SOPA Course - Intermediate

Saturday, 2 March 2019

Rydges Hotel, Parramatta
7.30am for 8.00am start (sharp) to 2.30pm

EXPIRED

Saturday, 27 April 2019

Rydges Hotel, Parramatta
7.30am for 8.00am start (sharp) to 2.30pm

EXPIRED

Dear Fellow Member of the Construction Industry,

I'm sure you don’t need me to tell you that running a construction business is not for the faint-hearted. It’s tough out there.

Margins are often skinny, payments come in slow, client’s nit-pick or agree a cheap price yet demand gold standard finishes.

For the price you’ve agreed with your client, you know you’ve done high quality work yet some bad apples still try to take advantage of you!

At the same time, subbies and suppliers that work for you don’t always deliver on their promises yet want to be paid in full and on time … no matter what.

In the 2017/18 financial year, some 1,642 businesses in the construction industry went out of business! (that's a whopping 22% of all business insolvencies ... concentrated just in construction!)[1]

And remember, that was a BOOM year for our industry! … and yet still a huge number of businesses went into external administration.

Statistics show that as much as 49% of businesses (that's half of all failed businesses) attribute their insolvency (in part) to “inadequate cash flow”.[2]

Now sure, some of those construction businesses probably weren’t up to standard and were destined to eventually run into trouble.

But, no doubt … a good percentage of them did nothing wrong! They did good work but simply didn’t get paid what they were entitled to.

Have you ever been there?

Have you ever delivered on your contractual promises and trusted your client to pay your invoices only to find them digging up bogus defects, disputing many of the items on your invoice and simply converting them into back charges. They also give you a string of excuses as to why they can’t pay you, or they simply say, “We’ll pay you as soon as our client pays us.”

Have you had your client start twisting your arm to accept a lower amount when you know they have no right … but you needed the money?

Maybe you've had frightening visions of never‑ending costs going through the court system without any guarantee of receiving your money? You might have even lost hope that you’d ever see your money again and just gave up chasing because it all just seemed too hard?

Sure, you can cope with a couple of tough accounts on occasion, provided they’re not too big.

But what if you’re hit with a few missed payments in a row … or you’ve been drawn into a big project that has swallowed up a substantial portion of your cash flow and then the client pulls a fast one on you, claiming all sorts of fake back charges or defects? You could go out of business!

Remember, when cash flow is tight, you’re often skating on the very edge of a financial cliff where (if you’re not totally on top of your financials) you could be trading while insolvent!

This is a cardinal sin in corporate law terms.

If you’re caught trading while insolvent, you (in addition to your company) could be found personally liable if you’re the company director. By that I mean personally responsible for liabilities your company took on when the law says you ought to have known you didn’t have enough money to meet your debts as and when they fall due.

And, in any event, why should you and your family have to suffer because of someone else’s incompetence or downright criminal behaviour?

How Would It Feel To Know With Confidence That

You're in Control?

How would you feel if you knew you would never again be at the mercy of a client when it comes to getting paid for work you have properly completed.

How would you feel if you knew you would never again be at the mercy of a subcontractor or supplier when they submit a claim for shoddy work that would leave you paying them full price, … THEN paying another subcontractor to fix the damage and THEN … yet again having your client deduct liquidated damages from you for being late!

How would it feel to know that it doesn’t matter if you’re a “little guy” dealing with the “big boys”. If you’ve delivered on your contractual obligations, with the right knowledge, you can significantly increase your chances of getting paid … in full … and FAST!

Then I invite you to keep reading because you’re about to discover one of the most powerful (yet often misunderstood) pieces of NSW legislation impacting your construction business today.

Hi, my name is Mike and I’ve been a practicing construction lawyer for almost 20 years now. I’m also a current adjudicator under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW) and have held this role for over 5 years now. I'm the guy who makes the decision under that Act as to who has to pay and how much.

I'm also an honours degree qualified civil engineer and worked on the tools in my early years.

The Security of Payment Act is possibly the most powerful piece of legislation that everyone in the construction industry absolutely should know and understand as intimately as a special forces soldier knows his weapons.

But they don’t …

And I’m about to show you how you can learn everything you need to know about this legislation in just half a day - something that has taken me over 5 years to learn!

We'll dig much deeper into the legislation than any other course offers. What you learn will give you incredible (yet ethical) leverage over your clients or subcontractors because you'll know what 99% of others in the industry don't know.

