So what differentiates a good application vs an average one ? Here’s a few things that you can do to make a great application.

1/. Less is more. There’s nothing worse than looking at 25 folders of material, having to wade through and read it all just because the claimant thinks more paper equals a better submission. The more comprehensive and concise your submission is the better the Adjudicator will be able to follow your argument, understand the issues and get to the crux of the matters.

2/. Don’t make assertions that are not specifically related to the payment claim items. They are essentially irrelevant to determining the adjudicated amount but the Adjudicator needs to address them in their decision anyway, increasing the time required to be spent and hence cost, for no benefit to the claimant.

3/. Don’t allow your preparers to make claims such that the work you performed is not construction work when you full well know it is. There has been a disturbing trend recently of application preparers making Jurisdictional arguments that have no merit. Adjudicators are not fooled by this.

4/. Including case law stating that it supports your position and says a particular story, when it really doesn’t, just increases the length and cost of the decision. It also makes Adjudicators sceptical of everything you say and borders on misleading the Adjudicator.

5/. If the contract mechanism you are relying on doesn’t actually work as drafted don’t make assertions that it does.

6/. If you’re out of time, your out of time and shouldn’t make an Application. You will just get a no Jurisdiction decision.

The best applications that I have seen to date are concise, neatly laid out for the Adjudicator to follow with well labelled sections and references to exhibits and contract extracts. They tell a compelling story such that the issues in dispute can be easily understood and digested and are legitimate in that they do not cause to mislead or confuse the Adjudicator.

Proper resolution of genuine disputes starts with playing a straight bat on the Application.

After all that’s what this process is all about.