Introduction to Security of Payment Adjudication in Victoria

FLOWCHART for claims served and adjudication applications made on or after 15 April 2026

The Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Vic) (the Act) creates a statutory dispute resolution process (adjudication) that allows a party alleging they are owed money (the claimant) under a construction contract to promptly obtain payment (including progress payments and final payments, retention monies and the release of performance securities) from the respondent, based on an assessment of the merits of the claim by an appropriately qualified and independent adjudicator.

Adjudicate Today (AT) is authorised by the Victorian Government to provide general advice and assistance to all parties in relation to the Act’s procedures, to appoint the adjudicator to determine the dispute, and to generally administer the Act’s processes.

The Act applies to any construction contract:

• that is written or oral, or partly written and partly oral; and
• where the work under the contract is carried out in Victoria, even if the construction contract says it is to be governed by a law of a State or Territory outside of Victoria.

The adjudication process is simple and rapid. Adjudicators must make their determination within 10 business days (unless the parties agree to extend the time) after the day on which the adjudicator is taken to be appointed or the latest day on which the respondent may lodge an adjudication response. If the respondent’s reasons for not paying don’t pass the adjudicators independent assessment, the respondent is generally liable to pay and/or release the progress claim, interest and the adjudication fees. If a respondent does not comply with an adjudication determination, the claimant may obtain from AT an adjudication certificate for lodgement at the appropriate court which registers it as a judgment debt. For most claims referred to adjudication, a lawyer should not be necessary.

In order to commence a claim under the Act, there must be a written payment claim (s 14) or performance security claim (s 17A) made against a party to a construction contract (either written or oral) in relation to construction work or the supply of related goods and services for construction work in Victoria.

Time frames under the Act are critical. Claimants must take different actions based on whether a respondent serves or fails to serve a written response to the claim (the Act calls this either the payment schedule (s 15) or performance security schedule (s 17E)) within defined times. Failure by the claimant to follow the strict requirements of the Act will cause an adjudication application to fail.

The information and flowcharts we publish on this website clearly describe how parties should proceed in preparing and responding to claims, what steps should be taken based on the actions of the other party and other steps required by the Act. In addition, our trained staff are available to provide general information about how the Act works and what parties need to do to comply with it. We provide this information for free and without obligation. If parties proceed to adjudication, the adjudicator pays us a service fee from his/her fees to cover our costs. Neither party is asked to pay the adjudicator’s fee until after the determination is provided to Adjudicate Today.

Navigating this website

There are two simple ways to navigate the Victorian website:

1. Click on any flowchart box for further information in relation to that step of the process; and/or
2. use the menu on the left-hand side of this page. We recommend you commence by clicking on Start as there are strict steps which must be complied with in order to satisfy the requirements of the Act.