Claims on the Principal: Contractors Debts Act 1997 (NSW)
On most building jobs there are several levels of contract. Say you’re a plumber (the subcontractor) working for a builder (the contractor), who is working for a government department or developer (the principal). If the builder doesn’t pay you, NSW law can let you go over the builder’s head and recover the money from the principal.
This matters most when the builder is in financial trouble.
How it works
- Payment withholding request: when we lodge your adjudication application under the Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW), we can serve a payment withholding request on the principal. The principal must then hold back money it owes the builder, up to the amount you’ve claimed, while the adjudication runs.
- Judgment: once you win at adjudication and the determination is filed as a judgment, you can apply to the court for a debt certificate.
- Notice of claim: we serve a notice of claim with the debt certificate on the principal under the Contractors Debts Act 1997.
- Payment: the principal must pay you, out of what it owes the builder, up to the amount of your debt. If it doesn’t, you can recover that money from the principal as a debt.
These two laws work together. Acting early, and serving the payment withholding request when the adjudication application is lodged, gives you the best chance of getting the money before it’s paid away.
In Queensland, the BIF Act has its own payment withholding request process. Ask us about other states.
Call or contact us to see whether this could work for you. See also Enforcing a determination.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Last reviewed October 2026.