What makes a progress claim one that actually gets paid?
A valid payment claim is the ignition key for every statutory right you have - the schedule window, the debt-due-on-silence rule, adjudication, suspension all start from it. The discipline: identify the work and the amount claimed, serve it on the right entity by a provable method, claim on rhythm every month, and keep the supporting records. In most states the claim no longer even needs to say it's made under the Act to carry statutory consequences.
Validity is a checklist, not an art
The claim must identify the construction work it relates to and the amount claimed - clearly enough that the builder can respond to it. Serve it on the contracting entity named in your subcontract (not a related company with a similar name), by a method you can prove, and within the contract's claim timing. Since 2020 a QLD claim doesn't need to state it's made under the Act, and NSW claims don't need the endorsement either - which means an ordinary, well-formed invoice trail can be quietly carrying statutory force the builder isn't tracking.
Claim monthly, every month, even when the month is small and even when the relationship is warm. The rhythm does two things: it keeps statutory clocks running in your favour continuously, and it makes your claims boring - and boring, regular, well-documented claims are the ones that get paid without a fight.
The claim is only as strong as the file behind it
When a claim is tested - scheduled short, disputed, adjudicated - it stands on its records: the signed dockets, the site diary, the photos, the variation confirmations, the delivery evidence. Build the file as the month happens, attach the substantiation that makes paying easier than arguing, and every claim becomes both an invoice and, if it ever comes to it, a ready-made adjudication application.
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Scan my subcontract freeCommon questions
Does my invoice count as a payment claim?
Often yes - if it identifies the work and the amount and is served properly, it can operate as a payment claim under the Act in most states, no magic words required (though adding 'this is a payment claim made under [the Act]' costs nothing and removes doubt where your state permits it). What matters is validity: content, service, timing.
Can I claim for variations and delay costs in a progress claim?
Claim what you're entitled to claim under the contract and the Act for your state - and note Victoria's rules changed on 15 April 2026, when the old excluded-amounts restrictions on adjudicating such amounts were abolished. The stronger constraint is usually your own paper trail: a variation confirmed in writing when directed is claimable with confidence; a handshake is a negotiation.
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.