Construction Law Update November/December 2019

In our final bumper edition of Construction Law Update for 2019, we cover decisions from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia. The New South Wales decisions consider compliance with contractual subcontracting provisions, compliance with security of payment legislation and the relationship between termination and contractual cure periods. The Queensland decisions reiterate the importance of establishing a causal link between the alleged action and the damage claimed in pleadings and remind us that in certain circumstances costs will not always follow the event. A recent decision in the Victorian Supreme Court serves as a reminder that settlement agreements can put your right to further claims at risk. The Western Australian Supreme Court affirms that global claims will not be permitted as a trojan horse for poorly pleaded claims and the court is not willing to prevent enforcement of a determination under the Construction Contracts Act 2004 (WA) unless it is in the balance of convenience to prevent payment.