ODACC 30-day statutory compliance fell to 65% (FY23) from 75% (FY22) — adjudication cannot yet be treated as a reliable fast backstop

reference · Scope: business · Status: current

Created 2026-05-25

Claim: Under section 13.13(1) of the Construction Act, an adjudicator must issue a determination within 30 days of receiving documents. Compliance:

FY2022: 75% of determinations within window
FY2023: 65% within window

Source: Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, "ODACC's fourth Annual Report." https://www.osler.com/en/insights/blogs/construction/adjudication-odacc-s-fourth-annual-report-highlights-growth-in-the-number-of-adjudications-and-amou/

Confidence: Verified.

For Candid: A statutorily mandated 30-day window that only ~2 in 3 actual determinations meet is not a fast, predictable remedy. The empirical reliability of adjudication-as-backstop is degrading as volume grows. GCs reading the regime correctly continue to treat payment risk as a primary planning constraint, not as something insurance-style protection adequately covers.

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