The case involved the liquidators of construction company, PBS Building (Qld) Pty Ltd (PBS), seeking access to funds held in PBS’ project and retention trust accounts to meet their costs, expenses and remuneration.
The Supreme Court of Queensland determined that the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payments) Act 2017 (Qld) (BIF Act) excluded the trustee of a project trust account or retention trust account from the right to compensation from these trusts, preventing the liquidators from claiming this benefit.
The court did note, however, that there could be a potential avenue for liquidators to recover their costs, expenses, and remuneration out of those accounts if their efforts produced benefits for the beneficiaries…
