Payment claims under Australia’s security of payment laws

By Randall Strickland · Updated 22 October 2026 · 3 min read

Every Australian state and territory has a security of payment Act that gives builders, trades and suppliers a legal right to progress payments, and a fast way to get paid when the money doesn’t come. The key document is the payment claim. Get it right and the other side has to respond, on time, or pay the lot.

What the Acts do

If you carry out construction work or supply related goods and services under a construction contract, you’re entitled to progress payments, even if your contract says little about them. You make a payment claim; the person you claim from must either pay or reply with a payment schedule saying what they’ll pay and why they won’t pay the rest. If they don’t reply in time, they can become liable for the full amount claimed. Disputes go to adjudication, a quick, low-cost decision measured in weeks, not years.

The Act for each state and territory

What a payment claim should include

• The work it covers. Identify the construction work or goods and services, clearly enough that the other side knows what they’re paying for. A period (“work from 1 to 31 March”) and a reference to the contract and project help.
• The amount you’re claiming. One clear claimed amount.
• A request for payment. Some Acts require it in words.
• A statement that it’s made under the Act. Some states require it and others have dropped the requirement; including it everywhere costs nothing and removes the argument.
• How you got to the number. Not always required, but showing the contract value, previous claims, this claim and any retention makes the claim hard to dispute.

Serve it on the right person, the way your contract says notices are served, and keep proof. The timing of claims (monthly, or on the dates in your contract) and the deadline for the payment schedule vary by state: for example, 10 business days in New South Wales and Victoria, and 15 business days in Queensland, unless the contract sets a shorter time.

When the Acts don’t apply

In most states the Act doesn’t cover work for a homeowner on the home they live in; home building laws apply instead. Check your state’s Act, and your contract, before relying on it.

Putting it on your tax invoice

A progress tax invoice can also be your payment claim, as long as it includes the items above. Keep the GST details (your ABN, “TAX INVOICE”, and the GST amount) and add the payment claim wording.

How JobFigure handles it

Set your country to Australia and JobFigure works in Australian dollars, with GST on every tax invoice and retention on your progress claims. On a new invoice, tick “Make this a payment claim”, pick the state or territory where the work is, and check the work period (it starts the day after your last invoice). The tax invoice then says “PAYMENT CLAIM” under the title and adds a section stating that it’s made under that state’s Act, the claimed amount, the work period, the date payment is requested by, and how the amount is calculated from the contract.

This is a plain-English summary, not legal advice. Your state’s security of payment regulator (for example NSW Fair Trading, the Victorian Building Authority or the Queensland Building and Construction Commission) has the details for your state, and a construction lawyer can check anything that matters.

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