Payment claim template for Victoria: 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 2002 (VIC), it forces the builder to answer within a fixed time or owe the full amount. This template is a complete VIC 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 Victoria rules for this claim
- "Made under the Act" statement
- Include it. The template states the claim is made under the Act; it removes any argument and does no harm.
- 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
- Since 15 April 2026, progress payments must be made within 20 business days of the payment claim. A longer contractual term is void on that point.
- Adjudication
- Authorised Nominating Authorities (list via the Building and Plumbing Commission, formerly the VBA). Adjudication is through private Authorised Nominating Authorities.
- Watch out for
- Victoria's Act was substantially reformed from 15 April 2026: the old excluded-amounts regime is abolished, and damages and disputed variations can now generally be pursued at adjudication for all claims served from that date. Pre-reform guidance (including 'you can't adjudicate variations in VIC') may be badly out of date.
From our Victoria Security of Payment notes, checked 02/10/2026. More on VIC payment terms and VIC 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 2002 (VIC). 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 Victoria have to say it's made under the Act?
Include it. The template states the claim is made under the Act; it removes any argument and does no harm.
How long does the builder have to respond to a payment claim in Victoria?
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.