Subcontractor Not Paid by Builder? How to Get Your Money (Fast)

You are a subcontractor — electrician, plumber, tiler, painter, concreter, roofer, carpenter, or any other trade. You finished the work on a building site. You submitted your invoice. The builder is not paying.

Maybe they are “waiting on the client.” Maybe they are disputing the hours. Maybe they have just stopped answering your calls. Whatever the excuse, you did the work and you deserve to be paid.

This guide is for every subbie in Australia who is owed money by a builder, head contractor, or developer.

You have more power than you think

Australian law gives subcontractors some of the strongest payment protections of any industry. Every state has a Security of Payment Act specifically designed to make sure subbies get paid:

• New South Wales — Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999
• Queensland — Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017
• Victoria — Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002
• Western Australia — Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Act 2021
• South Australia — Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2009

These Acts give you the right to make a payment claim that the builder must respond to within 10-15 business days — or the full amount becomes due automatically.

Step 1: Send a formal Letter of Demand

Before you go down the Security of Payment route, start with a Letter of Demand. This is faster and cheaper.

A formal Letter of Demand to a builder should include:

• Your ABN and business details
• The builder’s full legal name and ABN (check on ABN Lookup)
• Every unpaid invoice with dates and amounts
• The total amount owed
• The work performed and the site address
• A 14-day deadline to pay
• What happens if they do not pay — Security of Payment claim, tribunal application, statutory demand (if they owe $4,000+), and a complaint to the state building authority

They know the consequences are real — losing their builder’s licence, being reported to the QBCC/Fair Trading/Building and Plumbing Commission (formerly the VBA), or having their company wound up on a statutory demand.

Step 2: Security of Payment claim

If the Letter of Demand does not work, lodge a formal payment claim under your state’s Security of Payment Act. The builder must serve a payment schedule within 10-15 business days. If they do not, the full claimed amount becomes a debt due.

You can then apply for adjudication — an independent adjudicator decides the dispute, usually within 10 business days. Adjudication decisions are enforceable as court judgments.

Step 3: Statutory Demand (for companies owing $4,000+)

If the builder is a company (Pty Ltd) and owes you $4,000 or more, a Statutory Demand under the Corporations Act is the nuclear option. The company has 21 days to pay or apply to set it aside — if they do neither, you can apply to wind up the company.

No builder wants that on their record.

Step 4: Tribunal or court

File a claim in a tribunal or court. In New South Wales a subcontractor’s unpaid invoice is a debt claim for the Local Court, not NCAT: the Small Claims Division up to $20,000 and the General Division over $20,000 up to $100,000. In other states, check which tribunal or court hears debt claims. You do not need a lawyer. Bring your invoices, the signed contract or quote, photos of the completed work, and your Letter of Demand.

What if there is no written contract?

No contract? You can still recover. Under Australian law, a verbal agreement is enforceable. Text messages, emails, and even phone call records confirming the work and the rate are admissible evidence. The Security of Payment Acts also apply to verbal contracts in most states.

Do not wait — limitation periods apply

The longer you wait, the harder it gets. Builders go bust, companies get deregistered, and limitation periods apply (6 years for contract claims, but Security of Payment claims have much shorter windows — typically 12 months from the reference date).

If a builder owes you money, start the process today.

Start your claim today — $49

Claim Done drafts your Letter of Demand for $49. Tell us who owes you, how much, and the details of the work — we draft a formal demand citing the Security of Payment Act, Australian Consumer Law, and the consequences the builder faces if they do not pay. Sent directly to the builder. Done in about 5 minutes, 24/7.

If they still do not pay:

• Final Demand — $49 (escalation with tribunal/statutory demand warning)
• Statutory Demand — $97 (for companies owing $4,000+)
• Tribunal Application + Witness Statement — $97 for both

Stripe secured.