Due date for payment (Security of Payment)
The due date for payment is when a progress payment falls due under the contract or the Security of Payment Act default, starting the clock on adjudication rights.
Ask Chalkline about this →The due date for payment is the date a progress payment falls due, set by the contract or, failing that, by the statutory default in the relevant Security of Payment Act. It is the date that starts the clock on the notice and adjudication rights that follow when a payment is short or missing.
Security of Payment gives a statutory right to be paid, and the due date is the anchor for it. If the contract states a due date, that applies, subject to the caps the Act places on how far out it can be pushed. If the contract is silent, the Act sets a default period running from the payment claim or reference date. Once the due date passes without full payment, the claimant’s rights crystallise: the right to charge interest, the right to suspend work on notice, and the right to pursue adjudication.
Reforms in several states now cap maximum payment terms, with shorter maximums for payments down the chain to subcontractors, specifically to stop principals stretching the due date out and starving the chain of cash.
For a builder the practical point is to know the due date for every claim, because it is the trigger for your enforcement rights and the respondent’s obligation to pay. Diarise it. Missing the downstream windows that run from it (in particular the window to apply for adjudication) can cost you the statutory remedy for that payment period, even though the debt itself survives.
Also known as: Payment due date.
Category: Contracts / Security of Payment.
Related
See also
References
- Security of Payment (NSW) (Chalkline) (verified 2026-06-01)
Last updated: 2026-06-01. Verified: 2026-06-01. Quarterly review for currency.