Not being paid in Western Australia: when can you lawfully stop work?

Western Australia's regime, in 90 seconds

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, 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.

Adjudicate Pro: what an adjudicator would likely award under Western Australia law, and whether to apply.

Frequently asked questions