Sopal Plus combines Research and Projects in a single subscription — so your legal and commercial teams work from the same platform, the same case law, and the same up-to-date understanding of the legislation.
Security of payment disputes are won or lost on two things: understanding how the legislation and the adjudication decisions have been applied, and then constructing the claim or schedule that follows that understanding precisely. Until now, those two tasks lived in different tools — or, worse, in different people's heads.
Sopal Plus closes that gap. A construction lawyer or in-house counsel can search 7,300+ Queensland adjudication decisions, dig into NSW, QLD and VIC case law with AI-assisted research, and pull up adjudicator statistics — all within the same session where a commercial manager is building a payment claim, reviewing a payment schedule, and checking due dates and interest for four subcontractors at once.
The result is a tighter loop between legal strategy and commercial execution. When the lawyer identifies a line of adjudication decisions that supports valuing a disputed variation in a particular way, that insight reaches the person drafting the claim immediately — in the same platform, not via a lengthy email chain or a PDF attachment.
Construction law firms that act for both claimants and respondents, and large contractors with dedicated legal and commercial functions, face a recurring problem: their SOP work requires constant translation between legal analysis and document production. A senior associate researching whether a particular exclusion clause falls outside the scope of the SOP legislation needs to hand that finding to the fee earner or contract administrator building the schedule. Each handover is a point of failure.
Plus eliminates the handover cost. One account, one login structure, the same data and tools — research through to execution.
The research side of Plus gives legal professionals the deepest SOP database in Australia, plus AI-driven analysis across the full body of NSW, QLD and VIC case law.
Queensland's adjudication regime under the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 produces a large and publicly available body of decisions. Sopal has assembled and indexed more than 7,300 of those decisions in full text — far more than any general legal database. Each decision is searchable by keyword, topic, adjudicator, outcome and other filters, so you can find the decisions that are actually on point rather than wading through results that happen to mention a common phrase.
This matters in practice because adjudication decisions are not binding precedent — but they are highly persuasive, particularly decisions of the same adjudicator or decisions in which similar factual situations produced consistent outcomes. A well-researched adjudication submission will engage with the relevant decision history rather than relying on broad statutory arguments.
The AI research feature lets you pose questions about SOP law — how a provision has been interpreted, whether a certain argument has succeeded, what the case law says about a particular type of document or conduct — and receive a synthesised answer that draws on the relevant case law and adjudication decisions across all three supported jurisdictions. Responses surface the underlying sources so you can read the primary material and form your own view.
This is not a general-purpose legal AI. It is trained and focused on security of payment law in Australia, which means the answers are more reliable and more specific than you would get from a generic tool.
Knowing who is likely to be appointed as adjudicator can be valuable in framing submissions. The adjudicator statistics feature provides decision history and analytical data on individual adjudicators drawn from the Queensland database, helping practitioners understand patterns in how particular adjudicators have approached common issues.
Sopal can generate a draft adjudication application or adjudication response, drawing on the relevant decision history and the specifics of the matter. The output is a starting point — not a finished document — but it surfaces the arguments and decisions most likely to be relevant and structures them in a workable format, reducing the time spent on first-draft work.
For more detail on the Research product, see the Research product page.
The Projects side of Plus gives commercial teams and advisers the tools to prepare, review and manage payment claims and schedules across QLD, NSW, VIC and SA — with calculators that keep pace with the legislation.
Before you serve a payment claim or respond with a payment schedule, getting the document right matters. The SOP legislation in each jurisdiction imposes formal requirements on what a valid payment claim or schedule must contain. A claim that does not meet those requirements may not trigger the adjudication regime, and a schedule that fails to comply can have serious consequences for the respondent — including the potential for the claimant to obtain judgment on the claimed amount without adjudication.
Sopal's review tools walk through the document against the requirements of the applicable Act, flagging issues and explaining why they matter. This is not a substitute for legal advice on a specific document, but it is a systematic check that reduces the risk of obvious errors being missed under time pressure.
The claim and schedule builders guide you through the construction of each document step by step, prompting for the information required by the applicable legislation and ensuring the output is structured consistently with what the Act requires. The builders are jurisdiction-aware — the prompts and requirements adjust depending on whether you are preparing a claim under the BIF Act 2017 in Queensland, the SOP Act 1999 in NSW, the SOP Act 2002 in Victoria, or the SOP Act 2009 in South Australia.
Note that South Australia is covered in the Projects product (for claim and schedule preparation and due date and interest calculations) but not in the Research product, which covers Queensland, NSW and VIC only.
Timeframes under the SOP legislation are strict and differ between jurisdictions and, in some cases, between different types of construction contracts. Missing a deadline — whether to serve a payment schedule, to apply for adjudication, or to pay an adjudicated amount — can have material legal consequences. The due-date calculator takes the relevant reference date and contract type, applies the correct statutory timeframes for the selected jurisdiction, and returns the key dates you need to manage.
Always confirm the current Act for your jurisdiction, as timeframes are periodically amended.
Where a progress payment is overdue under the SOP legislation, the relevant Act typically provides for interest on the outstanding amount at a rate set by or under the Act. The interest calculator applies the applicable rate and computes the amount owing, which can be included in a subsequent payment claim or an adjudication application.
For more detail on the Projects product, see the Projects product page.
Sopal Plus is designed for organisations where more than one function touches SOP work — the firms and businesses where a lawyer or barrister needs deep research capability at the same time as a commercial manager, contract administrator or quantity surveyor needs to build and review documents.
