Security of Payment Acts (often called SOPA) give anyone who carries out construction work, or supplies related goods and services, a legal right to progress payments and a fast process to recover them. Every Australian state and territory has its own Act, and the deadlines specified within them differ.
For progress claim certifiers, the deadline that matters most is the payment schedule: the written response to a payment claim. In most states and territories, it’s due within 10 or 15 business days of the claim, or sooner if the contract says so. Miss it, and the client can become liable for the full amount claimed.
The Buildsoft team recently attended an Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (AIQS) NSW QSEP information session on Security of Payment, and one thing was clear: keeping track of deadlines across states is a real challenge for Quantity Surveyors. Here’s how the timeframes compare across every state and territory.
Why do security of payment timeframes matter to certifiers?
A payment claim is a progress claim made under the state’s security of payment legislation, which starts the statutory timeframes. From the day it’s served, the respondent (the party the claim is made to, usually the client) has a set number of business days to give a payment schedule.
A payment schedule is the respondent’s written reply to a payment claim, stating the amount it will pay and the reasons for paying less.
In practice, the work behind the schedule falls to the progress claim certifier, because the schedule is built on certification: the certifier’s independent assessment of what is payable for the period. Many contracts go further and deem the certifier’s progress certificate to be the payment schedule. Either way, the statutory deadline is, in effect, the certifier’s deadline.
For more on the certifier’s role, see our blog: What is Progress Claim Certification?
What are the Security of Payment timelines in each state?
Each Act sets two separate deadlines, and they do different jobs. The payment schedule deadline is the last day the respondent can reply in writing to specify the amount it will pay, and its reasons if that’s less than the amount claimed. The payment due date is when that amount must actually be paid.
For example, a head contractor on a NSW project serves a payment claim on the client for $100,000. Within 10 business days, the client gives a payment schedule saying it will pay $80,000, with its reasons for paying less. That $80,000 is then due within 15 business days of the claim. If the client misses the 10-day deadline for the payment schedule, it becomes liable for the full $100,000 instead.
Here are both deadlines for every state and territory. The figures are each Act’s defaults and maximums: for the payment schedule, a contract can set a shorter time but not a longer one. Payment due dates follow the contract, within the limits shown.
Business days exclude weekends, public holidays, and a Christmas shutdown period. That period varies by state and territory: some exclude only the days between Christmas and New Year, while others exclude the whole stretch from just before Christmas to early January. The Northern Territory counts working days instead.
Which states have changed their Security of Payment Act recently?
Victoria (from 15 April 2026). Payment terms are now capped at 20 business days after the claim, even if the contract says otherwise. Respondents must put all their reasons for withholding payment in the payment schedule. Victoria also now excludes 22 December to 10 January from its business days, and this will be the first Christmas it applies.
ACT (from 11 March 2024). Payment is now due on the earlier of the contract date or 15 business days after the claim.
Western Australia (from 1 August 2022). WA moved to an east coast style Act for contracts entered into from 1 August 2022. The older Construction Contracts Act 2004 still applies to earlier contracts, so long-running WA projects may sit under either regime.
Which Act applies when a project crosses state lines?
Generally, the Act of the state or territory where the construction work is carried out, not where the parties are based.
So a progress claim certifier based in Brisbane, assessing claims on a job in Sydney, works to the NSW timeframes. Projects that physically span a border are less clear-cut, and are worth getting legal advice on early.
How do Christmas shutdown periods affect deadlines?
The Christmas period is where the states and territories differ most. Each Act leaves a set period over Christmas out of its business day count, and the length of that period depends on where the job is:
NSW, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT: 27 to 31 December. South Australia also excludes any day of a statewide shutdown of the building and construction industry.
Northern Territory: 25 December to 7 January (the NT counts working days rather than business days).
Queensland, Western Australia and now Victoria: 22 December to 10 January.
