Australia's construction payment framework
Security of Payment in AustraliaA national overview
A plain-English guide to Australia's security of payment framework, how the rules differ between jurisdictions, and where construction payment obligations fit within the broader project.
01 Definition
What is Security of Payment in Australia?
Security of payment laws give eligible construction participants a statutory right to claim progress payments, and a fast adjudication pathway when payment is disputed.
Australia has no single national security of payment Act. Each state and territory legislates separately, so the terminology, eligibility, timeframes and processes differ depending on where the construction work is carried out.
The common structure across most jurisdictions is a payment claim, a payment schedule in response, and — if the dispute continues — adjudication by an independent adjudicator whose determination can generally be enforced as a debt. The rights exist independently of what a construction contract says: in most jurisdictions, parties cannot contract out of them.
- Payment claims
- Payment schedules
- Adjudication
- Progress payments
- Retention
- State-based legislation
- State-based
- Different legislation applies across jurisdictions.
- Payment claims
- A statutory process can apply to qualifying construction payment claims.
- Adjudication
- A mechanism exists in relevant jurisdictions for resolving payment disputes.
- National framework
- The principles are broadly related, but the legal details vary by jurisdiction.
02 Context
Why Security of Payment matters
Payment risk in construction is structural, not personal. It arises from the way projects are financed and sequenced, not from the conduct of any particular participant.
Construction is delivered by long contractual chains. A principal engages a head contractor, the head contractor engages subcontractors, and subcontractors engage trades and suppliers. Each party performs work before being paid for it, which means every business in the chain is, in practice, extending credit to the business above it.
Before security of payment legislation, a business that was not paid had one realistic option: sue. Litigation is slow and expensive, and for a subcontractor carrying wages and materials costs, a twelve-month court process is not a remedy at all. New South Wales legislated first in 1999, and every other state and territory has since enacted its own framework.
Because the statutory deadlines are jurisdiction-specific and strict, the practical rule is straightforward: identify where the work is being carried out, then work to that jurisdiction's rules. Missing a statutory deadline by a single day can end a claim.
- Work completedConstruction work is performed, or related goods and services are supplied.
- Payment claimThe claimant makes a claim in the form and within the window the applicable Act requires.
- Payment responseA payment schedule states the amount proposed to be paid and the reasons for any reduction.
- Dispute, if applicableA dispute may arise where no schedule is given, or the scheduled amount is not paid.
- Adjudication or other available processAn adjudicator determines the amount payable, generally on the documents, to statutory timeframes.
03 The statutory lifecycle
How Security of Payment generally works
In most Australian jurisdictions, the lifecycle runs from claim to schedule to adjudication to enforcement — but the deadlines and eligibility rules attached to each step differ by jurisdiction and are strict.
Work is performed
Construction work is carried out, or related goods and services supplied, under a construction contract — which in most jurisdictions may be written, oral or partly both.
A payment claim is made
The claimant makes a payment claim in the form and within the window the applicable Act requires, including any statement that the claim is made under the Act.
A payment schedule may be issued
The respondent states the amount proposed to be paid and the reasons for any reduction. Failing to respond in time generally has serious consequences.
A payment dispute may arise
Where no schedule is given, the scheduled amount is less than the claim, or the scheduled amount is not paid.
Adjudication may become available
Subject to notice requirements and short application windows that vary between jurisdictions.
An adjudicator determines the amount
Generally on the documents, within statutory timeframes, under the applicable framework.
Enforcement or recovery may follow
Typically by obtaining and filing an adjudication certificate as a judgment debt. Rights to suspend work also exist in some jurisdictions.
Adjudication is interim
It decides what should be paid now, without finally determining contractual rights. The underlying dispute can still be pursued.
04 Jurisdiction navigator
Security of Payment across Australia
All eight Australian jurisdictions have security of payment legislation, but they fall into two broad models. Most follow the “east coast” model built around payment claims and payment schedules. The Northern Territory follows a payment-dispute model — the approach Western Australia itself moved away from in 2022.
