What law protects subcontractors in Tasmania?
The Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2009 gives anyone who carries out building or construction work, or supplies related goods and services in Tasmania, a statutory right to progress payments. It sets a deadline for the builder to respond, gives you adjudication, and lets you stop work safely when you are not paid. Building Standards Tasmania publishes the official guidance from 1 October 2026.
Tasmania has not made the reforms seen on the mainland. It still uses reference dates, and it has no statutory cap on payment terms. It is also the one state with no owner occupier exclusion at all.
Am I covered if I work for a builder on a house?
Yes. The Act covers any contract or other arrangement for construction work in Tasmania, written or verbal, and it has no exclusion for homeowners. A subcontractor working for a builder is covered on every job, residential or commercial. Where the respondent is a land owner having a home built who is not a building practitioner, they simply get 20 business days rather than 10 to respond.
How do I make a valid payment claim in Tasmania?
A payment claim under s 17 must be in writing, addressed to the builder, identify the work, state the amount claimed, and state that it is made under the Act. Use this wording: "This is a Payment Claim made under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2009." You can serve one claim for each reference date, which is the date in your contract or, if there is none, the last day of each month.
When and how often you can claim:
- One claim per reference date. Unpaid amounts can be rolled into the next claim.
- Time limit: for work done within the past 12 months, or a longer period if the contract allows.
- Serve it in a way you can prove, by email to the address in the contract.
What must the builder do, and by when?
If the builder will pay less than you claimed, they must give you a payment schedule within the time in the contract or 10 business days, whichever is earlier (s 19). The schedule must identify your claim, state the amount they will pay, and give reasons for paying less (s 18). If no schedule arrives in time, the builder is liable for the full claimed amount (s 19(2)).
Timing rules:
- Due date (s 15): as your contract says, or 10 business days after the claim if the contract has no valid term. Tasmania sets no maximum, so a long term in your contract can stand.
- Owner occupier respondents: 20 business days instead of 10 for both the schedule and the default due date.
- Pay when paid clauses have no effect (s 16(2)).
What can I do if the builder still does not pay?
You choose between adjudication and court. Adjudication runs through a nominating authority you choose (s 21): an adjudicator decides within 10 business days, and the decision is enforced in court as a judgment. Or you sue for the unpaid amount as a debt (s 19(5)), where the builder cannot bring a cross claim (s 19(8)).
Adjudication deadlines under s 21:
- Schedule for less than you claimed: apply within 10 business days after you receive it.
- Schedule given but the amount not paid: apply within 20 business days after the due date.
- No schedule at all: give notice of your intention to apply within 20 business days after the due date, giving the builder 5 business days to provide a schedule. Then apply within 10 business days after those 5 days end (s 21(4)).
How it runs from there:
- The builder can respond only if they provided a schedule in time (s 23(1)), within the later of 10 business days after receiving the application and 5 business days after the adjudicator accepts (s 23(2)).
- They can rely only on the reasons in their schedule (s 23(4)).
- The adjudicator decides within 10 business days, extendable by agreement (s 24).
Can I stop work until I am paid?
Yes, under s 29. If the amount owed is not paid, give the builder written notice that you intend to suspend work, stating that it is made under the Act. You can stop at least 2 business days later and stay off the job until 3 business days after you are paid. If the builder removes part of your work from the contract because you suspended, they must compensate your loss.
Never simply stop turning up. Stopping without the notice can be treated as abandoning the contract.
What extra protections apply in Tasmania?
Tasmania has no statutory retention trust or project trust account, so the payment process is the main protection and your contract governs retention. Its business day rule is narrower than the mainland's: only 27 to 31 December is excluded over Christmas, not the full shutdown period that Victoria, Queensland and WA exclude.
- Business days (s 4A) exclude weekends, statewide public holidays and 27 to 31 December.
- Retention money: negotiate its amount and release date in writing before you start, and include it in a payment claim when it falls due.
What should I do today if I have not been paid?
Work the steps in order and keep a dated record of each one. Tasmania still runs on reference dates, so check the date your contract sets before serving anything.
- Check your contract for a reference date and a payment term.
- Serve a payment claim on or after the reference date, by email, with the work itemised, the amount, and the statement that it is made under the Act.
- Diary the schedule deadline (10 business days, or 20 for an owner occupier) and the due date.
- If the due date passes unpaid, serve written notice of intention to suspend under s 29.
- Apply for adjudication inside the window that applies to you, or sue for the debt.
- For large or disputed amounts, have a Tasmanian construction lawyer check the paperwork before you lodge.
The businesses that rarely end up here run it as a system rather than a fight: every progress claim carries the statutory wording, and an AI agent tracks each claim's reference date and deadlines so the notice goes out the day a deadline is missed.
Where is this in the legislation?
- Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2009 (Tas): s 4A (business day), s 15 (due date), s 16 (pay when paid), s 17 (payment claims), s 18 and s 19 (payment schedules, consequences, debt recovery), s 21 to s 24 (adjudication), s 29 (suspension), s 31 (nominating authorities).
- Building Standards Tasmania: making a claim
- Building Standards Tasmania: security of payment
- Building Standards Tasmania: responding to a claim
- Building Standards Tasmania: the adjudication process
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 Tasmanian construction lawyer before relying on it for a large or disputed claim.
