Are your Payment Claims SOPA Compliant?

Are your Payment Claims SOPA Compliant?

As we kickstart 2025, here is a timely reminder to ensure your payment claims comply with the provisions of the Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Act 2021 (WA) (SOPA)[1] in order to preserve your right to adjudicate a claim, should a dispute arise down the track.

Key Requirements

Section 24 of the SOPA requires a payment claim to:[2]

1. be made in writing; and
2. indicate the amount of the progress payment that the claimant claims is payable by the respondent; and
3. describe the items and quantities of construction work or related goods and services, to which the progress payment relates; and
4. state that it is made under the SOPA; and
5. include any other information required by the Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Regulations 2022 (WA) (Regulations).[3]

A payment claim may also be described as an invoice and the amount stated in the invoice is a sufficient indication of the claimed amount.[4] The claimant does not need to sign the payment claim for it to be valid.[5]  A payment claim must also be served on the respondent by email, post or personal service to the respondent’s registered place of business.[6]

Additional Requirements

If a payment claim is for home building works exceeding the amount of $500,000, a homeowner’s notice must be included before the payment claim can be served on the Principal.[7] The homeowner’s notice is a prescribed form that can be found in the Regulations. Although, a homeowner’s notice is not required if the Principal is a corporation, the work carried out is in relation to multiple dwellings, or if the work carried out is for the purposes of a Principal’s residential development business.[8]

Need Help with SOPA Claims?

Understanding payment claim requirements under SOPA can help you avoid costly disputes. We recommend that, as a matter of practice, all payment claims adhere to the strict requirements under s 24 of the SOPA. A claimant may be precluded from making an application for adjudication if their payment claim does not include any one of the five pre-requisites in s 24. The Building Commissioner has published an optional payment claim form which contains the minimum statutory requirements for a payment claim. A link to the Building Commissioner’s payment claim form can be found here.

If you need assistance with ensuring your payment claims are SOPA compliant, contact our construction law team today.

[1] Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Act 2021 (WA).

[2] SOPA s 24(1)(a)-(e).

[3] Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Regulations 2022 (WA).

[4] SOPA s 24(3).

[5] SOPA s 24(4).

[6] SOPA s 113.

[7] SOPA s 24(2).

[8] SOPA s 24 (2)(a)-(b).