Eight jurisdictions, two models
- Primary legislation
- Payment mechanism
- Key consideration
05 Comparison
Security of Payment by Australian jurisdiction
The core principles are broadly similar, but each jurisdiction has its own legislation, terminology, processes and reform history.
| Jurisdiction | Primary legislation | Payment process | Adjudication | Key consideration | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW) | Payment claim; payment schedule in response. Head contractor claims require a supporting statement. | Authorised nominating authorities nominate adjudicators. | Head contractors must hold subcontractor retention money in trust on projects valued at $20 million or more. | Read the guide → |
| VIC | Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Vic), as amended from 15 April 2026 | Payment claim; payment schedule in response. Monthly claim entitlement. | Authorised nominating authorities nominate adjudicators. | The 2026 amendments removed the “excluded amounts” and “claimable variations” regimes and apply to existing contracts, not only new ones. | Read the guide → |
| QLD | Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (Qld) | Payment claim — which may take the form of an invoice; payment schedule in response. | Applications are made to the QBCC's adjudication registry, not to private nominating authorities. | Adds a project trust account framework and a statutory subcontractors' charges regime — the most extensive statutory trust model in Australia. | Read the guide → |
| WA | Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Act 2021 (WA), for contracts entered into on or after 1 August 2022 | Payment claim; payment schedule in response, with statutory maximum payment terms. | Adjudicators appointed under the Act, with oversight by the WA Building Commissioner. | Retention money trust scheme applies to contracts valued at $20,000 or more; earlier contracts remain under the former provisions Act. | Read the guide → |
| SA | Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2009 (SA) | Payment claim; payment schedule in response. | Authorised nominating authorities appoint adjudicators. | Directed primarily at commercial and non-owner-occupied building work. A separate Fair Trading dispute resolution code may also apply. | Read the guide → |
| TAS | Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2009 (Tas) | Payment claim; payment schedule in response. | Nominating authorities authorised by the Tasmanian Government appoint adjudicators. | Expressly applies to residential home owners, with longer response timeframes where the respondent is a home owner. | See jurisdiction guide → |
| ACT | Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Act 2009 (ACT) | Payment claim; payment schedule in response. Monthly claim entitlement since 2024. | Authorised nominating authorities appoint adjudicators. | Amendments effective 11 March 2024 removed reference dates and set statutory maximum payment timeframes. | See jurisdiction guide → |
| NT | Construction Contracts (Security of Payments) Act (NT) | No statutory payment claim or payment schedule regime — the Act operates on a “payment dispute” trigger. | Registered adjudicators appointed under the Act; smaller disputes may go to the Community Justice Centre. | The only jurisdiction that does not use the payment claim and payment schedule model, and the only one that measures time in “working days”. | See jurisdiction guide → |
Scroll the table horizontally to compare all columns
06 State & territory guides
Explore Security of Payment by state and territory
Each guide covers the legislation that applies in that jurisdiction, how claims and responses work there, and the reforms that have changed the position most recently.
Queensland
Payment claims, payment schedules and a centralised adjudication registry administered by the QBCC.
Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 — project trust accounts and subcontractors' charges.
Read the guideNew South Wales
The first security of payment legislation in Australia, and the model most other jurisdictions drew on.
Security of Payment Act 1999 — retention money trust duties on projects valued at $20 million or more.
Read the guideVictoria
Substantially amended from 15 April 2026 — the most significant change to the Victorian regime in two decades.
Security of Payment Act 2002, as amended by the Fairer Payments on Jobsites amendments.
Read the guideWestern Australia
Australia's newest regime, with short adjudication windows and statutory maximum payment terms.
Security of Payment Act 2021 for contracts from 1 August 2022; the former provisions Act still applies to earlier contracts.
Read the guideSouth Australia
An east-coast style Act directed primarily at commercial and non-owner-occupied building work.
Security of Payment Act 2009, with a separate Fair Trading dispute resolution code for some disputes.
Read the guideTerritories and Tasmania
Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory are covered in the jurisdiction detail below rather than in separate guides, so the summary stays current and complete.
Tasmania expressly covers home owners; the ACT reformed in 2024; the NT uses a payment dispute model.
Read jurisdiction detail07 Jurisdiction detail
The position in each state and territory
Summaries are necessarily high-level. Thresholds, timeframes and eligibility criteria change — sometimes with retrospective effect, as occurred in Victoria in April 2026.
New South Wales
The Act gives a party who carries out construction work, or supplies related goods and services, an entitlement to receive and recover progress payments — including final payments and retention money — on public and private projects in NSW.
A claimant serves a payment claim on the respondent. Where the claimant is a head contractor, the claim must be accompanied by a supporting statement declaring that subcontractors have been paid. A respondent who does not intend to pay the full claimed amount must serve a payment schedule within the statutory timeframe, stating the scheduled amount and the reasons for withholding. Failing to do so generally exposes the respondent to liability for the full claimed amount.
Applications are lodged with an authorised nominating authority, which nominates an adjudicator. Determinations can be converted into a judgment debt through an adjudication certificate.
