Introduction

6.01 Two of the most important aspects of any construction or engineering project are when and how much a person is to be paid for performing work. A contractor will usually be remunerated for the performance of construction work by the payment of money.1 The determination of when a contractor is entitled to be paid and the amount of money that it is entitled to be paid is normally agreed between the parties in advance of work being performed (or, at least, in advance of all of the work being performed), and expressed through the medium of a contract. At common law, it is open to the parties to a construction or engineering project to agree upon whatever payment arrangements they like, with regards to both the amount that is to be paid to the contractor and the circumstances in which it is to be paid. Freedom of contract reigns.