Reference date
A reference date is the date on which an entitlement to make a payment claim arises under security of payment legislation - historically monthly or as the contract provides, though Victoria abolished the concept in its April 2026 reforms.
Where the concept still applies, one claim per reference date is the general rule, and a claim served without an available reference date can be invalid. Where the contract is silent, the Acts imply a monthly date.
Victoria's reformed Act (for claims from 15 April 2026) removed reference dates entirely - entitlement now runs on the Act's own timing rules.
Why it matters to subbies
An invalid claim protects nothing. If your state still uses reference dates, know when yours arises and bundle the month's work into one claim on or after it.
Keep reading
General information for Australian subcontractors, not legal advice - contract drafting and state legislation vary and change; your document and your state's Act govern. Written by Mat Kennedy at The Construction Contracts Co.