Identifying the Problems of Payment Delays in Governmental Projects in Australia

This research focuses on identifying the main causes behind the delays in payments in the government projects in Australia. It explores the impact of payment delays on the contractors and vendors, as well as the government itself. The research proposes a mixed method approach, involving qualitative and quantitative data collection, to gather information on the root causes and financial losses associated with payment delays. The research timeline includes milestones for topic selection, research planning, and execution.

Running Head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Identifying the Problems of Payment Delays in the Context of
Governmental Projects in Australia
Name of the Student
Name of the University

1RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Annotation of Two Research Articles.............................................................................................2
Article 1.......................................................................................................................................2
Article 2.......................................................................................................................................3
Research Questions..........................................................................................................................3
Justification of Need and Significance of Research........................................................................3
Proposed Research Method with Justification.................................................................................5
Data Collection Process...................................................................................................................6
Reflective Statement on Adopting Research PM Methodology......................................................7
Milestones List and Research Timeline...........................................................................................7
References......................................................................................................................................10

2RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Introduction
Payment delay is a major concern in any industry in which all associated parties are
associated with financial losses. While it was initially assumed that this problem is mostly
common in developing countries, it has been found that this problem is also widely prevalent in
developed countries like Australia (Ansah 2011). In the government projects, the contractors and
other partners are facing significant losses and are unable to take up next projects before they
receive payments for one completed project. It has also been reported that among various
government sectors in Australia, the construction sector has been facing this problem with
maximum intensity.
The purpose of this research is to identify the main causes behind the delays in payments
in the government projects in Australia.
Annotation of Two Research Articles
Article 1
Reference: Shah, R.K., 2016. An Exploration Of Causes For Delay And Cost Overrun In
Construction Projects: A Case Study Of Australia, Malaysia & Ghana. Journal of Advanced
College of Engineering and Management, 2(1), pp.41-55.
According to the authors, delays in payments and cost overruns are some common and
prevalent issues faced by various government sectors throughout the world. Initially thought to
be restricted to only developing countries like Ghana, the problem has also been found to be
common in developed countries like Australia. The delayed payments lead to financial troubles

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for the contractors who are not able to work in new projects unless they receive payments for a
completed project.
Article 2
Reference: Patanakul, P., Kwak, Y.H., Zwikael, O. and Liu, M., 2016. What impacts the
performance of large-scale government projects?. International Journal of Project
Management, 34(3), pp.452-466.
The authors have discussed about the impact of the delayed payments on the project
performance and how the contractors and vendors are affected by the same. As per the authors,
the delayed payments result in delayed delivery of resources and services that in turn delay the
project indefinitely. Once the project crosses the delivery deadline, cost overrun initiates that
also in turn affects the overall quality of the project.
Research Questions
The main research questions that will be explored in this research are as follows.
 Which government sectors are facing most cases of payment delays in projects?
 What are main causes behind the delay in payments in government projects in
Australia?
Justification of Need and Significance of Research
The main focus of this research is the delay in payments that are encountered in
government projects in Australia. For decades, there are reports arising and complaints from
contracts that the Australian government are not making the payments in time even after the

