NSW: Security of Payment and Adjudication - FLOWCHART for contracts made after 21 October 2019

Amendments to the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act (NSW) were made on 20 August 2024. A copy of the amended Act is available here.

The object of the NSW Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (‘the Act’) is to ensure that any party that contracts to carry out construction work, or supply related goods or services, on projects for the private and public sectors in NSW is entitled to promptly receive and recover all progress payments that are due, including final payments and retention monies.

Adjudicate Today (AT) is authorised by the NSW Government to provide advice and assistance to all parties to use the procedures of the Act to resolve industry payment disputes.

This AT website provides practical help and online wizards to assist claimants and respondents to:

• Make payment claims
• Respond to payment claims. Such a response is called a payment schedule
• Make adjudication applications
• Respond to adjudication applications. Such a response is called an adjudication response.

Our flowchart (below) shows possible options available to claimants and respondents to the conclusion of the adjudication process.

In any particular claim, only some of the flowchart boxes apply. Pink background on the flowchart highlights applicable boxes where the respondent fails to serve a payment schedule in time. Blue background highlights boxes where the payment schedule is served within time. Light yellow background describes the adjudication and enforcement process.

CLICK INSIDE THE FLOWCHART FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

The flowchart is interactive. Placing your cursor in a flowchart box highlights the box, clicking in the box provides detailed information about that step. The backspace arrow in the top left of all browsers returns to the flowchart.

Forms to download and links to our online wizards are available by clicking in the appropriate flowchart box. The wizards offer additional help and are both popular and time saving.

Clicking in the yellow flowchart heading immediately below gives a brief overview of the Act. This is where you should start if not previously involved with adjudication.

We recommend that you download and print the flowchart, preferably in colour. Keep it handy and tick and date each step as you go - this will prove most helpful.

Click here for help on the first step on the flowchart which is to prepare a payment claim "Claimant prepares & serves Payment Claim on or from the last day of the named month, or earlier date if provided by contract".

If you have any questions about how the Act works and what parties need to do to comply with it, our trained staff are available to answer questions. We provide this information for free and without obligation.