A single Sopal Plus subscription gives access to every Research and Projects feature under one account. There is no need to maintain separate Research and Projects subscriptions, coordinate across different platforms, or manage two separate billing arrangements. Everything is accessible from the one login.
Sopal Plus is priced at $149.95 per month (or $1,299.95 per year, saving two months against the monthly rate) — materially less than subscribing to Research and Projects separately. For teams that genuinely use both products, the bundle represents straightforward value. See the full pricing page for a side-by-side comparison.
When legal and commercial staff work in the same platform, the implicit knowledge gap between them narrows. The commercial team can see the research tools the lawyers are using. The lawyers can see the document structure the commercial team is working with. Briefings and handovers become simpler because everyone is oriented to the same reference points — the same database, the same calculators, the same jurisdiction labels.
Sopal Plus is available on a 14-day free trial, with payment by card or invoice. No feature restrictions during the trial — the full Research and Projects suite is available from day one. See the pricing page or start the trial directly.
Firms advising claimants and respondents in SOP disputes need both the research depth to run a strong adjudication and the document tools to review and draft claims and schedules. Plus keeps both in one place for the whole team — from senior associates researching a point of law to paralegals drafting submissions.
Large head contractors and subcontractors with dedicated legal functions benefit from having their in-house lawyers and their commercial managers working from the same platform. Legal can research how a disputed item has been treated in adjudication decisions; commercial can build the claim that reflects that analysis.
In-house lawyers embedded in construction businesses often need to do both the legal analysis and the document review themselves. Plus is the single tool that covers both — without paying for two separate subscriptions or context-switching between platforms.
Counsel briefed on adjudication applications or appeals from adjudication decisions need rapid access to the decision database and case law. Where counsel is also assisting with submissions, the Projects tools are available without a separate account.
QSs who provide quantum advice in SOP matters benefit from the research tools when understanding how a particular type of work or variation has been valued in prior decisions, and from the Projects tools when preparing or reviewing the payment claim itself.
Every Research feature and every Projects feature in one subscription. No feature restrictions, no separate logins, no separate billing for the two products.
Research covers QLD, NSW and VIC. Projects covers QLD, NSW, VIC and SA. The relevant legislation is reflected in every tool — claim builders, schedule builders, calculators and the AI research assistant all operate jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction.
The Queensland adjudication database contains full-text decisions — not abstracts or summaries. The AI research assistant draws on the actual case law, not a curated digest. When you need to read the primary source, it is there.
Plus includes everything in Research (7,300+ Queensland adjudication decisions, AI research across NSW, QLD and VIC, adjudicator statistics, auto-drafted submissions) and everything in Projects (payment claim review, payment schedule review, payment claim builder, payment schedule builder, due-date calculator, interest calculator across QLD, NSW, VIC and SA) — under one login and one bill. The products themselves are identical; Plus is the bundle. The value is the pricing (less than Research and Projects separately) and the convenience of a single account for teams that use both.
Sopal Plus is $149.95 per month or $1,299.95 per year. Research alone is $89.95 per month or $799.95 per year, and Projects alone is $79.95 per month or $699.95 per year. Subscribing separately would cost $169.90 per month or $1,499.90 per year — so Plus saves $19.95 per month or $200 per year. See the pricing page for the full comparison.
No. The adjudication decision database covers Queensland only (7,300+ decisions). The AI case-law research covers Queensland, NSW and Victoria. South Australia is covered in the Projects product — the claim builder, schedule builder, due-date calculator and interest calculator all support the SA SOP Act 2009 — but not in the Research product. If SA research is your primary need, we recommend checking the Research page and the legislation page for the current coverage status.
Plus is worthwhile for any practitioner who regularly uses both research and document tools. A sole practitioner in construction law who both researches points of law and drafts payment claims or schedules for clients will get full value from the bundle. The pricing advantage exists regardless of team size. If you primarily do one or the other, Research or Projects individually may be sufficient.
The trial gives you full access to every Plus feature — all Research tools and all Projects tools — with no restrictions. There is no obligation to continue at the end of the trial. Payment can be by credit card or invoice. If you decide to continue, you choose monthly or annual billing at the end of the trial period.
No. The AI research assistant provides general information about how the SOP legislation and adjudication decisions have been applied. It is a research and analysis tool, not a legal adviser, and its output does not constitute legal advice. You should read the primary sources the tool surfaces and, where the matter is material, obtain advice from a qualified lawyer with expertise in construction law. See also the general information note below.
Sopal updates the database on an ongoing basis as new decisions are published. The database currently contains more than 7,300 Queensland decisions. For the most recent decisions, always check the database directly — search results reflect the current state of the database at the time of the search.
Yes. You can change your subscription at any time through your account settings. If you find you only need one product, you can move to the standalone plan. If you are on a standalone plan and find you need the other product, you can upgrade to Plus. Changes take effect at the next billing cycle — see the pricing page or contact us at the contact page if you need help with a plan change.
General information, not legal advice. The content on this page is general information about Sopal Plus and the Australian security of payment legislation. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied on as such. SOP legislation differs between states and has been amended over time — always confirm the current Act for your jurisdiction. If you are dealing with a specific SOP dispute or document, obtain advice from a qualified construction lawyer.
Sopal Plus gives your legal and commercial teams everything they need in one platform — 7,300+ Queensland adjudication decisions, AI research across three states, and the full suite of claim and schedule tools for QLD, NSW, VIC and SA. $149.95/mo or $1,299.95/yr. 14-day free trial, card or invoice.
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