In determining the interpretation of "arrangement" under the SOP Act, Justice Ball considered several cases. Ultimately his honour found it unhelpful to look to cases interpreting "arrangement" in other legislative provisions and did not follow them. Instead, for the SOP Act to apply, Justice Ball held that the subject of the "contract or other arrangement" had to be the provision of construction work or the supply of related goods or service. Therefore under this Act, the expression "contract or other arrangement" gave rise to a legal obligation to provide something in return for the construction work or related goods or services.
Justice Ball was not persuaded by Timecon's claim that an arrangement existed between the parties, finding a key witness' evidence unreliable, due to a failure to address critical matters in his affidavit evidence and its inconsistency with a considerable amount of correspondence between the parties.
Overall, Justice Ball found that no contract or other arrangement existed between Timecon and LLBJV within the meaning of the SOP Act. As a result, he did not need to consider whether the contract or other arrangement related to construction work. Justice Ball did note however that, on the evidence, the work was not construction work, but rather an arrangement for the tipping of spoil at that site.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
BuildLaw | July 2019
Misha Rouyanian
Senior Associate, Brisbane
Namira Rahman
Graduate, Brisbane
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