4RESEARCH PROPOSAL
project is completed. As per the reports, the delay can extend to even years before all the
payments are completed. As a result, the contractors and other partners are facing significant
losses and are unable to take up next projects before they receive payments for one completed
project (Ahiaga-Dagbui et al. 2017). Again, as per the reports published, it has been found that of
all the government sectors, construction industry has mostly been affected by payment delays
and this has resulted in disruption of cash flow through various parties and the market.
Moreover, some extreme cases also lead to formal dispute resolution methods like litigation and
arbitration that incur even larger costs and time and mostly the contractors and partner
companies face severe losses financially (Jennings, Lodge and Ryan 2018). Initially, it was
assumed that these problems are only prevalent in some developing countries like India,
Pakistan, Ghana, Nigeria and others but now, it has been found that developed countries like
United Kingdom, Australia and others are also facing this problem in a significant scale.
However, the delay in payment issue is not only affecting the contractors but also the
government itself. When the project is ongoing, delay in periodical payments result in late
delivery of resources by the vendors and sub-contractors and thus the project also gets delayed
indefinitely (Seboru 2015). Due to this, the government faces severe financial losses due to
crossing deadlines and extra payments for making up for lost time and resources and this in turn
causes further delay in payments at the end of the project. All these problems have created a
cycle getting out of which is not easy and require considerable and immediate attention.
Research on this topic is of urgent necessity so as to find appropriate solution to solving
the problem of payment delays in the government projects. Since the delay cycle is causing
financial losses to all parties, the solutions are much required that will benefit the government as
well as the contractors, sub-contractors, partners, vendors and all other parties that are associated

5RESEARCH PROPOSAL
with the government projects. This research is significant because it aims to identify and
highlight the main causes behind the delays in payments in the government projects. It is not the
case that the Australian government is financially unstable and cannot make payments in time
due to lack of funds – rather it is the long process of formality that is the main reason behind the
significant delays in the problems. There are also other major problems that will be identified
through this research and suitable solutions will be explored and recommended to the relevant
parties.
Proposed Research Method with Justification
This particular research involves study of both qualitative and quantitative data regarding
the main causes and problems behind the delay in payments in Australian government projects.
The qualitative data mainly includes the factors and reasons that are causing the delays in
payments and the quantitative data includes various statistical data related to payment delays and
overshoot in time and budget. Hence, the proposed research method for this particular research is
mixed method that will involve study of both qualitative and quantitative data and will also
involve primary and secondary data. Primary data will be collected through interview and
questionnaire survey whereas the secondary data will be collected from various online sources
and reports published by various government agencies and other contractor organisations.
Qualitative data refers to the type of data that deals with characteristics and qualities of a
particular topic without any statistic data. Qualitative data is studied when some root causes and
issues are researched for identification of a particular solution for a problem. On the other hand,
quantitative data refers to statistical data having numerical values that deal with various variables
and information like financial profits, losses, quantities and others. Quantitative data is studied

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when the research involves study of financial problems, quantitative analysis of a particular
topic, study of organisational growth, census and others.
Since the focus of this research is on payment delays in government projects, two types
of data will be emphasised on:
i. The research will be conducted on the root causes that are behind the payment
delays in most of the government projects.
ii. Various data related to financial losses, budget overshoot, financial penalty due to
delayed payment in the projects will be explored.
As a result, mixed method analysis is mostly suitable for this particular project.
Data Collection Process
This research topic has a significant scope and also requires study of different types of
data for answering the research questions. Hence, in this research, both primary and secondary
data will be involved. For the purpose of collecting primary data, the following techniques will
be utilised.
i. Interview – For collecting primary qualitative data, the most effective technique is
personal interview. For the purpose of this research, some project managers
involved in government projects and contractors who have worked in government
projects will be requested to participate in the interviews. Once they have agreed
to do so, appointments will be taken and at the specified times, they will be
interviewed and required qualitative data will be collected.

7RESEARCH PROPOSAL
ii. Questionnaire Survey – Again, in order to gather quantitative data, the managers
will also be requested to fill a questionnaire survey form that will be supplied to
them online. These questionnaires will include a number of questions with
multiple choice answers. Once the managers complete the survey, the quantitative
data will be collected and analysed.
For the purpose of collecting secondary data, various online reports and documents
published by government organisations will be collected and studied.
The primary data collection is essential in order to gather first hand data regarding the
current situation regarding payments in the government projects in the country. While some
biasing is expected in the responses of the managers, it is possible to collect some important data
that will help to conduct the study on the current scenarios.
Secondary data collection will be done from other external sources and will help to
understand the past trends regarding this particular topic i.e. it will help to understand whether
this problem is new or this has been a problem for a long time.
Reflective Statement on Adopting Research PM Methodology
Project Management methodologies are a set of different methodologies that can be used
to undertake a project and depending on the nature, they can also be used for a research. Some of
the common PM methodology that can be utilised in research include Agile and Waterfall. Of
these, waterfall methodology is being used.
It is important to select a suitable methodology depending on the nature of the research.
Selecting any methodology may cause problems in the future when the research may not even be