Owner-occupier construction contracts were exempt until 1 March 2021, when the exemption was removed. Homeowners who receive a payment claim now have obligations under the Act, including in relation to payment schedules. Head contractors on projects valued at $20 million or more must hold subcontractor retention money in a trust account with an approved deposit-taking institution, keep a ledger, and provide it to the subcontractor at prescribed intervals.
Verify current requirements with Building Commission NSW and the NSW legislation website. A broader reform package was considered during 2025 but did not proceed.
Victoria
The Building Legislation Amendment (Fairer Payments on Jobsites and Other Matters) Act 2025 (Vic) commenced on 15 April 2026. According to Victoria's building regulator, the changes include: removal of the dual “claimable variations” and “excluded amounts” concepts; replacement of reference dates with a monthly entitlement to make a payment claim, with a limited December exception; extension of the time to make a payment claim from three months to six months; capping of payment and release terms at 20 business days; a new statutory entitlement to claim the release of performance security; new rules on when a party may have recourse to performance security; and a provision allowing notice-based time bars to be declared unfair.
The amendments apply to construction contracts entered into before, on or after 15 April 2026, with exclusions. Broadly, they do not apply to payment claims served, or adjudication applications made but not determined, before commencement. The definition of business day now excludes 22 December to 10 January, reflecting the industry shutdown period.
Victoria was previously the only Australian jurisdiction that excluded a broad category of claims — including many variation and delay claims — from the statutory process. That distinction has now been removed, bringing Victoria closer to NSW and WA.
Any guidance published before April 2026 should be treated as out of date. Verify current requirements with Victoria's building regulator and the Victorian legislation website.
Queensland
The BIF Act consolidated and replaced the earlier Building and Construction Industry Payments Act 2004 and the Subcontractors' Charges Act 1974. It provides processes for progress payments, adjudication of payment disputes, subcontractors' charges, and a trust account framework.
A contractor submits a payment claim — which may take the form of an invoice — for construction work or related goods and services. The respondent must either pay in full or give a payment schedule within the timeframe set by the Act. Queensland is administered differently from the nominating authority jurisdictions: adjudication applications are made to the QBCC's adjudication registry, which appoints the adjudicator.
Queensland also retains a statutory charge mechanism allowing a subcontractor, in defined circumstances, to secure payment against money payable up the chain. This has no direct equivalent in most other jurisdictions.
The trust account framework covers progress payment and retention amounts. It currently applies to Queensland Government and hospital and health service contracts valued at $1 million or more, and to private sector, local government, statutory authority and government-owned corporation contracts valued at $10 million or more. On 31 January 2025, a proclamation paused the further rollout of the framework to lower-value contracts, and no new commencement dates have been confirmed.
Verify current thresholds and requirements with the QBCC, Business Queensland and the Queensland legislation website.
Western Australia
The 2021 Act applies to construction contracts entered into on or after 1 August 2022 and moved WA from a payment-dispute model to an east-coast style claim and schedule model. For contracts entered into before that date, the Construction Contracts (Former Provisions) Act 2004 (WA) continues to apply — so identifying the contract date is the first step in any WA payment question.
The Act creates a statutory right to progress payments and requires a respondent to issue a payment schedule with reasons. Only the reasons stated in the payment schedule may be relied on later in an adjudication response. It prescribes maximum payment periods measured from the date of the payment claim — broadly 20 business days for head contracts and 25 business days for subcontracts — with different arrangements for home building work. Shorter contractual periods prevail.
The adjudication application window is short: broadly 20 business days from when the claimant first becomes entitled to apply, with a notice-and-second-chance process where no payment schedule was given. Adjudicators generally determine applications within 10 business days, extendable by agreement up to a further 20 business days. A notice-based time bar may be declared void where compliance is not reasonably possible or would be unreasonably onerous.
The retention money trust scheme applies to construction contracts valued at $20,000 or more entered into from 1 February 2024, having previously applied from a $1 million threshold. Parties cannot contract out of it. A Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Amendment Bill 2026 was introduced to the WA Parliament in 2026, proposing to replace project bank accounts with a statutory construction trust scheme on State Government projects.
Confirm the current status of that Bill, and verify current requirements with the WA Building Commissioner and the WA legislation website.
South Australia
The Act is directed primarily at commercial and non-owner-occupied building work. It gives a person who carries out construction work, or supplies related goods and services, an entitlement to progress payments, and provides a rapid adjudication process for payment disputes.
