Worker's Liens Act 1893

This Act may be cited as the Worker's Liens Act 1893.

In this Act, where not inconsistent with the context, the following terms have the following meanings:

contract means any agreement, whether written, oral, or implied, to do work or to procure work to be done, or to furnish materials in connection with work, or to pay for work, or for materials furnished or to be furnished in connection with work;

contract price means the money payable to any contractor or sub-contractor for any work, or materials furnished or to be furnished in connection with work, under any contract, and whether such price has been fixed by express agreement or not;

contractor means a person (not being a sub-contractor) contracting with or employed by another person to do work, or to procure work to be done, or to furnish materials in connection with work;

court in the case of an action in the Supreme Court or District Court includes a judge of the court, and in the case of an action in the Magistrates Court includes a magistrate;

fixture means such a fixture upon land as, having been attached to such land by the vendor, would pass to the purchaser upon the sale of the fee simple of the land;

goods includes all produce of land when severed from the land;

owner means the owner of the legal or equitable fee simple of land;

occupier means the lessee, sub-lessee, tenant, or occupier for the time being of land other than the owner thereof;

prescribed means prescribed by regulation made under this Act;

regulation means a regulation made under this Act;

sub-contractor means a person contracting with or employed by a contractor or sub-contractor to do work, or to procure work to be done, or to furnish materials in connection with work for the purposes of the contract made by such contractor or last-mentioned sub-contractor;

the Real Property Act means the Real Property Act 1886 and any Act or Acts amending the same or substituted therefor;

wages means money to which a worker is or may be entitled for manual work or personal service, and whether to be ascertained by time or by the piece, and whether at a fixed price or rate or otherwise;

work means every description of manual work or personal service;

worker means every person employed in or doing any manual work or personal service.

A worker doing work for an owner or occupier, or for a contractor or sub-contractor for the benefit of an owner or occupier, shall have a lien for his wages for such work on the estate or interest in land of the owner or occupier in each of the following cases:

Where the work is done with the assent, express or implied, of the owner or occupier to the land or to any fixture thereon:

Where the work is done in or about the manufacture of materials which are, with the assent, express or implied, of the owner or occupier, used or intended to be used in or about work done, or intended to be done, to the land or to any fixture thereon.

A worker employed upon land and doing work there for the owner or occupier thereof in connection with pastoral, agricultural, horticultural, or mining pursuits carried on upon such land shall have a lien on all goods on such land belonging to such owner or occupier, but such lien shall not avail against the title of a bona fide purchaser, mortgagee, pledgee, or incumbrancee without notice of such lien.

A lien under this section shall be limited to four weeks' wages or wages for work not occupying more than four weeks, not exceeding in either case the sum of two hundred dollars.

A contractor or sub-contractor shall have a lien for the contract price, so far as accrued due, on the estate or interest in land of any owner or occupier in each of the following cases:

Where the work is done, with the assent, express or implied, of the owner or occupier to the land or to any fixture thereon:

Where the materials are, with the assent, express or implied, of the owner or occupier, used or intended to be used in or about work done, or intended to be done, to the land or to any fixture thereon.

Liens under subsection (1) of section 4 or under section 5 shall not, in cases other than those of workers employed by the owner or occupier, extend beyond that portion of the contract price payable by the owner or occupier under the contract for the purposes of which the work or materials are done, furnished, or manufactured and unpaid at the time when the owner or occupier shall receive notice of the lien or of its registration, whichever shall first happen, nor extend at all to cases where there is no such contract binding the owner or occupier to pay a contract price.

A worker shall have a charge on any money payable to the contractor or sub-contractor by whom he is employed for his wages in respect of work done for the purposes of the contract of such contractor or sub-contractor.

A sub-contractor shall have a charge on any money payable to the contractor or sub-contractor with whom he shall have contracted for that portion of the contract price payable to the first-mentioned sub-contractor in respect of work done or materials furnished or manufactured for the purposes of the contract of such contractor or secondly mentioned sub-contractor.

A charge under this section shall attach only to money payable under the contract for the purposes of which the work or materials have been done, supplied, or manufactured, and shall lapse unless an action be brought to enforce the same within twenty-eight days after the wages or contract price in respect of which such charge has arisen shall have become due within the meaning of section 10, subsection (2). Such action shall not be discontinued without the consent of the defendant or an order of the court, and the court on making such order may declare that any charge claimed does not exist or order that it shall forthwith lapse, or that the plaintiff have further time to bring a fresh action to enforce the charge.

The charge of a worker under this section shall be limited to four weeks' wages or wages for work not occupying more than four weeks, not exceeding in either case the sum of two hundred dollars.

A charge under this section shall not avail as to any moneys bona fide paid over without notice of such charge.

The several liens and charges created by this Act shall have priority in the following order:

the liens and charges of workers for wages;

the liens and charges of sub-contractors;

the liens of contractors.

As between themselves, persons belonging to each of the said three classes shall, subject to the provisions hereinafter contained, participate ratably in the benefits of their liens or charges.

A lien under this Part of Act shall be subject to every dealing, assurance, mortgage, encumbrance, or charge on the estate or interest in the land of the owner or occupier, or on the goods the subject of the lien, registered before the registration of such lien, but shall take priority of any dealing, assurance, mortgage, encumbrance, or charge not so registered.

No unregistered estate or interest shall prevail against a registered lien.

Liens shall be had under this Act for materials furnished, although such materials may not be furnished in connection with work.

Section 73(2) of the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 of the Commonwealth applies to an interest in property that arises by being created, arising or being provided for under this Act.

A lien under this Act with regard to land shall be available only if registered before the expiration of twenty-eight days after the wages or contract price in respect of which such lien has arisen shall for the purposes of this section have become due.

Any wages or contract price shall for the purposes of this section be deemed to have become due—

if unpaid for seven days after the same (being payable) shall have been demanded by notice in writing, signed by the person claiming the same and given to the person liable to pay the same, or posted in a registered letter addressed to him at his usual or last known place of abode in South Australia:

if either before or after the same shall have become payable, the person liable to pay the same shall have called a meeting of his creditors, or committed an act of bankruptcy, or executed a deed of assignment within the meaning of the Bankruptcy Act 1924 of the Commonwealth, or shall have taken or attempted to take the benefit of any law relating to bankrupts or insolvent debtors, or shall have suffered his goods to be taken in execution or seized under legal process or distress for rent.

A lien shall be registered by the person claiming the same lodging in the General Registry Office a notice executed by the person in a form approved by the Registrar‑General, containing the prescribed information and accompanied by the prescribed fee.

A lien may be registered after the wages or contract price have become payable, although the seven days mentioned in subsection (2) shall not have commenced to run.

Notices of lien under this Act shall state the court in which action will be brought to enforce the same, and any person to whom notice is given may deposit the amount claimed in such court to abide the event of such action, and thereupon the lien shall be deemed to cease.