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completed due to use of wrong methodology. The methodology plays a very important role in
defining the course of the research / project and hence, it is important to utilise a methodology
properly in order to complete the research with success.
Milestones List and Research Timeline
The proposed research timeline with milestone list is shown in the following table.
WBS Task Name Duration Start Finish
0 Research Timeline for Studying Payment Delays in
Government Projects in Australia 171 days Mon 22-07-19 Mon 16-03-20
1 Topic Selection and Discussion 29 days Mon 22-07-19 Thu 29-08-19
1.1 Receive List of Possible Topics for the Research Purpose 1 day Mon 22-07-19 Mon 22-07-19
1.2 Choose Topic List from the Field of Research 2 days Tue 23-07-19 Wed 24-07-19
1.3 Analyse the Topics for Selection 4 days Thu 25-07-19 Tue 30-07-19
1.4 Analyse the Scope of Research in Each of the Topics 4 days Wed 31-07-19 Mon 05-08-19
1.5 Analyse the Feasibility of Each Research Topic 4 days Tue 06-08-19 Fri 09-08-19
1.6 Final Selection of Topic for the Research 1 day Mon 12-08-19 Mon 12-08-19
1.7 Receive Approval from Supervisor to Proceed with the
Topic 2 days Tue 13-08-19 Wed 14-08-19
1.8 Develop Research Proposal 10 days Thu 15-08-19 Wed 28-08-19
1.9 Submission of Research Proposal for Approval 1 day Thu 29-08-19 Thu 29-08-19
1.10 Receive Go Ahead for the Research 0 days Thu 29-08-19 Thu 29-08-19
2 Research Planning 12 days Fri 30-08-19 Mon 16-09-19
2.1 Define Scope of Research based on the Overall Topic 2 days Fri 30-08-19 Mon 02-09-19
2.2 Create a Breakdown of All Tasks Required in the Research 2 days Tue 03-09-19 Wed 04-09-19
2.3 Prepare Schedule of Research based on Research Report
Submission Deadline 0.5 days Thu 05-09-19 Thu 05-09-19
2.4 Distribute Tasks in Research among the Team Members 0.5 days Thu 05-09-19 Thu 05-09-19
2.5 Develop List of Resources Required for the Purpose of the
Research 2 days Fri 06-09-19 Mon 09-09-19
2.6 Place Request for Funding the Research 1 day Tue 10-09-19 Tue 10-09-19
2.7 Identify Appropriate Research Methodology 0.5 days Wed 11-09-19 Wed 11-09-19
2.8 Define Approach to the Research 0.5 days Wed 11-09-19 Wed 11-09-19
2.9 Identify Suitable Data Collection Method 1 day Thu 12-09-19 Thu 12-09-19
2.10 Receive Funds for Research 2 days Fri 13-09-19 Mon 16-09-19
2.11 Proceed to the Research 0 days Mon 16-09-19 Mon 16-09-19
3 Research Initiation and Execution 94 days Tue 17-09-19 Fri 24-01-20
3.1 Gather Resources for Research 4 days Tue 17-09-19 Fri 20-09-19
3.2 Request Access to Online Library for Collecting Literary
Sources Required for the Research 2 days Mon 23-09-19 Tue 24-09-19
3.3 Collect Literature Works for the Purpose of Literature
Review 3 days Wed 25-09-19 Fri 27-09-19