SA follows the payment claim and payment schedule structure, with statutory response timeframes and consequences for failing to serve a schedule. Applications are made to authorised nominating authorities, which appoint adjudicators. The Small Business Commission SA can explain how the Act works and refer parties to the appropriate authority, though it does not provide legal advice.
Separately from the Act, the Fair Trading (Building and Construction Industry Dispute Resolution Code) Regulations 2017 set expectations for how parties engage when certain building and construction disputes arise, including disputes about unpaid progress claims.
Amendment Bills introduced in 2017 and 2021 — the latter proposing to implement most of the Murray Review recommendations — did not pass. New Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Regulations 2026 have been made to replace the 2011 Regulations.
Do not assume that guidance written for another jurisdiction describes the SA position. Verify current requirements with the SA legislation website and the Small Business Commission SA.
Tasmania
The Act provides for progress payments to be made in a timely way under building or construction contracts, and for payment disputes to be adjudicated informally and quickly. A payment claim must be in writing, identify the work or goods and services, state the amount claimed, and state that it is made under the Act.
A respondent who does not intend to pay the full amount must serve a payment schedule. According to the Tasmanian regulator, respondents generally have 10 business days to do so.
Tasmania applies the Act to residential home owners who live in, or intend to live in, the dwelling where the work is carried out. Several timeframes are extended where the respondent is a home owner — for example, the default payment period where the contract is silent. A home owner who receives a payment claim and does nothing risks an adjudication determination against them.
Claimants must give notice of an intention to proceed to adjudication within the statutory window, and the respondent is given a further short opportunity to provide a payment schedule before an application can be made. Nominating authorities authorised by the Tasmanian Government appoint adjudicators.
Verify current requirements with Consumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS) and the Tasmanian legislation website.
Australian Capital Territory
The Act provides a rapid adjudication process so that contractors and subcontractors can pursue outstanding payments without litigation. It was amended with effect from 11 March 2024 to align more closely with the Murray Review recommendations and the NSW position.
The Building and Construction Legislation Amendment Act 2023 removed the concept of a reference date, allowed a payment claim to be made on the last day of each calendar month (or an earlier day specified in the contract) or on termination, introduced statutory maximum payment timeframes, and standardised the timeframe for initiating an adjudication application while shortening the waiting period before a claimant notifies the respondent of an intention to apply.
The changes create an entitlement to claim monthly; they do not require monthly claims, and they did not change the latest point at which a payment claim may be made. Applications are made to authorised nominating authorities, which appoint adjudicators.
The reforms applied to both existing and new contracts, and the Act has been further amended since. Verify current requirements with the ACT planning and building regulator and the ACT legislation register.
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is the outlier. Its Act does not use the payment claim and payment schedule model at all — it operates on a “payment dispute” trigger. The Act promotes security of payments under construction contracts and provides for adjudication of payment disputes, and applies irrespective of whether the contract is expressed to be governed by the law of another place. Mining work and wholly artistic work are excluded.
A payment dispute arises when a claimed amount is due under the contract and has not been paid in full, or has been rejected or disputed; when retained money that is due to be paid has not been paid; or when security that is due to be returned has not been returned. Where a contract allows payment more than 50 days from the claim date, the law overrides that term and payment must be made within 28 days of receiving the claim.
According to the NT Government, a party has 65 working days from the date the payment dispute arose to apply for adjudication. Registered adjudicators determine applications on the evidence presented; they do not mediate or conciliate. Where the dispute is below the prescribed monetary threshold, an application may be made to the Community Justice Centre to appoint an adjudicator. The NT uses “working days” rather than “business days”, and refers to prescribed appointers and registered adjudicators rather than authorised nominating authorities.
The NT Act is cited by different sources as the Construction Contracts (Security of Payments) Act 1994 and as the 2004 Act, reflecting its legislative history. Use the NT legislation database for the authoritative citation, and verify current requirements with the NT Construction Contracts Registrar.
08 Common ground and difference
One national industry. Different legal frameworks.
Understanding what is shared, and what is not, is why a national overview cannot replace state-specific guidance.
What is broadly common
- Payment claims
- Payment schedules
- Progress payment concepts
- Dispute resolution mechanisms
- Adjudication in applicable schemes
- Statutory payment rights
What varies
- Legislation
- Eligibility
- Deadlines
- Notice requirements
- Adjudication procedures
- Retention and trust requirements
- Terminology
09 Wider landscape
Security of Payment is part of a wider payment-protection landscape
Some Australian jurisdictions have separately introduced statutory project trust or retention trust mechanisms, which ring-fence particular categories of construction money by law.