We’ll cover the strategies and tactics you can use not only to handle a payment dispute swiftly with a result that is in your favour, but also learn how to give yourself an unbelievable (and almost unfair) advantage over the other party when negotiating disputes at any time during the contract … whether you’re using the Security of Payment Act or not. Wouldn't you prefer to avoid most disputes before they even start?

But First, a Warning ...

The training we offer is not for everyone.

To ensure we're not wasting your time, let me tell you right up front that …

If you’re not an owner of a construction-related business or ... if you're not a project manager, a commercial manager, a contract manager or contracts administrator (or similar), you may not get the same level of benefit as those within this category.
If your company does shoddy work and expects to get paid anyway, this is certainly not for you.

Here's Who This Course IS For

The course is for people who are:

responsible for preparing upstream payment claims TO a developer, head contractor or even a major subcontractor (who is your client), AND/OR
for people who have to respond to downstream payment claims FROM subcontractors, suppliers and consultants.

Now, if you're not in either of the above roles, but you have a genuine interest in this topic and believe you will be able to leverage the powerful knowledge you will gain, you're most welcome to join us.

This course is also for people who genuinely believe the quality of their work is of a high standard. It's for those who recognise that their business reputation is a fundamental business asset that will never be compromised BUT ... they want to know how to deal with other parties who don't have the same level of integrity.

The information I’ll be sharing with you is incredibly powerful and understood by so few. It should only be used to recover unpaid claims for quality work. Of course, mistakes happen. So anything less than the agreed standard of work should be rectified promptly before a payment claim is lodged for that work.

So ... Here Is What This Is All About

On 21 November 2018, the New South Wales government passed a piece of legislation that will substantially amend the current Security of Payment Act! This amending legislation will make no less than 7 key changes to the current law. If you don't learn what they are, you could be in for a rude shock!

Now regardless of the coming changes (which are, of course, critical to understand), the Security of Payment Act came into force way back in the year 2000. This is a piece of legislation designed to help businesses in the construction industry get paid fast ... and it does it extremely well, IF applied correctly.

To this day I meet people who are in one of the following three 'camps':

(a) they don’t know the legislation exists (there’s still a few);

(b) they on’t know what it does (there’s quite a few of these); or

(c) they don’t have a clue how to use it to its full potential, even if they’ve been to training courses before! (This is where most people fit).

If you’re in any one of these categories … it’s not your fault!

You see, the Security of Payment Act, although a relatively short piece of legislation, can be challenging to grasp without proper guidance.

Having said that, it is also one of the most powerful pieces of legislation to use when your client won't pay.

For more than a decade, I’ve spoken to hundreds of business owners and professionals in the construction industry just like you. I’ve regularly asked those who experienced payment disputes, “How did the Security of Payment Act work for you?”

Many have often come back with either, “What is that?”, but more have said, “I don’t know how it works” or “If I use it I won’t ever get any more work” or even “It’s totally claimant friendly. As a respondent, I have no chance!”

Now, you may be thinking ...

Why Should I Bother ... I Mean ...

Can’t I just get a lawyer and pay them to take care of it for me?

The answer is obviously, “Yes, absolutely!”

That’s a valid strategy. Just be sure that you engage a lawyer that has substantial experience with the Security of Payment Act.

However, consider this:

(a) At what stage will you engage them?

(b) Will it cost you more than your claim? (Remember, the Act does not reimburse your legal fees)

(c) Could you save a fortune in legal fees by knowing how to prepare in advance before meeting with your lawyer? (You can save a bundle if you come prepared)

(d) Would you prefer avoiding lawyers altogether?! (You possibly could if you learn how to leverage the Act to “encourage” the other side to see things your way, often without needing to go to adjudication at all!)

(e) Will the facts you present to your lawyer be strong? (Meaning, have you taken the steps necessary to comply with the Act before seeing your lawyer OR ... have you already missed critical dates or failed to prepare and issue the required documents under the Act)?

If you see value in learning upfront, before its too late, how to protect your business, then …

Consider This ...

I’ve grown increasingly frustrated with the fact that there just isn’t enough high-quality education out there that explains everything you need to know about how the Security of Payment Act in simple terms and how to ethically leverage its power.

And after waiting for nearly 20 years for someone to bring out such training, I've finally decided to create it myself. It's taken a solid 9 months to piece together this seminar, which I'm sure you'll find incredibly informative and practical.

The seminar is titled:

"Security of Payment Act: How To Get Paid What You Deserve ... FAST!"

(Fundamentals and Intermediate Course)

In this course, I’ll be sharing with you some of what I’ve learned not only as a construction lawyer but particularly what I’ve witnessed over more than 5 years as an adjudicator, right at the coal face of this legislation. As an adjudicator, I've had to determine what a claimant is entitled or not entitled to receive based on the documents they’ve lodged.

