In a recent Supreme Court case, the appellant appealed against a first-instance judgment in which he had sought to annul an arbitral award. The dispute related to the non-payment of a loan granted by the respondent to the appellant and a subsequent challenge of the amount owed. Arbitration had taken place in which the arbitrator had issued his decision in favour of the respondent.

After much anticipation, the Federal Court has finally confirmed that the Construction Industry Payment and Adjudication Act 2012 applies only to construction contracts entered into after the act took effect on 15 April 2014. As such, any adjudication proceedings based on a claim arising from a construction contract which was entered into before that date, including adjudication decisions, are null and void.