Identifying the Problems of Payment Delays in Governmental Projects in Australia

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

3RESEARCH PROPOSAL
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