NSW Security of Payment Deadline Calculator
Calculate NSW Security of Payment deadlines: payment schedule, due date, notice of intention and adjudication application dates.
This tool provides general estimates only and does not constitute legal advice. For advice specific to your situation, contact Vitt Legal for a consultation — expert, transparent legal advice.
How the calculator works
- You choose the state or territory where the work was done and who you are claiming from. Security of Payment laws are state-based, so the deadlines differ.
- From the date you served your payment claim, it counts forward the business days allowed for the payment schedule and the due date for payment, skipping weekends and any Christmas–New Year days the Act excludes.
- Depending on how the other side responded, it works out the last day to give a notice of intention (where one is required) and to apply for adjudication.
- Where a rule could not be confirmed from an official source, the calculator does not guess: it tells you to confirm that step with a lawyer.
Rules last checked .
New South Wales Security of Payment rules
New South Wales (NSW)
Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW)
- Which contracts
- For contracts signed on or after 21 October 2019, progress payments are no longer triggered by a reference date. Residential owner-occupier contracts are covered if signed on or after 1 March 2021. Older contracts follow the previous rules.Source: NSW Government — Changes to security of payment laws
- Counting business days
- Business days exclude weekends and public holidays. Whether any Christmas–New Year days are also excluded could not be confirmed from the Act (the NSW legislation site blocked access) — confirm with a lawyer for deadlines over the holiday period.Needs confirmation with a lawyerSource: Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW)
- Time limit to serve a payment claim
- NSW Government guidance: you can claim for work completed in the past 12 months (or later if the contract allows).Source: NSW Government — Making a payment claim
- Payment schedule
- 10 business days after the claim is served (for owner-occupiers, the contract time or 10 business days, whichever is earlier).Source: NSW Government — Responding to a payment claim
- Due date — claiming from the principal
- Principal to head contractor: no later than 15 business days after the claim.Source: NSW Government — Changes to security of payment laws
- Due date — claiming from a head contractor
- Head contractor to subcontractor: no later than 20 business days after the claim (10 business days for residential building work).Source: NSW Government — Changes to security of payment laws
- Homeowner (owner-occupier) contracts
- Owner-occupier contracts: 10 business days after the claim if the contract does not say when payment is due.Source: NSW Government — Changes to security of payment laws
- Adjudication — schedule for less than claimed
- Within 10 business days after you receive the payment schedule.Source: NSW Government — Making a payment claim
- Adjudication — scheduled amount not paid
- Within 20 business days after the due date for payment.Source: NSW Government — Making a payment claim
- Adjudication — no schedule and not paid
- Give notice of intention within 20 business days after the due date. The respondent then has 5 business days to provide a schedule. Lodge within 10 business days after that 5-day period ends.Source: NSW Government — About security of payment
- The 15 and 20 business day periods are maximums: your contract can set an earlier due date.
- The claimant can suspend work after giving 2 business days' warning if the scheduled amount is not paid.
Security of Payment deadlines by state
Maximum periods under each Act. A contract can shorten the payment schedule and due date periods. Adjudication periods run from the event shown.
| State | Payment schedule | Adjudication: schedule for less | Adjudication: no schedule | Claim time limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VIC | 10 business days | 10 business days after receipt | Notice within 10 days of due date, 5-day second chance, then 5 business days | 6 months after practical completion (or contract, if later) |
| NSW | 10 business days | 10 business days after receipt | Notice within 20 days of due date, 5-day second chance, then 10 business days | 12 months after work last done (or contract, if later) |
| QLD | 15 business days | 30 business days after receipt | 30 business days | 6 months after work last done (or contract, if later) |
| WA | 15 business days | 20 business days after receipt | Notice within 20 days of due date, 5-day second chance, then 20 business days | 6 months after work last done (or contract, if later) |
| SA | Confirm with a lawyer | Confirm with a lawyer after receipt | Confirm with a lawyer | Confirm with a lawyer |
| TAS | 10 business days | 10 business days after receipt | Notice within 20 days of due date, 5-day second chance, then 10 business days | 12 months after work last done (or contract, if later) |
| ACT | 10 business days | 10 business days after receipt | Notice within 20 days of due date, 5-day second chance, then 10 business days | 12 months after work last done (or contract, if later) |
| NT | 10 working days | 65 working days after receipt | 65 working days | Set by the contract |
What this calculator does not cover
- Public holidays. They are not skipped, so a real deadline can be a day or more later than shown.
- Earlier deadlines set by your contract, beyond the due date you enter.
- Final payment claims, performance security and retention claims, and adjudication responses.
- Contracts signed before the current rules started (see “Which contracts” for each state).
- Whether your payment claim or schedule is valid, or whether the Act covers your contract at all.
- South Australian dates, which could not be confirmed against the current Act.
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