INSIGHT · CONTRACTS & PAYMENTS
One payment claim, two clocks:
the month it covers and the day it is served.
Since 15 April 2026, Victoria's Security of Payment Act (authorised version 015, read on legislation.vic.gov.au on 28 September 2026) no longer uses reference dates. A payment claim may be served from the last day of each month in which work was carried out. A contract term has no effect to the extent it puts payment later than 20 business days after a claim is served. A party must serve written notice and wait at least 5 business days before having recourse to a performance security. The amended Act applies to contracts entered into before, on or after that date.
Analysed 28 September 2026 · Victoria Government Gazette Special No. S 189 (14 April 2026) · Building Legislation Amendment (Fairer Payments on Jobsites and Other Matters) Act 2025, No. 43 of 2025 (assented 13 November 2025) · Building Legislation and Treasury Legislation (Tax Relief) Amendment Act 2026, No. 22 of 2026 (assented 23 June 2026) · Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 authorised versions 013 (as at 1 February 2024) and 015 (as at 24 June 2026) · all pages read 28 September 2026.
Key takeaways
- The reference date is gone from the Act: Before 15 April 2026 the entitlement arose "on and from each reference date". Section 9 has been substituted, and the phrase "reference date" does not appear in authorised version 015. A claim may now be served on and from the last day of each named month in which work was carried out.
- The fallback due date and the payment-term ceiling now run from different dates: The earliest service day comes from the calendar month of the work. Where a contract is silent, payment falls due 10 business days after that earliest day. The contractual ceiling runs from a third date: 20 business days after the claim is actually served.
- Contract date does not switch the new rules off: The amended Act applies to a construction contract entered into before, on or after commencement. What keeps a matter under the old Part 3 is a payment claim served, or an adjudication application made but not determined, before 15 April 2026, subject to listed exceptions.
- Calling on security now needs a notice on file: A party is not entitled to have recourse to a performance security (a bond, guarantee or retention money) unless it has served a notice of intention and at least 5 business days, or a longer contract period, have passed. The notice has required contents.
- We would record the month, the service date and the method: Our system-design recommendation, not a legal requirement: store per claim the named month of work, the date and manner of service, and the contract date, and keep a register of every notice served before recourse to security.
What commenced, and when
The Building Legislation Amendment (Fairer Payments on Jobsites and Other Matters) Act 2025, No. 43 of 2025, received assent on 13 November 2025. Its Part 2 amends the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Vic), the SOP Act. Part 2 was left to proclamation, with a backstop in section 2(3): a provision not in operation before 1 September 2026 comes into operation on that day.
- 15 April 2026, by proclamation: Victoria Government Gazette Special No. S 189, dated 14 April 2026, records the Governor fixing 15 April 2026 as the day on which Part 2 of that Act (other than sections 25(4) and 45(3)) comes into operation. The SOP Act's table of amendments records the same commencement against the Special Gazette.
- Two subsections held back: Sections 25(4) and 45(3) concern adjudication material and adjudicator fees. Both were repealed by sections 124 and 125 of the Building Legislation and Treasury Legislation (Tax Relief) Amendment Act 2026, No. 22 of 2026, which commenced the day after its assent on 23 June 2026, so the 1 September 2026 backstop did not bring them into operation. They do not affect the fields discussed below.
- The Act's own scope line: Section 7(2)(b) states the SOP Act does not apply to a domestic building contract between a builder and a building owner, other than a contract where the building owner is in the business of building residences and the contract is entered into in the course of, or in connection with, that business. Whether a particular contract falls inside is a question for your advisers.
What went, and what replaced it
The left column is the SOP Act before 15 April 2026 (authorised version 013, as at 1 February 2024); the right column is authorised version 015 (as at 24 June 2026). Wording is quoted or closely paraphrased from those texts and describes the Act's default rules, not any particular contract.
| Question | Before 15 April 2026 | Since 15 April 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| What triggers the right to claim | "On and from each reference date"; where the contract was silent, 20 business days after the previous reference date | Having undertaken to carry out construction work or supply related goods and services; a claim may be served on and from the last day of each named month in which work was carried out |
| Latest day to serve an ordinary progress claim | The contract period, or 3 months after the reference date, whichever is later | No later than the day before the latest of: the latest day set by the contract (if any), 6 months after practical completion of all construction work, 6 months after supply of all related goods and services |
| Due date where the contract is silent | 10 business days after a payment claim is made | 10 business days after the earliest day on which a payment claim may be served |
| Contract payment term | No equivalent limit in section 12 | No effect to the extent it puts payment later than 20 business days after a payment claim is served |
| What counts as a business day | Not a Saturday, Sunday or Victoria-wide public holiday | As before, and also not a day from 22 December to 10 January |
| Variations and deductions | Sections 10A (Claimable variations) and 10B (Excluded amounts) | Both sections repealed, with the definitions of claimable variation and excluded amount |
| Performance security | The term does not appear in version 013 | A statutory entitlement to release, a claim process for release, and a notice before recourse |
Two clocks on one claim
Under the old text, the right to claim ran from a reference date, usually set by the contract, and the fallback due date from the day a claim was made. The earliest day a claim may be served is now set, unless the contract allows an earlier day, by the calendar month in which the work was carried out. The fallback due date runs from that earliest day, not from the day the claim is actually served. The ceiling on a contract's payment term runs from the day the claim is served. A record that holds only an invoice date cannot reproduce any of the three.
