Jackson McDonald has successfully represented its client, Martinus Rail Pty Ltd, in a landmark decision under Western Australia’s Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Act 2021 (WA) (SOPA).
In Martinus Rail Pty Ltd v Co-Operative Bulk Handling Ltd [2025] WASC 373, Martinus’ $22 million payment claim, served by email on a Saturday, triggered a dispute over when the response period began. The Supreme Court rejected CBH’s argument that a contractual deeming clause pushed the start date to Monday, confirming that SOPA’s statutory timing rules prevail.
This is the first WA decision following a final hearing on section 27(3) of SOPA. It reinforces the importance of acting promptly on payment claims and that parties cannot contract out of the Act’s strict timing rules.
Jackson McDonald’s Construction and Infrastructure team – led by Tom Jacobs (Partner), Belinda Wong (Partner), and Michael Stulic (Senior Associate) acted for Martinus.
This is a decisive outcome for statutory payment rights and a strong result for our client.