Payment claim template for New South Wales: the progress claim that starts the clock
A payment claim is not just an invoice. Served properly under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW), it forces the builder to answer within a fixed time or owe the full amount. This template is a complete NSW progress claim: the cover, an itemised schedule of work, variations, retention and the totals, ready to fill in.
- Every progress claim, on the date the contract or the Act allows
- Your final claim at the end of the job
- Any time you want the Act's timetable running on an unpaid amount
The New South Wales rules for this claim
- "Made under the Act" statement
- Required. For contracts entered into from 21 October 2019, a claim that does not state it is made under the Act is not a valid payment claim (s 13(2)(c)). The template includes the line: keep it.
- Builder's payment schedule
- Due within 10 business days of receiving your claim, or earlier if the contract says so.
- If no schedule arrives
- The full claimed amount generally becomes a debt due, and the builder loses its chance to raise reasons against it at adjudication.
- Payment terms
- A head contractor must pay a subcontractor within 20 business days of the payment claim, whatever the contract says.
- Adjudication
- Authorised Nominating Authorities (NSW Fair Trading maintains the list). Applications go through a private Authorised Nominating Authority. The window is typically 10 business days from receiving a payment schedule that disputes the claim, or after notice where no schedule was served. Suspension rights arise after due-date non-payment on two business days' notice.
From our New South Wales Security of Payment notes, checked 03/10/2026. More on NSW payment terms and NSW adjudication.
PAYMENT CLAIM NO. [X] [Subcontractor company name, ABN] [Address, phone, email] Date of claim: [date] To: [respondent legal entity exactly as named in the subcontract, ABN] Attention: [contract administrator] Contract: [subcontract title / number] dated [date] Project: [project name / site address] Work claimed: work carried out up to [date] This is a payment claim made under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW). Claimed amount: $[amount] excluding GST ($[amount] including GST) SCHEDULE OF WORK CLAIMED Item | Description of work | Contract value | % complete | Value to date 1 | [e.g. rough-in, levels 1 to 3] | $[amount] | [%] | $[amount] 2 | [e.g. switchboards supplied and installed] | $[amount] | [%] | $[amount] 3 | [add a row for each part of the scope] | $[amount] | [%] | $[amount] VARIATIONS CLAIMED Variation | Description | Directed by and date | Amount [V1] | [description] | [name, date] | $[amount] [V2] | [description] | [name, date] | $[amount] SUMMARY Line | Amount (ex GST) Value of contract work to date | $[amount] Value of variations to date | $[amount] Total value to date | $[amount] Less retention held ([5]%) | $[amount] Less amounts previously paid | $[amount] Amount claimed this claim | $[amount] GST | $[amount] Total claimed including GST | $[amount] Supporting documents attached: [progress photos / delivery dockets / variation register / site instructions]. Please send any payment schedule in response to this claim to [email address]. Signed: [name, position] [company]
Using it well
Common questions
Does a payment claim in New South Wales have to say it's made under the Act?
Required. For contracts entered into from 21 October 2019, a claim that does not state it is made under the Act is not a valid payment claim (s 13(2)(c)). The template includes the line: keep it.
How long does the builder have to respond to a payment claim in New South Wales?
10 business days after receiving it, or a shorter time if the contract says so. The response is a payment schedule stating what the builder will pay and why it is paying less, if it is.
What happens if the builder doesn't respond to my payment claim?
Under the East Coast Acts, a builder that doesn't serve a payment schedule in time generally becomes liable for the full claimed amount, which you can recover as a debt or take to adjudication, and it loses the chance to raise reasons at adjudication.
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.