I’ve seen some good claims and responses. But I’ve also seen many more poor ones that could have absolutely had a different outcome had they been better prepared.

Remember, an adjudicator makes decisions based on "justice", not "fairness". It's your job to convince them that you have complied with your contract and the legislation. An adjudicator will rely on the information provided to them by the parties (as well as the legislation) to reach a conclusion. If a party fails to use this opportunity wisely, even if they were in the right, but failed to convince the adjudicator, the outcome may not be to their liking.

There are many adjudicators who have found themselves in the unenviable position of seeing that one party is being unfairly treated (whether they've understood their contract, misunderstood the legislation or the other side has simply submitted better arguments). But the adjudicator is only empowered to dispense justice, not fairness.

If you choose to join me at our upcoming seminar, this is ...

Exactly What You'll Get

Now note, it will be dramatically different from anything you’ve ever experienced before.

There’s no fluff or filler. We immediately get down to business, showing you exactly WHAT to do, HOW to do it, and WHY.

Plus … once we’re done, you’ll get it!

You’ll know:

(a) exactly how it works;

(b) how to navigate with it in your business; and

In a little over half a day, you’ll learn more about the legislation than 99%* of the industry does! I’m not kidding! [*That’s my best guess. You’ll see what I mean if you attend the course.]

We cover the field in three sessions:

SESSION 1:

How the Act Works … in Easy-to-Understand Language

Here we cover the detailed workings of the Act that are most important for you to take away.

And this is where most courses stop! But we're just get warmed up because we then move onto ...

SESSION 2:

How to Prepare Powerful Documents under the Act

You see, once you've understood how the Act works, we then teach you how to prepare key documents required under the legislation. In this session, we walk through some of the template documents that will be included in your workbook, itself an invaluable reference that you will refer to repeatedly, long after you attend the seminar.

SESSION 3:

Tips & Traps, Strategy and Tactics to Get Paid ... FAST!

This is where the rubber meets the road at a whole new level. We'll first look at the legislation from the 50,000 foot level to make sure you get an understanding of the BIG PICTURE! You'll also learn where the legislation fits in the overall project timelines, how to enforce a successful adjudication determination, how to leverage a number of other opportunities available to you to 'strongly encourage' your non-paying client to pay on time, how to conduct due diligence to choose your clients or subcontractors carefully in the first place ... and much more.

As part of the above three sessions, you'll learn:

8 elements you must include to create a powerful payment claim
23 potential reasons for rejecting a bogus payment claim (you’ll want to know all of these because you only have one shot to put them forward under the Act)
16 possible counter arguments to clients who refuse to pay
What you should never do when negotiating with non-paying clients
4 ways to minimise exposure to non-paying clients in the first place
The truth about adjudications and how they really work
A key overlooked feature of the Act that is incredibly powerful and simple to use
How to think like a lawyer, even if you’ve never read a law book
3 key principles you must follow when preparing your adjudication application or adjudication response
The 4 big myths about the Security of Payment Act that strikes fear into claimant’s hearts … when the truth is in fact to your advantage

To learn all this and more and to take advantage of a heavily discounted offer, choose one of the following two dates and register now ...

Saturday, 2 March 2019

Rydges Hotel, Parramatta
7.30am for 8.00am start (sharp) to 2.30pm

EXPIRED

Saturday, 27 April 2019

Rydges Hotel, Parramatta
7.30am for 8.00am start (sharp) to 2.30pm

EXPIRED

If you still need more information, read on ...

"That's A Lot of Valuable Content"

Yes, it is … and it gets better because you’ll also learn …

7 ways to “encourage” (or force) a delinquent client to pay you after you win your adjudication and they still refuse to pay you. Some of these methods are known by very few people ... yet they're super effective!
15+ Tips and Traps that can save you enormous heartache
3 secrets to dramatically reducing your legal fees when engaging a lawyer … and more

And, of course, you wouldn’t be attending just to earn CPD points, but it helps to know that …

You get to record approximately 5.5 hours of CPD points towards your annual continuous professional development obligations (of course, what you can claim will depend on the rules that apply to your profession). You'll receive a certificate of completion at the end of the seminar.

In the seminar we will go through all of the above listed items using lots of diagrams, flow-charts, examples and case studies in a simple and easy-to-understand format and, if there is still anything you're not sure about, I'd be happy to answer all your questions.

So ... You May Be Thinking, "What's the Investment Required for this Seminar?"

As you know, a lawyer with years of experience is not cheap to hire.

