Delay for next phase of project trust accounts

Queensland’s builders have welcomed the Queensland Government’s decision to delay the introduction of Project Trust Accounts (PTAs) into the private sector for contracts over $3 million from 1 April, 2023, to 1 March, 2025 and for contracts over $1 million from 1 October, 2023 to 1 October, 2025.

It is important to note that Project Trust Accounts continue to apply to state government projects (including hospital and health services) with a project value of $1 million or more and all projects (including private sector and local government projects) with a project value of $10 million or more. The delay comes at a time when the industry is grappling with a multitude of issues, and we’ve been cautioning the Queensland Government that adding more red tape and extra costs to do business in the current climate could push some over the edge.

Since PTAs were put on the table, we’ve had concerns that the framework is too complex and burdensome, and we advocated hard at the time against their introduction. We don’t believe PTAs are likely to provide the protections they are advertised to provide, due to the difficulty of legislating a complicated and onerous trust framework for a project account.

We’ve opposed them from the beginning and don’t believe they should be rolled out any further. Last year, we successfully pushed for a delay in their rollout to lower-value projects because the administrative burden is particularly onerous on smaller businesses. There are just too many costly administrative requirements that are very difficult to comply with, without providing the protection they’re designed to give. Financiers and accountants are also reporting cashflow problems that PTAs are creating.

We will continue to have a voice at the table and work with the state government on any further rollout of PTAs to industry. 