That means the same claim, served on the same day before Christmas, can have a payment schedule due more than a week apart. For example, a payment claim served on Friday 18 December 2026 has a payment schedule due on Monday 11 January 2027 in NSW, but not until Thursday 21 January 2027 in Victoria, even though both states allow 10 business days.
The contract can still catch you out. In Allencon v Palmgrove [2023] QCA 6, a payment claim was served on 24 December 2021. The subcontract required a response within 21 calendar days, which ended on 14 January 2022. The Queensland Court of Appeal held that the shorter contract period applied, so the payment schedule was due on 14 January, well before the statutory 15 business day count would have ended. Check whether your contract counts calendar days or business days, and how it defines them.
Which states require retention money to be held in trust?
Three states currently require retention money to be held in trust:
New South Wales: head contractors must hold retention money in a trust account where the main contract is worth $20 million or more.
Queensland: cash retention on eligible contracts must be held in a retention trust account. The QBCC sets out which contracts are eligible.
Western Australia: retention money must be held in trust on construction contracts valued at $20,000 or more entered into from 1 February 2024.
In other states and territories, check the current Act and regulations. For certifiers, the practical point is the same everywhere: the retention deducted on each certificate should follow the contract, and the running total should reconcile claim to claim.
How can progress claim certifiers keep track of deadlines across projects?
Every job runs a different clock. Each project has its own count rules, Christmas exclusions and contract overrides, and one missed date can make the client liable for the full claim. The starting point is knowing exactly what each contract says.
Notum, progress claims software by Buildsoft, keeps each project’s contract, claims and assessments in one place. Vera, Notum’s contract assistant, can find and explain the payment terms and timeframes in each contract, with links back to the clause.
That matters because the contract can set a shorter time than the Act, as Allencon v Palmgrove showed. Ask Vera about a contract’s payment terms, and it summarises the relevant clauses, such as when claims are due, how long the certifier has to issue a progress certificate, and when the client must pay. It also notes what the certificate must show, such as retention deductions, and the Security of Payment Act the contract refers to. Each point links back to its clause, so the certifier can check the wording before relying on it.
Frequently asked questions
How many days do I have to respond to a payment claim?
It depends on the state. The payment schedule is due within 10 business days in NSW, Victoria, Tasmania and the ACT, and 15 business days in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, or earlier if the contract says so. The Northern Territory uses a notice of dispute instead.
What happens if a payment schedule is late?
In most states, the respondent becomes liable to pay the full claimed amount, and the claimant can recover it or apply for adjudication.
Does the contract or the Act set the deadline?
Both. The Act sets the maximum, and the contract can set a shorter time for the payment schedule. Where the contract is shorter, the contract time applies.
Which state’s Security of Payment Act applies to my project?
Generally, the Security of Payment Act (SOPA) of the state or territory where the construction work is carried out, not where the parties are based or which law the contract chooses.
See Notum in action
Notum gives client-side progress claim certifiers one place to assess, certify and record every progress claim, with Vera on hand to find the payment terms in each contract. Request a Notum demo.
Official sources
Each state and territory’s Act is linked in the table above. We also checked the timeframes against these government and regulator pages:
- NSW: Making a payment claim and Retention money (NSW Government)
- Victoria: Changes to the SOP Act (Building and Plumbing Commission)
- Queensland: Business days and the holiday period and Trust account rollout (QBCC), Allencon v Palmgrove [2023] QCA
- Western Australia: Overview of the Security of Payment Act 2021 (WA Government)
- South Australia: How to make a Security of Payment Act claim (Small Business Commissioner)
- Tasmania: Responding to a payment claim (Consumer, Building and Occupational Services)
- ACT: Security of payments (ACT Planning)
Disclaimer: This article summarises the default timeframes in each state and territory’s security of payment legislation as at October 2026. It is general information only and is not legal advice. Contracts can set shorter timeframes, some types of work (including residential building work) follow different rules, and the legislation changes from time to time. Before relying on any deadline, check the current legislation linked above or get advice from a qualified construction lawyer. Buildsoft does not accept liability for any loss arising from reliance on this article.
