Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act Review

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, Minister for Small Business) (14:13): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: The Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2009 has been in operation for over three years. Under section 36 of the act, I as minister am required to review the act and determine whether the policy objectives remain valid and whether the terms of the act remain appropriate for securing those objectives. The review has been completed and I have tabled copies to the house.

Former youth and District Court judge, Mr Alan Moss, was engaged by the Office of the Small Business Commissioner to assist me in the review. Submissions were sought from key stakeholder groups and advertisements advising of the review were placed in The Advertiser in December 2014 and January 2015. In addition, information of the review was placed on the Small Business Commissioner's website. A total of 24 submissions were received, and Mr Moss and the Small Business Commissioner also met with a number of parties.

There remains considerable concern within sections of the industry about the imbalance of power between subcontractors and head contractors, and Mr Moss was presented with evidence of behaviours of some parties which show the industry is a long way from best practice when it comes to a smooth payment process. Any future changes to the way the building and construction industry operates must be taken with great caution to ensure that the industry is not burdened by excessive red tape.

The Moss review made significant recommendations and the review has been distributed to key stakeholders for comment. The Small Business Commissioner is currently reviewing relevant legislation in other jurisdictions relating to subcontractor payments. I will provide the house with further updates on the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2009 as they become available.

Mr Speaker, on a related issue, I would also like to place on the record that the failure of Tagara is of great concern to the state government. The Small Business Commissioner spoke to Tagara liquidators, Clifton Hall, on Monday, 29 June, who advised that a meeting of creditors was scheduled to be held on 14 July 2015. Contact will continue with liquidators to establish the cause of Tagara's collapse, and I will report back to the house with an update on this matter when appropriate to do so.