Security of payment
Security of payment is the family of Australian statutes giving construction contractors a fast statutory right to progress payments and rapid adjudication of payment disputes - rights that cannot be contracted out of.
Every state and territory has an Act. Most follow the East Coast model (payment claim, payment schedule, adjudication); the NT retains the West Coast model with different mechanics. The Acts differ in windows and details - the state of the work decides which applies.
Why it matters to subbies
This legislation is the biggest under-used lever in a subcontractor's toolkit. Knowing your Act's windows - and showing the builder you know them - changes payment behaviour before any formal step is taken.
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.