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Payment claim template — the cover that starts the statutory clock

A payment claim is not an invoice - it is a formal claim the builder must answer within a statutory window, and silence makes the full claimed amount a debt due in most states. The claim only does that work if it is valid: the work identified, the amount stated, served on the right party on time. This cover wraps your normal claim schedule in the wording that starts the clock.

When to use it

Every progress claim, every month - the statutory machinery only protects claims that engage it
Your final claim (check your contract's final claim requirements and timing)
You are chasing an unpaid amount and want the Act's timeline running

Where is the work? (sets the Act referenced in the template)

PAYMENT CLAIM

[Subcontractor company letterhead / ABN]

Date of claim: [date]
To: [respondent legal entity + ABN], Attention: [contract administrator / accounts]
Contract: [subcontract title / number], dated [date]
Project: [project name / site address]
Claim reference: [progress claim no. X] for the period ending [date]

This is a payment claim made under the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (QLD).
[This endorsement is no longer mandatory in some states, but including it is standard practice and does no harm - keep it.]

Amount claimed: $[amount] excluding GST ($[amount] including GST)

The construction work to which this claim relates: [summary - e.g. electrical services to levels 1-3 including rough-in and fit-off per the attached progress claim schedule].

Attached in support:
- Progress claim schedule [no. X] itemising work claimed against the contract sum
- [Approved variation register / delivery dockets / site instruction references as applicable]

Payment of the claimed amount is due in accordance with the contract and the Act. Please direct any payment schedule in response to this claim to [email address].

Signed: [name, position]
[company]

Free to use and adapt. Replace every [bracketed placeholder] and verify the Act section and notice period for your state before sending.

Template, not legal advice. Your contract's clauses and your state's Act govern - check both (especially clause numbers, notice periods and service requirements) before this goes out on a real dispute.

Using it well

Serve it properly, to the right entity

Claims fail on service more often than on substance. Check the contract's notice clause for how and where claims must be served, and make sure the respondent named is the entity that signed the contract - not a related company or the project name.

Diarise the schedule deadline the day you serve

The builder has a fixed statutory window to respond with a payment schedule - 10 to 15 business days in most states. The day your claim goes out, diarise the deadline. If they stay silent, the full amount becomes a debt due and their defences at adjudication are barred.

One claim per window

Most Acts limit how often you can claim (typically monthly, or as the contract allows). Bundle the month's work, variations and approved amounts into one claim rather than firing off several.

The template protects the claim. The contract decides it.

Your notice windows, the clause numbers and whether the bar is absolute all live in your subcontract. The free scanner reads them in about 90 seconds — benchmarked against real Australian subcontracts.

Scan my contract free

Common questions

What makes a payment claim valid?

The essentials are consistent across the East Coast Acts: it identifies the construction work claimed, states the claimed amount, and is served on the person liable under the contract, within the time the Act and contract allow. This cover puts those elements on the face of the claim.

Do I still need to write 'made under the Act' on the claim?

In several states the endorsement is no longer mandatory - QLD removed the requirement in 2020, and NSW earlier. But it is never wrong to include it, it avoids argument, and in some jurisdictions it still matters. Keep the line.

What happens after I serve the claim?

The respondent must serve a payment schedule within the statutory window - 10 business days in NSW, VIC, TAS and the ACT, 15 in QLD, SA and WA - or the full claimed amount becomes a debt due. If they schedule less than you claimed, you can take the gap to adjudication. The clock starts on service, which is why the claim date and proof of service matter.

Keep reading

General information and a starting-point template, not legal advice. Contracts and state Acts differ and change — verify clause numbers, statutory sections, notice periods and service requirements before use, and get advice on a live dispute. Nothing on this page is uploaded or stored. Built by Mat Kennedy at The Construction Contracts Co.