IMPORTANT UPDATE ON PAYMENT SECURITY

The Master Plumbers’ Association of Queensland (MPAQ) has been leading the charge for payment security reform in the plumbing, draining, and gasfitting industry for many years.

Plumbers, drainers, and gasfitters must be paid for the work you do, and while Queensland now has the best laws in Australia for subbies, we have to keep going to make them better.

Some of the wins we have had so far are:

• The strongest anti-phoenixing laws in the country

• Contractor licence suspension, or cancellation for dodgy book-keeping

• Better processes for payment disputes and monies owed

• New payment withholding requests, charges over property and supporting statement

• A commenced roll out of project trust accounts and retention trust accounts

What needs to happen next:

• Complete the roll out of project trust accounts

• Ban unfair terms in contracts

• Fix contracts and other loopholes that mean fire safety defects are not fixed

• Review the Home Warranty Scheme.

The roll-out of project trust accounts is a crucial component of the government’s approach to payment security and has been progressively introduced since 2018. These accounts are designed to protect progress payments and retention amounts in the event of insolvency.

However, due to challenges with accounting software capability and record-keeping requirements, there have been changes to commencement dates for the two remaining phases of the trust account framework:

• Phase 3 (eligible contracts of $3 million or more) scheduled to commence on 1 April 2023 –changed to 1 March 2025.

• Phase 4 (eligible contracts of $1 million or more) scheduled to commence on 1 October 2023 –changed to 1 October 2025.

• Retention trusts accounts will also apply throughout the contractual chain from this point. Despite these challenges, MPAQ remains committed to fighting for the full roll-out of project trust accounts and will be part of a steering committee to help fix the software problem, and sub-contractors’ voices will be heard in the process.

If you have any concerns about payment security, or if you would like more information about these changes, please call MPAQ at 07 3273 0800 or email info@mpaq.com.au.