Excluded amounts (Vic SOP Act, historical)
Excluded amounts were Victoria's unique SOP Act carve-out: claimants could not include variations, damages or delay costs. Repealed 15 April 2026 (ss 10A and 10B).
Ask Chalkline about this →Excluded amounts was a historical restriction unique to the Victorian Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 that prevented claimants from including specific categories of cost in their statutory payment claims. The regime ran from the Act’s 2002 commencement until 15 April 2026, when the Building Legislation Amendment (Buyer Protections) Act 2025 (Vic) repealed sections 10A and 10B and abolished the regime entirely (verified 2026-05-16 against White & Case, Minter Ellison, and Victorian Building Authority confirmations).
What was excluded (before 15 April 2026):
A Vic payment claim could not include:
- Variations, except certain “claimable variations” meeting strict criteria (under $5 million in the contract or other thresholds).
- Damages for breach of contract or claims arising in connection with the contract.
- Claims arising at law other than under the contract (negligence, statutory misleading conduct, etc.).
- Latent condition costs (unforeseen ground conditions, hidden services).
- Delay damages and time-related costs (claims for delay caused by the principal).
The practical effect: a Vic claimant had to bring variations, delay costs, and damages through a separate court action while running SOPA recovery only for the contract sum and approved progress. Comparable East Coast jurisdictions (NSW, Qld) had no equivalent restriction.
What changed on 15 April 2026:
The Building Legislation Amendment (Buyer Protections) Act 2025 (Vic) repealed sections 10A and 10B of the SOP Act. From that date, Vic payment claims may include:
- All variations (no “claimable variations” distinction).
- Damages for breach of contract.
- Latent condition costs.
- Delay damages and time-related costs.
- Other claims arising under or in connection with the contract.
The reform brings Vic into closer alignment with the NSW and Qld regimes, where these categories were always claimable. The reform applies to all construction contracts, including those entered into before 15 April 2026 (the transitional provisions cover existing contracts).
Why this still matters in 2026:
- Contracts drafted under the old regime may contain clauses written to manage the excluded-amounts limitation (e.g. “the parties acknowledge that variations not satisfying the claimable-variations test are not recoverable under the Act”). Those clauses are now redundant but still appear.
- Adjudications determined under the old regime that excluded a category of cost cannot be reopened solely because the law changed.
- Builders moving between NSW and Vic need to know the old regime no longer carves out Vic; the East Coast model now broadly applies.
Also known as: the Vic carve-out; s 10A / s 10B exclusions; the claimable variations regime (paired with).
Category: Contracts & commercial.
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Last updated: 2026-05-16. Verified: 2026-05-16. Quarterly review for currency.