In MWB Everton Park Pty Ltd as trustee for MWB Everton Park Unit Trust v Devcon Building Co Pty Ltd [2024] QCA 94, the applicant, MWB Everton Park Pty Ltd, appealed against a District Court decision which found in favour of the respondent, Devcon Building Co Pty Ltd, regarding a disputed progress payment claim. The respondent had contracted to construct 56 townhouses and claimed that two sets of documents sent to the applicant constituted a payment claim under the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (Qld) (BIFA). The District Court initially sided with the respondent, ruling that the applicant’s payment schedule was invalid as it was issued out of time.
Upon appeal, the Court of Appeal granted leave to appeal, allowed the appeal, and set aside the District Court’s order. The Court of Appeal held that the documents sent by the respondent on 30 June 2023 did not meet the statutory definition of a payment claim under s 68 of the BIFA, as they failed to adequately identify the construction work, state the claimed amount, and request payment of that amount. Consequently, MWB Everton Park Pty Ltd was not required to respond with a payment schedule under the BIFA. As a result, the originating application against MWB was dismissed, and the respondent was ordered to pay the appellant's costs for both the initial proceedings and the appeal.