Fast statutory recovery of unpaid progress payments under the Construction Industry Payment and Adjudication Act 2012 — from the payment claim to enforcement of the decision.

Practice 01

CIPAA statutory adjudication

Statutory adjudication is the fastest route in Malaysia to recover money owed under a construction contract. We run adjudications from either side of the table — for unpaid contractors and subcontractors bringing a claim, and for employers and main contractors responding to one — and we get the statutory paperwork right, because that is where adjudications are usually won or lost.

Why adjudication, and why speed matters

CIPAA gives an unpaid party the right to refer a payment dispute under a written construction contract to an adjudicator, who must decide within a strict statutory timetable. A decision on the merits typically arrives inside about 100 working days from the payment claim, and it is binding and enforceable even while any arbitration or litigation on the same dispute continues. For a contractor carrying the cost of works already done, that speed is the whole point.

Getting the payment claim and notice right

The commonest way to lose an adjudication is not on the merits — it is on the paperwork. A payment claim that does not properly identify the amount claimed, the works to which it relates and the due date can be challenged; a notice of adjudication that misdescribes the dispute can hand the other side a jurisdiction point. We draft and review these documents against the Act and the current case law before they are served.

Running the reference to a decision

Once an adjudicator is appointed — by agreement, or by the Director of the AIAC if the parties cannot agree — the reference moves quickly: adjudication claim, adjudication response, reply, and decision, each on a fixed number of working days. We build the submissions, marshal the contemporaneous records and evidence, and keep every deadline, so the adjudicator has what they need to decide in your favour within time.

Map the statutory deadlines

Enter your payment-claim date and see every CIPAA milestone in working days.

Open the Timeline Planner

How we help

Advising on entitlement and strategy before a claim is served
Drafting and serving payment claims and notices of adjudication
Preparing adjudication claims, responses and replies
Nominating and challenging the appointment of adjudicators
Applications on jurisdiction and natural justice within the reference
Enforcement of adjudication decisions under s.28 CIPAA

Common questions

How long does a CIPAA adjudication take?

From service of the payment claim to the adjudicator’s decision is usually around 100 working days — roughly four to five months — assuming no extension is agreed. The adjudicator must decide within 45 working days of the response deadline, extendable by a further 30 working days only with the consent of both parties. Our CIPAA Timeline Planner maps every milestone from your claim date.

Can I adjudicate if there is an arbitration clause?

Yes. The right to adjudicate a payment dispute exists alongside any arbitration or court agreement. Adjudication does not replace those forums; it gives you an interim, binding and enforceable decision on payment while the final determination of the dispute takes its course.

What if the other side ignores the payment claim?

If a payment response is not served within 10 working days of the payment claim, the respondent is deemed to dispute the entire claim, and you may proceed to serve a notice of adjudication. Silence is not a safe strategy for either party — a respondent who does not engage still faces a binding decision.

Speak to counsel

A payment claim just landed? The clock has already started.

Construction disputes run on deadlines — statutory and contractual. Tell us where you are and we will tell you, plainly, what your position is and what the next working days require. The first conversation is complimentary.

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