Security of payment in Victoria
What the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Vic) sets for payment claims, payment schedules and adjudication.
Payment claims, schedules and adjudication
| The rule | In Victoria | The source's words |
|---|---|---|
| Who can make a payment claim | A person who has undertaken to carry out construction work, or to supply related goods and services, under the contract (sections 9(1) and 14(1)) | “has undertaken to carry out construction work or to supply related goods and services under the contract.” Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Vic), version 015 |
| A contract with a home owner | Left out: the Act doesn't apply to a domestic building contract with a building owner, unless the owner is in the business of building residences (section 7(2)(b)) | “other than a contract where the building owner is in the business of building residences” Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Vic), version 015 |
| The payment schedule | Within 10 business days after the payment claim is served (section 15(4)(b)) | “within 10 business days after the payment claim is served” Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Vic), version 015 |
| Applying for adjudication | Within 10 business days after the claimant receives the payment schedule; the Act sets its own periods for the other cases (section 18(3)(c)) | “must be lodged within 10 business days after the claimant receives the payment schedule” Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Vic), version 015 |
| When a progress payment is due | On the date the contract sets, or else 10 business days after the payment claim; a term setting a date later than 20 business days after the claim has no effect (sections 12(1)(b) and 12(1B)) | “later than the day that is 20 business days after” Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Vic), version 015 |
Not legal advice — your contract's own terms matter too.
Variations in Victoria
- A builder's notice of a variation must describe it, say why it is needed, state its effect on the work and whether a permit variation is required, estimate any delay, and state its cost and effect on the contract price (section 37(1)).
- The builder must not give effect to the variation unless the owner gives a signed consent attached to a copy of the notice (section 37(2)).
The rest of Victoria's variation rules, and the form set to them: variations in Victoria.
Sources
- Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Vic), version 015: sections 7(2)(b), 9(1), 12(1)(b), 12(1B), 14(1), 15(4)(b), 18(3)(c). Read 24/10/2026.
- Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic): sections 37(1), 37(2). Read 27/09/2026 and 07/10/2026.
Fill in the variation
- $9.90 to send it, or twenty for $29 ($1.45 each). The builder signs free.
- The builder signs from a link. We email it to them; they sign on a phone or a computer, no app or account. If they won't sign, you're told why.
- Follows your state's rules. It asks for what your state requires and prints its statement, and the PDF ends with a signing record: who signed, when, and from which device.
See a signed example (PDF)A fictional job, signed by both parties.