Security of payment basics for designers and consultants

Read this first

This is general information, not legal advice. Whether a security of payment Act applies depends on your contract, your state and the type of project; jobs for owner-occupiers are often treated differently. Time limits under these Acts are strict. Get advice before relying on one.

The Acts, by state and territory

What these laws generally do

In broad terms, these Acts give people who carry out construction work, or supply related goods and services under a construction contract, a right to progress payments and a fast adjudication process for disputed amounts, so that money keeps moving while bigger disputes are resolved. The details, including who is covered, what a valid claim looks like and the deadlines at each step, differ between Acts.

Design services: one clear example

Coverage of design work isn’t uniform, and we only state what we could verify. The NSW Act is explicit: section 6 lists “architectural, design, surveying or quantity surveying services in relation to construction work” as related services. For other states, read the definitions in the Act itself or get advice.

Records worth keeping on every job

• The accepted fee proposal, with stages, fees and triggers (how to write one).
• Each stage invoice, with its date and the work it covers (staged invoicing).
• Written approvals of variations, with dates.
• Payment records: what was paid, when, and against which invoice.
• For shared jobs, which consultant supplied which part, and to whom (split payments).

What DrafterShare does and doesn’t do

DrafterShare is planned to keep exactly those records: the accepted schedule, stage invoices, variations and payments in one place. It is not planned to prepare or serve payment claims, payment schedules or adjudication applications under any security of payment Act. For those, use your state regulator’s guidance and get advice. Try the live demo to see the records it keeps.