Investigating the factors influencing the quality of adjudication of complex payment disputes in Australia

Statutory adjudication has been enacted throughout Australia on a state-by-state basis. The original enacting legislation may be broadly divided into two models which have become known as the East Coast and West Coast models. The East Coast model adjudication scheme – which is operational in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, ACT and South Australia – has in recent times come under much criticism for failing to facilitate determinations of sufficient quality with respect to large and/or complex payment claims. By carrying out a thorough desktop study approach whereby evidence is garnered from three primary sources – government commissioned consultation papers, academic publications and judicial decisions – this paper reviews this criticism and therefrom distils the key factors influencing the quality of adjudication of large and/or complex claims in Australia.