A NSW company contracted to do work at Parliament House has been fined by the Federal Circuit Court after it failed to pay a subcontractor.
The court fined N-Cap Pty Ltd $5000 on February 3 and ordered it pay the ACT-based subcontractor $10,633 within 90 days.
The court's ruling followed months of legal proceedings between the Australian Building and Construction Commission and N-Cap.
N-Cap was hired to work on the Parliament House security upgrade project.
The commission began an audit in July 2019 to assess if contractors were paying subcontractors.
The commission found N-cap failed to pay a subcontractor and had breached the Code for the Tendering and Performance of Building Work 2016 (Building Code).
It issued a compliance notice to N-Cap to pay the subcontractor on May 12, 2020.
N-Cap did not follow the notice, breaking section 99(7) of the Building and Construction Industry Improving Productivity Act 2016 (BCIIP Act), the commission said.
This led to the commission beginning legal action against the company in September 2020.
ABCC Commissioner Steve McBurney said this case was the first time the commission initiated court proceedings over security of payment laws.
"Subbies deserve to be paid for the work they have undertaken, in full and on time," Mr McBurney said.
