Security Of Payments Act NSW Due Date For Payment

The 21 April 2014 changes to the Building & Construction Industry Security Of Payments Act 1999, The “Security Of Payments Act NSW” legislation for building and construction work carried out, and or related goods and services provided, for a construction project in New South Wales, included changes to the “Payment Due Date”.

For Contractor claims the maximum time allowed for the Respondent to pay a payment claim is now 15 business days from the date of service of the payment claim.

For Subcontractor claims the maximum time allowed for the Respondent to pay a payment claim is now 30 business days from the date of service of the payment claim.

The above time frames are now the “default” of the Act and the maximum times allowed under the Act. These time frames have replaced the previous “10 business days default”.

If the above time frames are too long and are not acceptable, RECOUP Contractor Debt Recovery recommends a clear agreement be formed between parties prior to commencing work,  and recorded in writing, and verified with signatures of authorised officers, stating what the date for making claims is each month (known in the Act as the “Reference Date”) and how many business days the “Payment Due Date” is to be after the service of the Payment Claim.

It is very important that claimants understand the importance of calculation days correctly when claiming, when serving second notices, when serving notices to suspend work, and when applying for adjudication.

If an error is made in respect of calculating days claims may be rendered invalid and either require a claimant to begin the whole process over again on a new and available reference date, or even worse still it may mean that a claimant loses their entitlement under the Act altogether.

For assistance in correctly calculating Security Of Payments Act NSW due date for payment and all debt collection issues relating to building & construction work call RECOUP Contractor Debt Recovery on 1300 732 687