When is it due? Security of Payment deadlines, by state.
In most states, a payment schedule that turns up a day late makes the full claim payable. An adjudication application a day late is not a valid application. Both windows are counted in business days, and every state counts them differently. Pick the state, what happened and the date.
Pick the date it happened.
10 business days after the day it happened, not counting that day. Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW) s 14(4). Every window in this Act
Counted without weekends, New South Wales public holidays and the Act's own Christmas break. If your contract sets a shorter time, the shorter time applies.
How the sequence runs
You serve a payment claim. The other side has a fixed number of business days to answer with a payment schedule saying what it will pay and why. If no schedule arrives in time, it is liable for the full amount claimed. If the schedule pays less than you claimed, a second clock starts the day you receive it: the time to apply for adjudication.
- Day 0Claim served, Tuesday 15 September 2026
- + 15 business days, s 76(1), s 77Schedule due by Wednesday 7 October 2026
- + 30 business days from receipt, s 79(2)(b)Adjudication application, if the schedule is short
That is Queensland. Counting 15 business days from Tuesday 15 September 2026, Monday 5 October is skipped because it is the King's Birthday there, so the schedule is due by Wednesday 7 October 2026, a day later than a plain weekday count. The Northern Territory runs differently: there is no payment schedule, a notice of dispute is due 10 working days after the claim (s 20, Sch 1 cl 6(2)(a)), and adjudication must be applied for within 65 working days of the dispute arising (s 8, 28(1), (3)).
Why a missed window costs the money
The windows are short and nobody sends a reminder. A schedule that arrives on day 16 in Queensland is late and the full claim becomes payable, which helps only the contractor who counted. An adjudication application lodged a day late cannot be made valid afterwards. The money was owed; the route to it closed. That is a forfeited entitlement, and it happens on jobs where everyone was busy.
Counting is where it goes wrong. The Christmas break alone differs: three weeks in Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia, five days in New South Wales. A count that is right in Sydney is wrong in Brisbane.
Every state's windows
| State | Payment schedule due after the claim | Adjudication application due | Christmas break |
|---|---|---|---|
| New South WalesBuilding and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW) | 10 business dayss 14(4) | 10 business days after payment schedule received for less than the claims 17(3) | 27 December to 31 December |
| QueenslandBuilding Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (Qld) | 15 business dayss 76(1), s 77 | 30 business days after payment schedule received for less than the claims 79(2)(b) | 22 December to 10 January |
| VictoriaBuilding and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Vic) | 10 business dayss 15(4) | 10 business days after payment schedule received for less than the claims 18(3)(c) | 22 December to 10 January (from 15 April 2026) |
| Western AustraliaBuilding and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Act 2021 (WA) | 15 business dayss 25(1), s 26 | 20 business days after payment schedule received for less than the claims 28(4) | 22 December to 10 January |
| South AustraliaBuilding and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2009 (SA) | 15 business dayss 14(4) | 15 business days after payment schedule received for less than the claims 17(3)(c) | 27 December to 31 December |
| TasmaniaBuilding and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2009 (Tas) | 10 business dayss 19(2), (3)(b) | 10 business days after payment schedule received for less than the claims 21(3)(a) | 27 December to 31 December |
| Australian Capital TerritoryBuilding and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Act 2009 (ACT) | 10 business dayss 16(4) | 10 business days after payment schedule received for less than the claims 19(3)(b) | 27 December to 31 December |
| Northern TerritoryConstruction Contracts (Security of Payments) Act 2004 (NT) | 10 working days (notice of dispute)s 20, Sch 1 cl 6(2)(a) | 65 working days after payment dispute aroses 8, 28(1), (3) | 25 December to 7 January |
Public holidays are each state's own, read from its holidays Act, up to the end of 2027. Where a holiday is kept in some areas only, or the date is not fixed yet, the calculator says so instead of guessing. Western Australia: the 2021 Act's Christmas break applies to contracts made on or after 1 August 2022, so a count crossing 22 to 24 December or 8 to 10 January is refused.
Counting these on every job, before they shut.
Demiton reads the claims and schedules already in your finance system, counts each window under the right state's Act on every job, and alerts you before it shuts. No spreadsheet of dates, no one remembering that Monday is a holiday in Brisbane.
What this page is, and is not
General information, not legal advice. Your contract may set a shorter time, and some cases (no schedule served, a scheduled amount unpaid) run on different counts. Check the Act and the contract you signed. Each state's full list of windows is on its page in the standards library.
Common questions
When is a payment schedule due in NSW?
Within 10 business days after the payment claim is served, under s 14(4) of the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW), or sooner if the contract says so. If no schedule arrives in time, the full amount claimed becomes payable.
What is the adjudication application deadline in Queensland?
30 business days after you receive a payment schedule for less than you claimed, under s 79(2)(b) of the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (Qld). An application made late is not a valid application.
What counts as a business day under Security of Payment law?
Not a weekend, not a public holiday in that state, and not inside that Act's own Christmas break, which differs by state: NSW 27 December to 31 December; QLD 22 December to 10 January; VIC 22 December to 10 January (from 15 April 2026); WA 22 December to 10 January; SA 27 December to 31 December; TAS 27 December to 31 December; ACT 27 December to 31 December; NT 25 December to 7 January. The Northern Territory Act says working days, with the same shape.
Why will the calculator not give a date for South Australia?
South Australia's Act also excludes any day declared a Statewide shutdown, and we do not track those declarations. Count the days yourself: skip weekends, SA public holidays, 27 December to 31 December and any declared shutdown day.
Does my contract change these deadlines?
For a payment schedule, the contract can set a shorter time, and the shorter time applies. In the Northern Territory the Act's times are terms it implies only where the contract says nothing, so the contract's own time governs. The adjudication windows are the Act's own. Read the contract you signed alongside the Act.