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3.4 Conduct Detailed Literature Review for the Research 6 days Mon 30-09-19 Mon 07-10-19
3.5 Collection of Important Data from Literature that will Aid
the Research 4 days Tue 08-10-19 Fri 11-10-19
3.6 Develop Roadmap for the Entire Research 2 days Mon 14-10-19 Tue 15-10-19
3.7 Define Research Questions and Hypothesis that will be
Explored 2 days Wed 16-10-19 Thu 17-10-19
3.8 Initiate Data Collection Process 1 day Fri 18-10-19 Fri 18-10-19
3.9 Contact Government Project Managers and Contractors for
Interview and Questionnaire Survey 10 days Mon 21-10-19 Fri 01-11-19
3.10 Conduct Interview of the Selected Personnel 10 days Mon 04-11-19 Fri 15-11-19
3.11 Conduct Questionnaire Survey of the Selected Personnel 10 days Mon 18-11-19 Fri 29-11-19
3.12 Collect both Quantitative and Qualitative Data 10 days Mon 02-12-19 Fri 13-12-19
3.13 Install NVivo and SPSS Software for Data Analysis 2 days Mon 16-12-19 Tue 17-12-19
3.14 Analysis of Qualitative and Quantitative Data 10 days Wed 18-12-19 Tue 31-12-19
3.15 Document All Results from the Data Analysis 5 days Wed 01-01-20 Tue 07-01-20
3.16 Verify if the Research Questions are Answered 5 days Wed 08-01-20 Tue 14-01-20
3.17 Document the Outcomes of the Research 5 days Wed 15-01-20 Tue 21-01-20
3.18 Set Up Opportunities and Scope for Further Research 3 days Wed 22-01-20 Fri 24-01-20
3.19 Research Completion 0 days Fri 24-01-20 Fri 24-01-20
4 Research Submission and Closing 36 days Mon 27-01-20 Mon 16-03-20
4.1 Prepare Research Report 20 days Mon 27-01-20 Fri 21-02-20
4.2 Submit the Report to the Supervisor 1 day Mon 24-02-20 Mon 24-02-20
4.3 Receive Grading from the Supervisor 15 days Tue 25-02-20 Mon 16-03-20
4.4 Sign Off 0 days Mon 16-03-20 Mon 16-03-20
The overall timeline shows that the total research process is expected to take a total of 8
months that will include research initiation, research conduction and preparation and submission
of research report. While the durations are mostly estimated, it is expected that this timeline is
sufficient for conducting the research considering its overall scale and scope.

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References
Ahiaga-Dagbui, D.D., Love, P.E., Smith, S.D. and Ackermann, F., 2017. Toward a systemic
view to cost overrun causation in infrastructure projects: A review and implications for
research. Project management journal, 48(2), pp.88-98.
Aljohani, A., Ahiaga-Dagbui, D. and Moore, D., 2017. Construction projects cost overrun: What
does the literature tell us?. International Journal of Innovation, Management and
Technology, 8(2), p.137.
Ansah, S.K., 2011. Causes and effects of delayed payments by clients on construction projects in
Ghana. Journal of Construction Project Management and Innovation, 1(1), pp.27-45.
Jennings, W., Lodge, M. and Ryan, M., 2018. Comparing blunders in government. European
Journal of Political Research, 57(1), pp.238-258.
Marshall, J.P., 2016. Disordering fantasies of coal and technology: Carbon capture and storage in
Australia. Energy Policy, 99, pp.288-298.
Patanakul, P., Kwak, Y.H., Zwikael, O. and Liu, M., 2016. What impacts the performance of
large-scale government projects?. International Journal of Project Management, 34(3), pp.452-
466.
Seboru, M.A., 2015. An investigation into factors causing delays in road construction projects in
Kenya. American Journal of Civil Engineering, 3(3), pp.51-63.

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Shah, R.K., 2016. An Exploration Of Causes For Delay And Cost Overrun In Construction
Projects: A Case Study Of Australia, Malaysia & Ghana. Journal of Advanced College of
Engineering and Management, 2(1), pp.41-55.