If you are a contractor working on a non-residential building construction contract valued over $1.5 million you will likely be required to operate a project bank account (PBA). The AS2124 PBA information pack contains important information on how PBAs operate on Department of Finance contracts. Information packs for other types of contracts will be published on Tenders WA with the request documentation.
Watch the videos below for an overview of how PBAs operate on non-residential building construction projects or scroll down to publications to view a range of other resources.
What are project bank accounts?
PBAs are a different type of payment method. They use a dedicated trust account to enable payments to be made directly and simultaneously from the principal of the contract through to the head contractor and participating subcontractors on a project.
PBAs have several benefits, they:
- provide subcontractors with a degree of insolvency protection
- speed up the payment process for participating subcontractors
- increase transparency and accountability in the payment process
PBAs do not:
- alter existing contractual arrangements between head contractors and subcontractors
- prevent head contractors from managing the performance of their subcontractors
- prevent head contractors from withholding payment from their subcontractors when contractual obligations are not met
- prevent head contractors or their subcontractors from seeking adjudication or commencing legal action in the event of a dispute
- prevent head contractors or their subcontractors from experiencing financial difficulty.
Subcontractors
If you are a subcontractor that will be/ is being paid through a PBA, go to Subcontracting on government projects for information on this and other payment related information and resources.
