issue was whether Precept Services' notice of claim was sufficiently certain to comply with the Subcontractors' Charges Act (QLD). Specifically, the court needed to determine if the notice, which referred to a claim for retention money but was not in the approved form, was inevitably uncertain and whether it was directed towards all money or just retention money.

The court examined the notice in question and found it referred to a claim for all money but was not in the approved form required by the Act. The court held that the notice was inevitably uncertain as it did not specify the precise amount or nature of the claim beyond referencing retention money. The court considered whether this uncertainty rendered the notice ineffective under the statutory requirements. Ultimately, the court found that the notice was directed towards all money rather than just retention money, and thus, it did not meet the statutory form requirement but still contained sufficient information to be considered valid.

The court concluded that the notice was not inevitably uncertain and could be interpreted as a claim for all money. However, because it was not in the approved form, the court modified the plaintiff's claim to reduce the amount claimed to $148,340.51. Additionally, the court ordered that the sum of $119,054.53, together with accretions, be paid out of court to the solicitors for the first defendant.