What is a security of payment Act?
A security of payment Act is a law that gives anyone who carries out construction work, or supplies related goods and services, a statutory right to progress payments. Every Australian state and territory has one. It puts a clock on every payment, stops builders hiding behind the contract, and gives the person doing the work a fast, low cost way to recover what they are owed.
The principle is pay now, argue later. A builder who disputes your claim can still pursue that argument, but the money the Act says is owed must be paid first. The legislation exists because cash in construction flows downhill, and the trade at the bottom of the chain used to carry everyone else's delays.
Am I covered if I work for a builder?
Almost certainly yes. Every Act covers subcontractors working for a builder, whether the agreement is written or verbal, and you cannot sign your rights away. The common residential exclusion catches a contract made directly with a homeowner who lives in the home, not a subcontract between a builder and a trade, so you keep your rights even on a house build.
The details that vary:
- Homeowner contracts. NSW brought owner occupier contracts in from 2021 and Tasmania never excluded them. Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the ACT exclude them in some form. None of that affects a subcontract with a builder.
- Licensing. In NSW, Queensland and Western Australia, doing work without the licence or registration it needs can cost you the right to claim. Check your licence covers the work.
How does the process work?
Most states follow the same five steps. You serve a payment claim, the builder answers with a payment schedule by a deadline, payment falls due, and if it does not arrive you choose between adjudication and court, and you may suspend work after written notice. The Northern Territory runs a different model, explained in its own guide.
- Payment claim. A written claim that identifies the work and the amount. In NSW, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and Western Australia it should also state that it is made under the Act.
- Payment schedule. If the builder will pay less, they must say so in writing, with reasons, within the deadline. In most states, silence makes them liable for the full amount.
- Due date. Most states cap how long a contract can make you wait. A longer term has no effect.
- Adjudication or court. An independent adjudicator decides the amount in weeks, and the decision is enforced as a court judgment. Or you sue for the debt, where the builder's defences are heavily restricted.
- Suspension. After written notice, you can stop work until you are paid, without being in breach.
Pay when paid clauses, which say you get paid only when the builder does, have no effect in every state and territory.
How do the rules differ by state?
The deadlines are where most claims are won or lost, and they differ by state. Here are the numbers that matter most to a subcontractor, as at October 2026. Each state has its own guide with the full process and the references.
- New South Wales: schedule within 10 business days, payment within 20 business days (10 for subcontracts on owner occupier jobs if the contract is silent), 2 business days notice to suspend.
- Victoria: reformed from 15 April 2026. Schedule within 10 business days, payment within 20 business days at most, 3 business days notice to suspend. Excluded amounts and reference dates have gone.
- Queensland: schedule within 15 business days, payment within 25 business days for a subcontract, 2 business days notice to suspend, adjudication through the QBCC.
- Western Australia: schedule within 15 business days, payment within 25 business days for a subcontract, 2 business days notice to suspend, retention money held on trust for contracts of $20,000 or more.
- South Australia: schedule within 15 business days, reference dates still apply, adjudication through authorised nominating authorities.
- Tasmania: schedule within 10 business days, no statutory cap on payment terms, 2 business days notice to suspend.
- Australian Capital Territory: schedule within 10 business days, payment within 15 business days, 2 business days notice to suspend.
- Northern Territory: no statutory payment schedule; payment within 30 working days at most, adjudication within 65 working days of a payment dispute, suspension only after an adjudicated amount goes unpaid.
Business days exclude weekends and public holidays everywhere, and most states also exclude a Christmas period. Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia exclude 22 December to 10 January, which can add a month to any deadline that runs over the break.
What should I do the moment a builder stops paying?
Treat it as a process, not an argument. Put your claim in the form your state's Act requires, diary every deadline, and act on the day each one passes. Builders who pay late rely on subcontractors who are too busy to follow the steps, and the steps are what the law protects.
- Find your state's guide below and check you are covered.
- Serve a payment claim in the correct form, by email, and keep proof it was sent.
- Diary the schedule deadline and the due date.
- If the due date passes unpaid, serve a written notice of intention to suspend before you stop.
- Apply for adjudication inside your state's window, or sue for the debt.
- For a large or disputed amount, get a construction lawyer to check the paperwork before you lodge.
The businesses that rarely end up here have built this into how they run every job: no next stage until the last claim is paid, every progress claim issued in the form the Act requires, and an AI agent watching each claim's dates so the notice goes out the day a deadline is missed. That is a system, and systems beat chasing.
Where can I read the law for my state?
Each guide in this series sets out the Act, the deadlines, how to suspend safely and the section references, with links to the official legislation and regulator pages.
- Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW)
- Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Vic)
- Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (Qld)
- Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Act 2021 (WA)
- Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2009 (SA)
- Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2009 (Tas)
- Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Act 2009 (ACT)
- Construction Contracts (Security of Payments) Act 2004 (NT)
This is general information about the law as at 16 October 2026, not legal advice. Deadlines depend on your contract and the facts, so get advice from a construction lawyer in your state before relying on it for a large or disputed claim.
