Guide

Progress claims and security of payment, state by state

Every state and territory has a security of payment law that lets you claim progress payments and puts deadlines on the reply. The idea is the same everywhere, but the days, the wording and who is covered differ. Here is each one in plain words, with the official page to check.

Updated 27 October 2026 · General information, not legal advice. Check your contract, the official source and, if it matters, a lawyer.

The same idea everywhere

You give the builder or client a written payment claim for the work done. If they will pay less, they reply in writing with a payment schedule saying how much and why, by a deadline. If they miss it, most Acts make them liable for the full amount claimed, and you can go to adjudication or court. The contract can make the deadlines shorter, but generally not longer.

Business days leave out weekends and public holidays. In Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia they also leave out 22 December to 10 January. Count carefully: these deadlines are short.

Payment schedule and payment deadlines by state
State	Payment schedule due	When payment is due
NSW	10 business days after the claim	As the contract says, otherwise 15 business days for a head contractor and 20 for a subcontractor
Victoria	The contract time or 10 business days, whichever is earlier	As the contract says, but no later than 20 business days after the claim
Queensland	15 business days, or earlier if the contract says	At most 25 business days on a subcontract and 15 on a commercial building contract; 10 if the contract sets no date
Western Australia	15 business days, or a shorter time in the contract	20 business days for a head contractor, 25 for a subcontractor or supplier, or an earlier contract date; home building work 10
South Australia	Check the regulator	Check the regulator
Tasmania	10 business days; 20 when claiming from a home owner who is not a building practitioner	As the contract says; if it says nothing, the same day the schedule is due
ACT	The contract time or 10 business days, whichever is earlier	15 business days after the claim, or earlier if the contract says
Northern Territory	A different system: see below	No later than 30 working days after the claim

New South Wales

The law is the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW).
A payment claim is in writing, states the amount due and describes the work. Claim on the dates in your contract, or the last day of the month if it has none.
You can claim for work in the past 12 months, or as the contract allows if that is later.
The builder has at most 10 business days to give you a payment schedule. If they do not, they are liable for the full amount.
Unless the contract says otherwise, payment is due 15 business days after the claim for a head contractor claiming from the principal, and 20 business days for a subcontractor.
The Act also covers owner-occupier construction contracts, where the owner lives in the home or plans to.
Head contractors must hold retention money in trust on projects valued over $20 million.

Official source: NSW Government, making a payment claim.

Victoria

The law is the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Vic). It was amended in 2025, so older guides may be out of date.
A payment claim identifies the work, states the amount claimed and states that it is made under the Act.
You can claim from the last day of each month in which you did work, one claim a month unless the contract allows more. Work done from 22 to 31 December is claimed from 31 January.
Claim no later than six months after practical completion of all the work, or a later date in the contract.
The payment schedule is due within the contract time or 10 business days, whichever is earlier. Miss it, and the respondent becomes liable for the amount claimed.
A contract term that delays payment past 20 business days after the claim has no effect. If the contract is silent, payment is due 10 business days after the earliest day the claim could be served.
The Act does not cover most domestic building contracts between a builder and a home owner.

Official sources: the Act at Victorian Legislation and the Building and Plumbing Commission.

Queensland

The law is the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (Qld).
A payment claim is in writing, identifies the work, states the amount and requests payment of it.
Claim on the reference date in your contract, or the last day of the month the work was done if there is none. One claim per reference date.
Give a claim within six months after the work is finished, unless the contract allows longer.
The longest payment term allowed is 25 business days on a subcontract and 15 on a commercial building contract. If the contract sets no due date, payment is due 10 business days after the claim.
If the builder will not pay in full, they must give you a payment schedule within 15 business days, or sooner if the contract says. Not paying in full by the due date without one is an offence.

Official sources: QBCC on requesting payment and responding to a payment request, both last published 31 August 2021.

Western Australia

The law is the Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Act 2021 (WA).
A payment claim is in writing, shows the amount, describes the items and quantities of work, and says it is made under the Act.
Claim from the last day of each month you did work, within six months of doing it, or longer if the contract allows.
Payment is due within 20 business days for a head contractor who has subcontracted work, and 25 for a subcontractor, supplier or where there is no head contractor, or earlier if the contract says. For home building work it is the contract date or 10 business days.
The payment schedule is due within 15 business days, or a shorter time in the contract.
Claiming from a home owner on a home building contract over $500,000? Attach the notice to the homeowner from Building and Energy.
For builder, building surveying and painting work that needs registration in WA, you cannot make a valid claim without it.

Official sources: Building and Energy's making a payment claim fact sheet, its payment schedule user guide and the WA Government guide.

South Australia

The law is the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2009 (SA). We could not read the official pages when we checked, so we give no deadlines here rather than guess. The Small Business Commissioner explains how to make a claim.

Official source: Small Business Commissioner SA, how to make a security of payment claim.

Tasmania

The law is the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2009 (Tas).
A payment claim is in writing, addressed to the person it is served on, names you, identifies the work in enough detail to assess it, states the amount and says it is made under the Act.
The respondent has 10 business days to give a payment schedule, or 20 when the claim is to a home owner, who is not a building practitioner, for a home built on their land.
Payment is due when the contract says. If it says nothing, it is due by the same day as the schedule.

Official sources: the Act at the Tasmanian Legislation website and Consumer, Building and Occupational Services.

Australian Capital Territory

The law is the Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Act 2009 (ACT).
A payment claim identifies the work, states the amount and says it is made under the Act.
Claim from the last day of each month you did work, or an earlier day in the contract, one claim a month. Claim within 12 months of last doing the work, or later if the contract allows.
Payment is due 15 business days after the claim, or earlier if the contract says.
The payment schedule is due within the contract time or 10 business days, whichever is earlier. Miss it, and the respondent is liable for the amount claimed.
The Act does not cover insurable residential building work for a resident owner on the home they live in or plan to.

Official source: the Act at the ACT Legislation Register.

Northern Territory

The law is the Construction Contracts (Security of Payments) Act 2004 (NT). It works differently from the eastern states: there is no payment schedule, and the Act fills in terms the contract leaves out.
A contract term that delays payment more than 30 working days after the claim is read as 30 working days.
If the contract says nothing, a claim is in writing, addressed, dated, names you, states the amount and itemises the work. The other party then has 10 working days to give a notice of dispute, paying any part not disputed, or 20 working days to pay in full.
An application for adjudication is made within 65 working days after the dispute arises.

Official source: the Act at NT Legislation, as in force at 25 May 2024.

How the app handles this

In Crewzy, progress claims are on the Connected and Unlimited plans. Set the project's state and each claim prints the statement for it: New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania and the ACT name the Act, Queensland requests payment and names the Act, and South Australia and the Northern Territory get a general statement for now. For those six the claim also shows when the payment schedule and payment fall due, as a guide; elsewhere, enter your contract's terms to get the dates. The app does not record whether WA work is home building work, or whether a Tasmanian claim is to a home owner, so it shows the usual dates and says how those cases differ. The app's wording has not been reviewed by a lawyer.

See Progress claims, Payment schedules, invoices and RCTIs and projects and claims in Crewzy.

Sources

Official pages this guide relies on, read on 27 October 2026. Rules change; check them before you rely on anything here.

See projects and claims in the app