If you were to engage an experienced partner or even just a senior associate (from a mid to large law firm in Sydney), they’d easily set you back around $450 to $850 per hour (of course, that’s ex GST … as are the rest of the amounts discussed below).

In addition, they almost always work in pairs (a senior associate is generally supervised by a partner). So that means in real terms, if a senior associate looked after the bulk of your matter with occasional oversight from the partner, you’d be looking at an average hourly rate of around $600 per hour.

If a senior associate spent five hours teaching you all the ins and outs of the Security of Payment Act (assuming you could find one to share their secrets with you and you ignored the cost of their time to prepare beforehand), it would set you back an easy $3,000 just to spend face-to-face time with you.

Even then, don’t forget that a lawyer generally acts for parties that are either predominantly claimants or respondents (depending on the nature of their legal practice). But I’ll share with you an adjudicator’s perspective as well! This would be like having a judge teach you about how to prepare your submissions in a court … only a lot simpler!

Of course, I get it. You might be saying, “But why would I engage a lawyer from the Big End of town? Couldn’t I get a less expensive one?”

If you found an experienced partner in a suburban firm to teach you about the legislation then yes, you will make some savings. If their rate was as low as $350 per hour, it would set you back $1,750 … and that would still be a bargain given you’re getting all their knowledge that they’ve spent years accumulating through study and experience!

Now, if you were to hire me at my hourly rate of $400 for 5 hours, that amounts to $2,000 (plus GST, like we discussed before).

But, of course, if you take advantage of this rare and special offer and act fast to secure your spot, you’ll get an incredible discount!

A course the industry has needed for years!

"To understand the way the Security of Payment Act functions, and to be able to utilise it in a positive manner to enable timely and complete payment of invoices owed, this training course is the most effective means of which I am aware to do this.

The content provides the necessary detail to enable small business owners to leverage the knowledge gained to improve their chances of payment on time, and for the full amount owed.

Mike and Academy Legal provide the basics in an easy to understand way that the industry has needed for years!"

Tom Burns

TMB Group Australia, Consulting Project Management and Business Support

SUMMARY: Here's What You Get

Includes ...

Value (incl. GST)

Seminar

A relaxed, half-day of easy-to-understand education on the Security of Payment Act from a construction lawyer of almost 20 years' experience and over 5 years' as an adjudicator under the very legislation you'll learn about.

You have the opportunity to ask as many questions as you like and, more importantly, listen and learn from the questions asked by others in the room. You'll find this incredibly valuable! Easily worth 5 hours x $400/hr + GST for a total of ...

$2,200

150+ Page Workbook

A 150+ page workbook (excluding templates) that we expect you'll want to refer to for years to come. Valued very conservatively at ...

$497

Templates

You also get several, invaluable templates that will save you an enormous amount of time and stress. These come with a conditional licence for you to use them whenever you need to. If you consider the time taken to create them (in total, well in excess of 40 hours - probably more like 60-80 hours) and the fact that virtually no law firm would share their templates without demanding a premium on their regular hourly rate, these are conservatively valued at 40 hours x $400/hr + GST totalling ...

$17,600

Online Membership

You get membership to the Academy Legal online platform for 6 months where you'll get access to electronic copies of the templates shown to you during the seminar, the latest updates on changes to the law, and periodic refresher videos on some of the key aspects covered during the seminar so you stay current on the Act. This is valued at $97 per month, totalling ...

$582

Hot Buffet Lunch & Networking

You get coffee and tea on arrival, morning tea and a hot buffet lunch. You will also have the opportunity to network with other like-minded, quality members of our industry. Those rare folk who care about the quality of their work ... just like you.

Complimentary

Certificate of Completion

A Certificate of Completion at the end of the seminar.

Complimentary

TOTAL:

$20,879

The value you'll get in this seminar (I hope you agree) is easily worth more than $20,879 if you had to go it alone and buy this level of knowledge and support yourself.

But, of course, that's not what you pay!

The normal, everyday price for this course will be $1,297 or higher.

But, if you act fast and reserve your seat now, your investment will be an incredibly low ...

$594 (including GST)

OR ...

3 easy payments of $220 per month (total $660 including GST)

WARNING: Strictly Limited Offer

(Only Available To The First 15 Participants
Attending Each Seminar)

This opportunity is extremely limited because the venue we’ve booked for this event is limited to just 15 places. That’s the maximum number of places allowed (given the room layout we’ve adopted for your comfort).

Therefore, once those places are snapped up, that will be it at this heavily discounted price!

