How adjudication works in New South Wales
Adjudication is the fast, binding-for-now determination of a payment dispute under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW), built for cash flow, not courtroom perfection. In New South Wales, applications go typically 10 business days from receiving a payment schedule that disputes the claim, through a private authorised nominating authority. The strongest position a subcontractor can hold is a valid payment claim the builder never answered with a payment schedule: the full amount becomes payable and the builder's defences are barred.
New South Wales's regime, in 90 seconds
The sequence
A valid payment claim starts everything. The builder has 10 business days to serve a payment schedule saying what it will pay and why. From there, two roads: a schedule that disputes your claim leads to an adjudication application; no schedule at all makes the full amount a debt due, and in that case the builder is barred from raising its reasons before the adjudicator.
Head contractors must pay subcontractors within 20 business days of the claim, retention money on larger projects must be held in trust, and work can lawfully be suspended after non-payment on two business days' notice.
What wins at adjudication
Adjudicators decide quickly and on the documents. The winning inputs are boring: a claim that identifies the work and the amount, served on time to the right party; contemporaneous records (site diaries, notices, delivery dockets, emails anchoring dates); and a claimed amount built up transparently.
Most of that is decided months earlier, on site, by habit. The subbies who win at adjudication are the ones whose paperwork was already in order when the dispute started.
Where to apply
Authorised Nominating Authorities (NSW Fair Trading maintains the list). Applications go through a private ANA of the claimant's choice.
Exact deadlines and application mechanics should be verified against the Act and current guidance before filing. They're strict, and a defective application wastes the strongest lever you have. Official guidance: https://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/trades-and-businesses/construction-and-trade-essentials/security-of-payment
Adjudicate Pro: what an adjudicator would likely award under New South Wales law, and whether to apply.
Assess my payment dispute freeFrequently asked questions
Determinations typically land within about 10 business days of the adjudicator accepting the application. The regime is built to move at cash-flow speed, not litigation speed.
No. The regime was designed for parties to run themselves, and many subcontractors do. For larger or messier disputes a construction lawyer's review of the application is cheap insurance. Either way, the evidence that decides it is the paperwork you kept on site.
General information for Australian subcontractors, not legal advice. Statutory deadlines change and have exceptions. Verify against the Act and current guidance, or with a construction lawyer, before acting on them.