Queensland's project trust account framework, New South Wales' retention money trust requirements, and Western Australia's retention trust scheme and proposed construction trusts each operate alongside the security of payment framework rather than as part of it. They address a different question: not whether a payment can be claimed, but how particular money must be held.
Thresholds, coverage and commencement differ, and have changed more than once. Queensland's further rollout to lower-value contracts was paused in January 2025; Western Australia's retention trust threshold moved to $20,000 in February 2024.
- ProjectWork is contracted and delivered.
- Payment obligationsClaims, retention and approved amounts become payable.
- Statutory / trust frameworkWhere a scheme applies, particular money must be held on trust.
- ParticipantsSubcontractors, suppliers and trades within the covered chain.
10 On the job
What does Security of Payment mean on a real construction project?
The same four moments recur on almost every project, whatever the jurisdiction. What changes is the paperwork, the deadlines and the terminology attached to each.
Work performed
Construction work is carried out, or related goods and services supplied, under a construction contract. Site records, dockets and delivery confirmations start here.
Payment claim prepared
The claimant identifies the work, states the amount claimed and — in most jurisdictions — states that the claim is made under the relevant Act.
Payment response / assessment
The recipient states the amount proposed to be paid and the reasons for withholding any part of it, within the statutory timeframe.
Payment or dispute pathway
Either the amount is paid, or a dispute crystallises and an adjudication or other available process may follow, subject to notice and timing rules.
Statutory rights are only as strong as the records supporting them
Site records, dockets, delivery confirmations, photographs, correspondence and signed variations are what an adjudicator actually reads. A clear history of what was claimed, approved, paid and outstanding is valuable long before it becomes evidence.
Adjudication windows are short and vary by jurisdiction. Diarise them from the date of the relevant trigger, not from when the relationship starts to feel difficult.
11 Development over time
Australian payment frameworks have developed jurisdiction by jurisdiction
Reform has not moved at one pace or in one direction. The timeline below records only dated developments referenced on this page; each should be confirmed against the current legislation.
-
1999NSW
New South Wales legislates first. Its Act becomes the model most other jurisdictions draw on.
-
2009SA · TAS · ACT
South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT each enact their own security of payment Acts.
-
2017QLD
The BIF Act consolidates the earlier payments Act and the Subcontractors' Charges Act, and introduces a trust account framework.
-
2018National
The Murray Review of security of payment laws reports, recommending greater national alignment.
-
1 March 2021NSW
The owner-occupier exemption is removed, bringing owner-occupier construction contracts within the Act.
-
1 August 2022WA
The 2021 Act applies to new contracts, moving WA from a payment-dispute model to a claim and schedule model.
-
2024ACT · WA
ACT reforms commence on 11 March. WA's retention trust threshold moves to $20,000 for contracts from 1 February.
-
2025QLD · National
A proclamation on 31 January pauses the further Queensland trust rollout. The Commonwealth response to the Murray Review is released in March.
-
15 April 2026VIC
Victoria's amendments commence, removing excluded amounts and claimable variations and applying to existing contracts.
12 Glossary
Key Security of Payment terms
Plain-English definitions of the terms used across this page. Statutory definitions differ between jurisdictions — always check the applicable Act.
Payment claim
A written claim by the party who has performed work or supplied goods, identifying the work, stating the amount claimed and — in most jurisdictions — stating that it is made under the relevant Act. The Northern Territory does not use this structure.
Payment schedule
The recipient's written response to a payment claim, stating the amount they propose to pay and the reasons for withholding any part of the claim. In the jurisdictions that use it, failing to serve one within the statutory timeframe generally exposes the recipient to liability for the full claimed amount, and limits the reasons they can later raise in an adjudication.
Adjudication
A documents-based determination by an independent adjudicator, made to short statutory deadlines. It is deliberately fast and deliberately interim: it decides what should be paid now so that money keeps moving down the chain, without finally determining the parties' contractual rights.
Progress payment
A payment for work carried out, or goods and services supplied, before the whole of the contracted work is complete. Security of payment legislation creates a statutory entitlement to progress payments that arises even where the contract is silent.
Retention money
An amount withheld from payments as security for performance, released at defined points. Some jurisdictions require retention money to be held in trust — for example, head contractors in NSW on projects valued at $20 million or more, and contracts valued at $20,000 or more in WA.