Remember: Your investment in this seminar will be less than you'd pay a city lawyer for just one hour of their time!

I GUARANTEE You'll Find This Seminar Valuable!

Did I say GUARANTEE?!

Yes. And here’s why.

When you attend our seminar, one of two things will happen.

Scenario Number One (most likely to occur): You’ll stay to the end and say “HOLY MOLY (ok, no one really says that anymore), THIS IS AMAZING! I’M NEVER GONNA HAVE MONEY TROUBLE AGAIN.” Well, “never” is a bit strong, but you get what I mean.

Scenario Number Two (unlikely): After staying for the first 2 of 3 sessions of the seminar (ie, up to the start of the lunch break), you think to yourself, “You know ... this isn’t really what I thought it was going to be”.

In the unlikely event that Scenario Number Two occurs,

I Will Refund You Your Ticket Price IN FULL, No Questions Asked

You’re either impressed or I will give you your money back. All you need to do is return your workbook immediately at the end of Session 2 and I will arrange for your course fee to be refunded in full, no questions asked*. And you can still enjoy a hot buffet lunch on us as our thanks to you for taking the time to attend the course in the first instance.

Can you imagine any other lawyer spending up to 3.5 hours with you (that's over $1,400 of their time) and offering you the chance to simply say, "nah, didn't like it" and getting a full refund, no questions asked?

*IMPORTANT: Note, to take advantage of this guarantee, it is a requirement that you attend (at a minimum) the whole of Session 1.

You now have ...

Three Important Choices

I hope this letter has alerted you to the critical importance of learning everything you need to know about the Security of Payment Act. If it did, you have one of three important choices to make:

Do NOTHING ... and continue to manage your construction contracts just the way you have been up until now while crossing your fingers, hoping that everyone always pays you on time or better still, that no one takes advantage of you using the power of these very laws.

Consider the real cost of inaction. Without the knowledge you’ll learn in this seminar, it just takes one time for a client to deduct $1,000 from your payment claim for bogus reasons and you’ll already be way behind.

And this doesn’t take into account the fact that you could one day save your business with the knowledge from this course. Contacting a good lawyer when you’re already in a pickle may be too late if you haven’t done the critical things required beforehand. Do you know what those things are?
STUDY on your own ... Grab yourself a copy of the latest legislation — both the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW) (as amended) and the Contractors Debts Act 1997 (NSW) - and read it from cover to cover and hope that you understand what it does and doesn't say; or
Click on one of options below and make the decision today to educate yourself in an area that can have an immediate and positive impact on your business … and which will forever give you unbeatable confidence.

Take the next step and attend our comprehensive half-day seminar that will significantly improve your understanding of the laws that are so critically important to the future of your business.

Here's What To Do Next

Hurry, and register for the seminar now and secure one of 15 limited places at either of the two available seminars:

Saturday, 2 March 2019

Rydges Hotel, Parramatta
7.30am for 8.00am start (sharp) to 2.30pm

EXPIRED

Saturday, 27 April 2019

Rydges Hotel, Parramatta
7.30am for 8.00am start (sharp) to 2.30pm

EXPIRED

Remember, we GUARANTEE you'll get massive value from the course or you can leave at any time during Session 2 (of 3), return your workbook and we'll give you a full refund, so it’s risk-free to you!

You will receive an email confirming your booking immediately upon ordering.

Sincerely,

Solicitor Director
Academy Legal Pty Ltd
(an incorporated legal practice)

P.S.: I've shared with you how you can learn to navigate around the significant risks you face every day in your business from people who have contracted you to do construction work but are really trying to take advantage of you (whether through bogus back charges, bogus defect claims, just plain refusing to pay or otherwise). Or whether its the even greater risk of subcontractors doing dodgy work but still expecting to get paid in full while leaving you to wear all the extra costs of rectifying their poor work.

And I’ve just showed you how you can use this seminar to massively increase your chances of getting paid by leveraging the power of the Security of Payment Act.

Join us at this strictly limited event. There are only 15 places available (due to the venue size) at each location. And I wouldn’t want you to miss out on the substantial discount on offer.

P.P.S.: If for any reason you cannot make either of the above two seminar dates but are interested in receiving updates on the latest construction law developments that affect your business, CLICK HERE to join as a FREE member (or register at http://www.academylegal.com.au/join).

Endnotes:

[1] [Report 596 ASIC Insolvency Statistics: External administrators’ reports (July 2017 to June 2018) – Published 14 November 2018, p7; https://www.asic.gov.au/media/4936726/rep596-published-14-november-2018.pdf]

[2] Ibid