Payment period (Security of Payment)

The payment period is the cycle for which a payment claim is made under a Security of Payment Act, now typically one claim per named calendar month. It is also the period whose adjudication rights are lost if the application window (10 business days in NSW, in the common case) is missed.

Under the NSW Act, and similar schemes elsewhere, a claimant is generally entitled to serve one payment claim per month for work carried out in that period. Each payment period stands on its own:

1. The claimant serves the payment claim for the period.
2. The respondent serves a payment schedule in response.
3. Payment falls due.
4. If short-paid, the claimant has a short statutory window to apply for adjudication.

Miss that window and the fast SoP remedy for that period is gone. The amount does not vanish, it can still be pursued as a contract debt, but the quick, low-cost statutory path that makes SoP worth using is lost for that period.

For a builder the practical point is to treat each month’s claim as use-it-or-lose-it under Security of Payment. Serve the claim, track the schedule and the due date, and apply for adjudication within the window if you are short-paid. Letting a period lapse does not erase the debt, but it strips the statutory leverage, and chasing it as an ordinary debt is slower and dearer.

Also known as: Claim period, payment cycle.

Category: Contracts / Security of Payment.

Related

• Security of Payment (NSW)
• Security of Payment (VIC)

See also

• Payment claim
• Due date for payment
• Adjudication process

References

• Security of Payment (NSW) (Chalkline) (verified 2026-06-01)

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Last updated: 2026-06-01. Verified: 2026-06-01. Quarterly review for currency.