Amendments to the
Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005 mean that there are changes to the Scheme from 1 October 2007.
The threshold for directly funded contracts has been lowered, and the Scheme will also cover head contractors on building and construction projects indirectly funded by the Australian Government, subject to the following financial thresholds.
Projects directly funded by the Australian Government
Projects are considered to be directly funded where an Australian Government agency has responsibility for the project funding and development, for example a Defence facility, Medicare or Centrelink Office or a fit-out or refurbishment of existing Australian Government office accommodation.
The Scheme applies to projects that are directly funded by the Australian Government with a value of $3 million or more.
Projects indirectly funded by the Australian Government
Projects are considered indirectly funded where an Australian Government agency contributes funding to a third party recipient, such as a state government, through mechanisms such as funding agreements, grants and other programmes, for example road construction projects funded by the Australian Government or a new school built by a state government using funding provided by the Australian Government.
The Scheme applies to projects that are indirectly funded by the Australian Government where:
- the value of the Australian Government contribution to the project is at least $5 million and represents at least 50 per cent of the total construction project value; or
- the Australian Government contribution to a project is $10 million or more, irrespective of the proportion of Australian Government funding.
These thresholds apply to new funding agreements and new grants from 1 October 2007. Existing projects are not affected.