Not being paid in New South Wales: when can you lawfully stop work?
Yes - the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW) gives a subcontractor whose due payment goes unpaid a lawful right to suspend work, exercised after the required written notice (two business days in NSW). Done in sequence, suspension is protected: it isn't a breach and the builder can't lawfully terminate over it. Done out of sequence, it's repudiation - and it hands the builder the termination clause.
The sequence is the whole thing
The protected path: a valid payment claim, the due date passing unpaid (or an unpaid adjudicated amount), then the Act's written notice of intention to suspend - two business days' notice in NSW, and only then the tools go down. Each step in writing, each one dated.
What breaks it: suspending over a disputed invoice before the statutory sequence has run, on a phone call, or for amounts not yet due. That's not suspension under the Act - it's refusal to perform, and it converts your payment dispute into the builder's termination case.
What suspension actually gets you
Leverage, mostly - and protection while you use it. A crew lawfully off site is the one consequence a builder's program can't absorb, which is why the statutory suspension notice so often shakes payment loose before the suspension ever starts.
Suspension pairs with adjudication rather than replacing it: the notice applies the pressure now; the application converts the claim into an enforceable determination. Running both at once is the standard play for a serious unpaid amount.
Before you're here again
The contracts we analyse almost universally give the builder set-off and suspension powers while giving the subcontractor none beyond the Act. You can't negotiate the Act away - no contract can - but you can negotiate the contract's own suspension and set-off clauses toward symmetry before you sign.
Claim Pro - likelihood of success, the builder's likely defence, and next steps under New South Wales law.
Assess my payment dispute freeFrequently asked questions
Not lawfully, if you suspended under the Act after proper notice for a due amount - statutory suspension is protected. The danger is sequence errors: suspend before the notice period runs and the protection never attaches.
The Act's protection covers the suspension itself; recovering delay costs for the suspension period depends on your contract's terms. Document everything - crew, plant, dates - from the first day.
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.