Adjudicator (Security of Payment)
An adjudicator is the independent person appointed to determine a Security of Payment dispute, whose determination is enforceable as a debt within days of appointment.
Ask Chalkline about this →An adjudicator is the independent person appointed to determine a Security of Payment dispute. They are appointed (usually via an authorised nominating authority, or directly by the regulator depending on the state) after a claimant applies, and their decision, the adjudicated amount, is enforceable as a debt within days.
The adjudicator’s job is narrow and fast: decide how much of the disputed payment claim is payable, the due date, and any interest, on the papers, within tight statutory timeframes (often a couple of weeks from appointment). They are not a court and they do not finally resolve the contract; they make an interim, “pay now, argue later” determination to keep cash moving.
Key features:
- Independent and qualified: registered/eligible under the relevant SoP Act, and not connected to either party.
- Appointed through a process: the claimant lodges an adjudication application, the authority nominates an adjudicator (or one is appointed directly), and the respondent gets a short window to respond.
- Decides on submissions: the adjudicator works from the payment claim, the payment schedule, and the adjudication application and response, within the matters the Act allows.
For a builder the practical points are that once an adjudicator is appointed the clock is short, so a respondent who wants to be heard must get its adjudication response in on time (and must have served a payment schedule earlier to be allowed to respond at all). As a claimant, a well-organised application (clear claim, the contract, the calculations) is what the adjudicator can actually work from. Either way, the adjudicator’s determination is binding on an interim basis and directly enforceable, so it is not a step to ignore.
Also known as: SoP adjudicator.
Category: Contracts / Security of Payment.
Related
See also
References
- Adjudication process (Chalkline) (verified 2026-06-04)
Last updated: 2026-06-04. Verified: 2026-06-04. Quarterly review for currency.