Painting subcontracts in Victoria: what to check before you sign
In Victoria, a painting subcontract is read alongside the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (VIC), which caps subcontract payment terms at 20 business days. The contract itself still decides the risks that cost painting and decorating subcontractors most: touch-ups caused by other trades; compressed end-of-job programme; back-charges at handover.
AI risk report, not legal advice. The scanner gives general information about the risks in a document. It is not a lawyer, does not know your circumstances, and can be wrong. For decisions with legal consequences, get advice from a construction lawyer.
Victoria rules that override your contract
Statute: Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (VIC)
- Payment terms for subcontractors are capped at 20 business days after the payment claim. A longer term in the contract doesn't change that.
- If the builder disputes a payment claim, it has to answer with a payment schedule within 10 business days (or any shorter period in the contract).
- The Act was substantially reformed with effect from 15 April 2026: the old excluded-amounts and claimable-variations regimes are abolished, so damages, time-related costs and disputed variations can now generally be included in a payment claim, and reference dates are abolished too.
- Adjudication: through a private authorised nominating authority; the reforms are recent and practice under them is still settling.
Where painting and decorating subcontractors lose money
Touch-ups caused by other trades
Every trade that follows you marks finished walls. If touch-ups are included in your lump sum without limit, you paint the same wall several times for one price.
Compressed end-of-job programme
Delay upstream lands on the last trade. Check whether directed acceleration and extra shifts are paid.
Back-charges at handover
Defect lists at handover mix your workmanship with damage by others. Insist on notice and evidence before any deduction.
Payment at the tail of the project
You claim last, when the builder's cash flow is tightest. Know your state's payment schedule and adjudication rights before the final claims.
Three things to push for in your departures schedule
- Touch-ups caused by other trades paid as a variation
- Directed acceleration paid
- Written notice and evidence before any handover back-charge
The free scanner finds these clauses in your actual contract in about two minutes and writes the departures schedule for you.
What the Index says
Live figures from the Australian Subcontract Index, 90 real subcontracts. The Index holds no painting contracts so far, under the 10-contract threshold, so these are national figures across all trades. Nothing under 10 contracts is ever shown.
Painting subcontracts in other states
Painting subcontracts in VIC: common questions
How long does a builder in VIC have to pay a painting subcontractor?
No more than 20 business days after your payment claim, whatever the contract says. If the builder disputes the claim, it has 10 business days to answer with a payment schedule giving its reasons.
Do painters have to keep doing touch-ups for free?
Only if the contract says so. A clause making touch-ups caused by other trades a variation is a reasonable departure, and photos of finished areas before others return make it enforceable in practice.
Where do VIC painting payment disputes go?
Authorised Nominating Authorities (list via the Building and Plumbing Commission, formerly the VBA). Timing: through a private authorised nominating authority; the reforms are recent and practice under them is still settling.
Is this legal advice?
No. It is general information about common subcontract risks and the state's payment law as recorded in our registry. Statutory details change; check the current Act, and take the scanner's report to a construction lawyer for decisions with legal consequences.
General information, not legal advice. Statutory details are taken from our state law registry and change over time; verify them against the current Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (VIC) before relying on them. Built by Mat Kennedy, Founder, The Construction Contracts Co.