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Project Bank Account Evaluation Underway

  • December 13, 2018

Project Bank Account Evaluation Underway

Evaluation and consultation activities in relation to Stage 1 of the State Government’s Project Bank Accounts reforms have commenced, with the Government’s Evaluation Panel releasing a discussion paper for industry feedback.

From 1 March 2018, building projects tendered by the Queensland Government (excluding engineering projects) valued between $1 million and $10 million have been operating under the PBA model – which is aimed at safeguarding payments for subcontractors. It is the Government’s intention to apply the model to all public and private projects above $1 million after 1 March 2019

The Discussion Paper seeks feedback on all aspects of the reforms, the mechanics of the PBA model, and the timing and implementation of Stage 2. Feedback can be made through a written submission, or by responding to an online questionnaire. Responses to the paper will accepted by Friday 15 February 2019.

In October, the Property Council released a position paper outlining the industry’s collective solutions to address the primary difficulties that have been experienced by the sector in working under Stage 1 of the reforms.

The ‘5 Ways to Improve the PBA Model’ paper offers practical improvements to the framework and calls on the Government to:
• Realign timeframes and penalties
• Rationalise the trust accounts
• Remove Principal supervision
• Allow greater flexibility in payments
• Defer full implementation

The Property Council maintains the position that the entire PBA reform package is counterproductive to the Government’s stated objectives and will have a perverse impact on the industry. However, the Property Council has been working closely with its membership to identify practical and achievable improvements to the framework.

The Property Council will provide a submission in response to the discussion paper, and continue engagement with Building Industry Fairness Reforms Implementation and Evaluation Panel to ensure the industry’s concerns are understood and addressed.