What makes a valid payment claim under the SOP Act?
A payment claim is the written claim for construction work that starts the Security of Payment clock. The payment schedule window, and everything after it, counts from the day the claim is served. Each state's Act sets what a valid claim must do and how often you can make one.
What each state's Act asks of a claim
Three things per state: the content rule, what the library records if a claim breaks it, and how often a claim can be made. Each row links to the full Act.
| State | What the claim must do | If it does not | How often |
|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | Make every claim a valid payment claim: identify the work and state the amounts 13(2) | the claim is barred | Make a progress claim on the cadence the contract allowss 13 |
| Queensland | Make every claim a valid payment claim: identify the work and state the amounts 68(1) | the claim is barred | Make a progress claim on the cadence the contract allowsss 67, 75(4) |
| Victoria | Make every claim a valid payment claim: in the prescribed form, identifying the work, stating the amount and that it is made under the Acts 14(2) | the claim is barred | Make a progress claim on the cadence the contract allowss 14A, 14D |
| Western Australia | Make every claim a valid payment claim: identify the work and state the amounts 24(1) | the claim is barred | Make a progress claim on the cadence the contract allowss 23 |
| South Australia | Make every claim a valid payment claim: identify the work, state the amount and state it is made under the Acts 13(2) | the claim is barred | Make one progress claim per reference date (the last day of each month if the contract is silent)s 4, 13(5) |
| Tasmania | Make every claim a valid payment claim: identify the work in enough detail to assess it, state the amount and state it is made under the Acts 17(2) | the claim is barred | Make one progress claim per reference date (the last day of each month if the contract is silent)s 4, 17(4) |
| Australian Capital Territory | Make every claim a valid payment claim: identify the work, state the amount and state it is made under the Acts 15(2) | the claim is barred | Make no more than one progress claim per calendar months 15(4), (6) |
| Northern Territory | Make every claim in writing, dated, stating the amount and itemising the work performeds 19, Sch 1 cl 5 | no penalty stated | not held in the library |
The paper that goes with it
In New South Wales the Act also says to attach a supporting statement that subcontractors have been paid (s 13(7)). If it is missing: an offence. In Queensland the Act also says to attach a supporting statement that subcontractors have been paid (s 75(6), (8)). If it is missing: an offence. Every state, including where the library holds no such duty, is on supporting statements.
What starts once the claim is served
The other side's answer is the payment schedule, due within a set number of days of the claim. If it pays less than you claimed, the next window is the adjudication application. Count both for a real date in the deadline calculator.
What this page is, and is not
It is the section text this library holds for each state's Act, with the window and the consequence. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for reading the Act and the contract you signed.
No library of law is complete, and Demiton never says this one is. An obligation the library does not hold, and you did not add, is not protected. You can add your own to any job.