The retention receivable was financed before the builder entered administration
The retention file may involve another claimant
The head contractor enters administration and you prepare creditor information for unpaid retention. Your business previously entered a finance arrangement referring to that receivable. Give the lawyer the finance documents before assuming your company alone should submit every claim or receive every payment. Different arrangements can affect rights differently; the word financed does not explain who holds which interest.
Identify the exact receivable
Imagine a subcontractor that obtained funding against specified project invoices. Its retention schedule now includes an amount the financier also queries. Match the project, contract, invoices and retention references to the finance schedule. Do not assume an assignment of ordinary progress invoices necessarily covers every later retention, or that an internal exclusion proves the financier agreed to it.
Read the arrangement as a whole
Business.gov.au recommends understanding contract wording and seeking advice about unclear terms. Provide the lawyer with the finance agreement, schedules, notices and later changes alongside the construction contract. Ask what rights and obligations the documents create for this receivable. The guidance does not determine whether an assignment is valid, whether notice was effective or who may prove a claim.
Coordinate the proposed submission
Tell the financier and administrator about the issue through the advised channels. Ask what information each needs while the entitlement is assessed. In the subcontractor's example, two submissions describing each party as the sole creditor could create confusion. Do not sign a creditor declaration that omits a known finance arrangement merely because the online form offers no obvious place to explain it.
Keep amounts and capacities distinct
Record the retention asserted, amounts advanced, repayments and any disputed allocation without treating them as interchangeable totals. A funding balance may differ from the face value of the underlying retention. Have the accountant prepare the factual reconciliation while the lawyer addresses rights. Do not add both figures to the head contractor claim simply because both appear in your business records.
Record the agreed handling
Retain the advice, authorised claim documents and instructions concerning any eventual receipt. Update the administrator if the relevant position changes through the proper process. Acceptance of information does not promise recovery, and a possible distribution should not be counted twice by the business and financier. The practical aim is a coherent account of who asserts what interest in the same retention receivable.