How many days to notify an EOT claim is normal?
Five business days is the aggressive-but-common market norm for notifying an extension of time claim in Australian subcontracts; anything shorter is high risk, and a clause that extinguishes the EOT entirely for late notice is critical risk. The EOT window matters because it prices the liquidated damages clause: an EOT you're barred from claiming becomes delay you're paying for.
Why the EOT clause is really a money clause
An extension of time isn't just programme relief — it's your defence to liquidated damages. When rain, redesign or another trade's delay pushes you late, the EOT is what stops the LD clock running against you. A 3-business-day absolute bar on EOT notices, sitting next to an uncapped $2,000/day LD clause, is a machine for converting other people's delays into your liability.
Watch for stacked requirements too: some clauses demand an initial notice within days, then a fully particularised claim with programme analysis shortly after, each with its own bar. Every extra hurdle is another way a valid entitlement dies on paperwork.
The position to negotiate
Ten business days for the initial notice is a reasonable target, with the detailed particulars to follow within a further period. Push for notice as a requirement rather than a condition precedent, and for the builder's actual knowledge of the delay event to satisfy the notice. If none of that lands, the fallback is operational: notify everything, in writing, immediately.
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What delays justify an EOT?
Whatever the clause says — that's the point. Check which causes qualify (weather, principal-caused delay, latent conditions, variations) and which are excluded. A short qualifying list plus a tight time bar narrows your protection from two directions at once.
Can I claim delay costs as well as time?
Time and money are usually separate entitlements with separate notice requirements — an EOT extends the date, while delay damages compensate the cost, often only for a subset of causes. In Victoria, note the Act was reformed from 15 April 2026: time-related costs that were once 'excluded amounts' can now generally be pursued at adjudication.
Keep reading
General information for Australian subcontractors, not legal advice — statutory deadlines and details vary by state and change over time; verify them before relying on them. Written by Mat Kennedy at The Construction Contracts Co.