Security of Payment Act
The general name for the state or territory legislation creating statutory payment rights and an adjudication pathway. There is no Commonwealth security of payment Act; each jurisdiction has its own, and the Northern Territory's Act uses a different structure again.
Statutory trust
A legislated requirement that particular construction money — project payments or retention amounts — be held on trust rather than in a general account. Queensland's project trust account framework, NSW's retention money trust requirements and WA's retention trust scheme are examples. Coverage and thresholds differ.
Construction contract
The contract under which construction work is carried out, or related goods and services supplied. In most jurisdictions it may be written, oral or partly both. Definitions and exclusions vary — mining work and wholly artistic work are excluded in the Northern Territory, for example.
Payment dispute
In most jurisdictions, a dispute that arises where no payment schedule is given, the scheduled amount is less than the claim, or the scheduled amount is not paid. In the Northern Territory, “payment dispute” is the statutory trigger itself, arising when a claimed amount is unpaid, rejected or disputed, when retained money due is not paid, or when security due to be returned is not returned.
14 Verify before you act
Official sources and further reading
Primary government and legislation sources for each jurisdiction. Always check the current version — these pages are the authoritative record, and this one is not.
15 Common questions
Frequently asked questions
What is Security of Payment in Australia?
Security of payment refers to the state and territory legislation that gives eligible construction participants a statutory right to progress payments and access to a rapid adjudication process for payment disputes. The rights generally exist independently of the contract and, in most jurisdictions, cannot be contracted out of.
Does Security of Payment legislation apply in every Australian state?
All eight states and territories have security of payment legislation, but there is no national Act. Terminology, eligibility, timeframes and processes differ. Most jurisdictions use a payment claim and payment schedule model; the Northern Territory uses a payment dispute model instead.
What is a payment claim?
A written claim by a party who has carried out construction work or supplied related goods and services, identifying the work, stating the amount claimed and — in most jurisdictions — stating that it is made under the relevant Act. Form and timing requirements vary by jurisdiction.
What is a payment schedule?
A payment schedule is the respondent's written response to a payment claim, stating the amount they propose to pay and the reasons for withholding any part of the claimed amount. It exists in most Australian jurisdictions but not in the Northern Territory. Failing to serve one in time generally has serious consequences.
What is adjudication?
Adjudication is a fast, documents-based determination of a payment dispute by an independent adjudicator, made to statutory deadlines. It determines what is payable on an interim basis and does not finally determine the parties' contractual rights, which can still be pursued through the contract's dispute process, arbitration or the courts.
Are Security of Payment laws the same across Australia?
No. The core principles are broadly similar, but each jurisdiction legislates separately. Deadlines, notice requirements, eligibility, adjudication procedures, retention and trust requirements and terminology all vary — and reforms have changed several jurisdictions in recent years, including Victoria in April 2026.
What is a statutory trust?
A legislated requirement that particular construction money be held on trust rather than in a general account. Queensland's project trust account framework, NSW's retention money trust requirements and WA's retention trust scheme are Australian examples. Coverage, thresholds and commencement differ, and have changed more than once.
Does Security of Payment apply to homeowners?
It depends on the jurisdiction. Owner-occupier construction contracts have been within the NSW Act since 1 March 2021, and Tasmania's Act expressly applies to residential home owners with extended timeframes. South Australia's Act is directed primarily at commercial and non-owner-occupied work. A homeowner who receives a payment claim should check the position in their jurisdiction promptly, because doing nothing can have consequences.
Does PayLocker replace Security of Payment legislation?
No. Where a statutory right exists, it exists because of the applicable Act — not because of any platform. PayLocker is a construction payment integrity platform designed to operate alongside existing contracts, payment processes and regulatory frameworks, not in place of them. It does not replace security of payment legislation, adjudication processes, statutory trust frameworks, builders, banks, insurers, regulators or certifiers.
Does PayLocker provide legal advice?
No. PayLocker is not a law firm, a bank, an insurer, a regulator, a certifier or a statutory adjudicator. This page is general information only and is not a substitute for advice about a specific contract, claim or dispute.
How do I find the rules that apply to my project?
Identify where the construction work is being carried out, then work to that jurisdiction's legislation. Check the date the contract was entered into as well — in Western Australia, for example, contracts entered into before 1 August 2022 remain under the former provisions Act. Confirm current requirements with the relevant government body listed in the sources above.
Payment governance
See how payment governance can support construction projects
Security of Payment legislation provides an important statutory framework. PayLocker is designed to complement that environment by helping keep project payment processes structured, visible and connected to approved obligations.