- An early claim is moved, not rejected: Section 14A(5): a claim served before the earliest day is not invalid, is taken to be served on the earliest day, and the time to serve a payment schedule does not start until then. Unless the contract allows an earlier day, a claim for May work sent on 20 May is, on the Act's words, taken to be served on 31 May.
- December runs on its own table: Work carried out from 1 to 21 December may be claimed on and from 22 December. Work carried out from 22 to 31 December may be claimed on and from 31 January of the next year. Separately, no day from 22 December to 10 January is a business day. A contract may allow an earlier claim day.
- One claim per month, by default: Unless the contract provides otherwise, a claimant may not serve more than one payment claim in the named month in which the work was carried out. A single claim may still cover more than one progress payment, or roll forward unpaid amounts.
- The served date depends on how it was served: Section 50(2) sets when a document is taken to be served: on delivery in person, when left at the ordinary place of business with a person who appears to be employed there, or, if posted, 7 business days after posting unless delivered earlier. The Act's note points email to the Electronic Transactions (Victoria) Act 2000: when received.
Contracts signed before 15 April 2026
The transitional rule is written in terms of the date a document was served, not the date a contract was signed. That makes three dates load-bearing, and a system that stores only the contract date holds the one the Act uses least.
- The contract date does not switch the new Act off: New section 54(1): the Act as amended applies in respect of a construction contract entered into before, on or after the commencement of Part 2 of the amending Act.
- The claim's service date can: Section 54(2): the Part 3 amendments do not apply to a payment claim served under section 14, or an adjudication application made under section 18 but not determined, before commencement. Subsections (3) to (9) then list provisions that apply regardless, including the new service rules for documents served on or after commencement.
- A future regulation will look at the contract date: Section 54(10): a regulation prescribing contract provisions to be of no effect does not apply to a provision of a construction contract entered into before that regulation commences. We did not check whether any such regulation has been made.
- Transitional regulations may reach back: Section 55 allows transitional regulations, and states they may have a retrospective effect to a day on or from the day the amending Act received the Royal Assent, 13 November 2025.
The notice before the security is touched
The amended Act defines a performance security as a performance bond or retention money, and a performance bond as including a guarantee and a bond. New section 17H says a party is not entitled to have recourse to it unless it has served a notice of intention on the party that provided it, and at least 5 business days have passed since service, or a longer contract period has passed. Section 17H(3) states these requirements are taken to form part of every construction contract, despite any provision that purports to override them. For a builder holding a trade's retention, or a principal holding a builder's bank guarantee, the notice becomes a record that has to exist before the money moves.
- What the notice has to carry: In writing, in the prescribed form (if any); identifying the construction contract and the provisions relied on; stating the amount if the intention is not to have recourse to the whole security; and describing the circumstances that give the entitlement.
- Release is now claimable: A performance security claim may be served no earlier than the earliest of a day at least 20 business days after the end of the relevant defects liability period, or a day or event the contract specifies. Where the contract is silent, release falls due 10 business days after that earliest day, and interest may be payable on an amount not released.
- The defects liability period now has a statutory definition: It starts on the day of practical completion and ends on the day work to rectify any omission or defect is completed. The default release clock therefore runs from a rectification completion date, which has to be recorded somewhere to be computed at all.
What we would put in a system
Where agents help is narrow. An agent can read a claim, a covering email or a notice, extract the month of work, the service method and the date received, and draft the record and the computed dates; a person confirms them. No agent decides whether a contract is within the Act, whether a term has no effect, whether an entitlement to recourse exists or what is payable. Those are questions for the parties, an adjudicator, a court and your advisers.
| Field | Why it is load-bearing |
|---|---|
| Named month of work, per claim | Sets the earliest day the claim may be served, unless the contract allows an earlier day, and therefore the fallback due date. December work splits at 21 December. |
| Date and manner of service, per claim, schedule and notice | The 20 business day ceiling runs from service, and a posted document is taken to be served 7 business days after posting unless delivered earlier. |
| Contract date and first claim served on or after 15 April 2026 | The transitional rule turns on when a claim was served, and a future regulation on when a contract was entered into. |
| Performance security register | Type (bond, guarantee, retention), amount, practical completion date, rectification completion date, and every notice of intention with its service date and the clauses it relied on. |
| A business-day calendar with a version | The Act's business day excludes 22 December to 10 January as well as weekends and Victoria-wide public holidays. Stored as a dated calendar, not a constant, so a change can be traced. |
- Variation claims agent: Drafts claim records from site and contract documents, with the month of work and service details for a person to confirm.
- Finance and cashflow agent: Proposes due dates from the recorded service date and the business-day calendar; finance confirms before a payment run.
- Group Finance & PM Platform: Holds the security register and contract dates across entities, so the question is a query rather than a reconstruction.
