NEC Australia commences legal proceedings against ACIC over cancelled contract

Company is seeking to recover costs and expenses after contract’s abrupt cancellation

NEC Australia commences legal proceedings against ACIC over cancelled contract

NEC Australia has commenced legal proceedings against the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) in the Supreme Court of Victoria.

In a statement, the electronics firm said that it opened legal proceedings to recover costs and expenses after its $52m contract to upgrade the ACIC’s biometric identification services (BIS) system was abruptly cancelled in June 2018.

NEC Australia said that it has attempted to recover an undisclosed amount of associated costs since the contract’s termination, but its efforts have been unsuccessful.

"After careful deliberation, NEC Australia has decided to take legal action to recoup its costs directly related to the project by commencing legal proceedings in the Supreme Court of Victoria," the company said. “NEC Australia maintains it met all terms of its contract and was disappointed and surprised that a decision was taken to terminate at what it deems was beyond the 11th hour in the BIS project.

The company declined to publicly disclose details of its financial claim.