21 August 2026

The payment schedule window: what happens when the respondent says nothing

Under the East Coast model, missing the payment schedule window makes the respondent liable for the whole claimed amount with no defence available later. But only if the claim was valid.

This is the sharpest right an Australian subcontractor has, and most never use it, usually because the payment claim that would have triggered it was not validly made.

The window

• Ten business days in New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and the ACT.
• Fifteen in Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia.
• The Northern Territory runs the West Coast model instead: no payment schedule, a notice of dispute, and a single adjudication window.

What missing it does

Under the East Coast model a respondent who does not provide a payment schedule within the window becomes liable to pay the claimed amount on the due date, and cannot raise a defence in the recovery proceedings. It is not a discount and not a negotiating position. It is a debt.

It only works on a valid claim

In New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and South Australia, the payment claim must state that it is made under the Act. Queensland and the Northern Territory do not require endorsement.

An unendorsed claim where endorsement is required is not a payment claim at all. It is an invoice, and the statutory rights never attach to it.

What to record

The date the payment claim was SERVED, not the period end, not the invoice date. Every window in the East Coast model runs from service.