- Construction companies: How the operating system fits a builder running claims up to a principal and down to trades.
- Trust accounts stopped at $10m. Each contract still carries its own answer.: Queensland's payment protection turns on contract value and the date a contract was entered - another field to store per contract.
Questions worth asking
of your own records
For a builder: when a trade's May claim arrives on 20 May, which date does your system record as the service date?
The Act says a claim served before the earliest day is taken to be served on the earliest day, which for May work is 31 May unless the contract allows an earlier day. If the system stores the date on the invoice, the schedule and due-date calculations start from a date the Act does not use.
For a trade: can you show, for each claim, the month the work was carried out and how the claim was served?
Those two fields set when the claim could be served and when it was taken to be served. A posted claim is taken to be served 7 business days after posting unless it arrived earlier; an email, when received.
For anyone holding retention or a bank guarantee: could you produce the notice of intention, its service date and the clauses it relied on?
The Act requires the notice and a gap of at least 5 business days before recourse. If the notice lives only in an email thread, the record that it existed, and when, is only as good as the search.
For a multi-entity group: which contracts between your own entities are inside the Act, and who decided that, when?
The scope exclusion for domestic building contracts does not apply where the building owner is in the business of building residences. Where a contract sits is a question for your advisers; the system's job is to record the answer, the adviser and the date.
For finance: are payment terms still stored as a number of days from invoice?
The ceiling is 20 business days from service of a payment claim, and the Act's business days exclude 22 December to 10 January. A days-from-invoice field holds neither input.
What this analysis
does and does not show.
Evidence note
- What it shows
- That since 15 April 2026 Victoria's SOP Act computes when a payment claim may be served, when payment falls due and the ceiling on contract payment terms from the month of work and the day of service rather than a reference date, that the amended Act applies to contracts entered into before commencement with service-date-based exceptions, and that recourse to a performance security now requires a served notice and a waiting period. Read on 28 September 2026 from the Victorian legislation register and the Victoria Government Gazette.
- Key facts quoted
- Assent 13 November 2025; Part 2 (other than sections 25(4) and 45(3)) commenced 15 April 2026 by proclamation in Special Gazette No. S 189 of 14 April 2026; claims from the last day of each named month; fallback due date 10 business days after the earliest service day; contract terms of no effect beyond 20 business days after service; business days exclude 22 December to 10 January; sections 10A and 10B repealed; notice and at least 5 business days before recourse to performance security; release claims no earlier than 20 business days after the defects liability period ends.
- We read the legislation and the Gazette only. Pages about the reforms published by the Victorian building regulator (bpc.vic.gov.au and vba.vic.gov.au) and planning.vic.gov.au returned a Cloudflare challenge on 28 September 2026, so no regulator guidance, fact sheet or prescribed form is reflected here.
- Authorised version 015 incorporates amendments as at 24 June 2026 and was the latest version listed on 28 September 2026. We did not check for regulations prescribing forms or information, regulations under section 52(1)(ba) or (bb), or transitional regulations under section 55.
- Adjudication changes, notice-based time bars, pay-when-paid changes and the Building Act amendments in the same Act are outside this analysis.
- Victoria only. Other states run their own security of payment statutes with different timing rules.
- Nothing here is legal advice. It does not determine whether any contract is within the Act, whether any term has effect, or what is payable or releasable.
Bring us one month of payment claims.
Send us one month's claims, from your trades or to your head contractor, with the contract dates and how each claim was served. We will show you which of the dates above your records already hold, and which would have to be reconstructed.
This article is general information about Victorian legislation. It is not legal or financial advice, and it does not determine whether any contract is within the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Vic), whether a term has effect, or what is payable. Quotations are as read on 28 September 2026 from the sources listed and describe Victoria only.
Sources
Suggested citation: Cyberate research team, "One payment claim, two clocks", Cyberate Technologies, 28 September 2026, drawing on Victoria Government Gazette Special No. S 189 (14 April 2026), Act No. 22 of 2026 and the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Vic), authorised versions 013 and 015, read 28 September 2026. Derived figures: none. The 31 May example applies section 14A as written to a hypothetical May claim.
- Victoria Government Gazette - Special Gazette No. S 189, Proclamation of commencement: Published 14 April 2026 · read 28 September 2026 · Government gazette - proclamation
- legislation.vic.gov.au - Building Legislation Amendment (Fairer Payments on Jobsites and Other Matters) Act 2025: Act No. 43/2025 as made, assented 13 November 2025 · read 28 September 2026 · Legislation register - amending Act
- legislation.vic.gov.au - Building Legislation and Treasury Legislation (Tax Relief) Amendment Act 2026: Act No. 22/2026 as made, assented 23 June 2026 · read 28 September 2026 · Legislation register - amending Act (repeal of sections 25(4) and 45(3) of Act No. 43/2025)
- legislation.vic.gov.au - Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002, authorised version 015: Incorporating amendments as at 24 June 2026 · read 28 September 2026 · Legislation register - current authorised version
- legislation.vic.gov.au - Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002, authorised version 013: Incorporating amendments as at 1 February 2024 · read 28 September 2026 · Legislation register - superseded version before commencement