Tilers Owed Money: Your Step-by-Step Payment Recovery Plan

If you’re a tiler waiting weeks or months for payment that should have landed in your account, you’re not alone. Thousands of Australian tradies face cash flow crises because head contractors and developers drag their feet—or worse, refuse to pay altogether.

The good news? Australia’s Security of Payment legislation exists specifically to protect you. It gives subcontractors a fast, formal pathway to recover money without taking someone to court. The bad news? Most tradies don’t know it exists, so they waste time chasing calls and emails instead.

This guide walks you through what to do when you’re owed money, step by step.

Step 1: Check Your Invoicing and Contract

Before you do anything else, make sure your house is in order. Dig out:

• The original contract or quote you gave the head contractor or builder
• Copies of all invoices you’ve issued
• Any written confirmation of the work scope (texts, emails, site plans)
• Proof of work completed (photos, signed timesheets, progress notes)

If your invoices are vague or undated, or if you don’t have a clear record of what you were asked to do, that’s a weakness. Security of Payment legislation requires you to have submitted a valid payment claim. That claim needs to be clear about what work was done, when, and how much you’re claiming.

If you’re missing documentation, gather it now. A photo timestamped on-site is worth its weight in gold later.

Step 2: Send a Formal Demand Letter

Don’t just send another invoice. Send a formal letter (email is fine) that states:

1. The amount owed
2. The work performed (dates and description)
3. The original invoice date and number
4. How long the debt has been outstanding
5. A clear deadline for payment (give them 7–14 days)
6. A statement that you intend to lodge a payment claim under the Security of Payment Act if they don’t pay

Keep the tone professional but direct. Don’t threaten or abuse—just state facts. This letter serves a dual purpose: it’s a genuine attempt to resolve things without formality, and it creates a paper trail that shows you acted reasonably if things escalate.

Keep a copy. If they ignore this, you’ve already started building your case.

Step 3: Understand Your State’s Security of Payment Act

Australia doesn’t have one national Security of Payment law—each state has its own. The key ones are:

• NSW: Security of Payment Act 1999
• Queensland: Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017
• Victoria: Security of Payment Act 2002
• Western Australia: Construction Contracts Act 2004
• South Australia: Construction Contracts Act 2003
• Tasmania: Construction Contracts Act 2004
• ACT: Construction Contracts (Security of Payments) Act 2009
• NT: Construction Contracts (Security of Payments) Act

These laws all work similarly: you submit a payment claim, the other party has a set time to respond with a payment schedule (or they must pay), and if they dispute it, you can apply for fast-track adjudication. The timeframes and exact procedures vary slightly by state, but the principle is the same.

The legislation exists because construction is cash-hungry work. You can’t afford to wait six months for a court case when you’ve got suppliers and wages to pay now.

Step 4: Lodge a Formal Payment Claim

This is where things get formal. Under your state’s Security of Payment Act, you have the right to lodge a payment claim. This is not a lawsuit—it’s a statutory document that triggers mandatory timelines and can lead to adjudication if the other party refuses to pay or disputes the amount.

A valid payment claim must include:

• Details of the construction work you performed
• The amount claimed
• The date the claim is made
• A statement that it’s a claim under the Security of Payment Act
• Identification of the payment dispute (what invoice or work period covers this claim)

The language needs to be precise—vague or poorly constructed claims can be rejected on technical grounds, which wastes your time.

If you’re not confident drafting one yourself, you can file a payment claim through PayClaim, which handles the formatting and lodgement for a flat fee of AUD $79. The software guides you through the questions, generates the correct statutory document for your state, and gets it to the other party on your behalf.

Step 5: Wait for Their Response

Once your payment claim is lodged, the respondent (the builder or head contractor) has a statutory timeframe to respond. In most states, this is around 10 business days. They have two legal options:

1. Pay you in full. This is the outcome you want, and many debtors choose to pay or settle rather than face fast-track adjudication.
2. Issue a payment schedule. This is a document that either agrees to pay part of the claim, refuses the claim with reasons, or proposes a payment plan.

If they do neither—if they ignore your claim entirely—that’s actually leverage. They’ve breached the legislation, and you can move straight to adjudication.

Step 6: Consider Adjudication if Needed

If they issue a payment schedule that disputes the amount or refuses to pay, or if they ignore you, you can apply for fast-track adjudication. This is a process where an independent adjudicator reviews the claim, your evidence, and their response, then makes a binding determination within days or weeks—not months or years.

Adjudication is designed to be quick and affordable. You don’t need a lawyer (though some tradies choose to get one). The adjudicator looks at what you’ve each submitted and makes a call based on the contract, your invoices, and the work that was done.

The respondent can still disagree with the adjudication and pursue a court case later, but many choose not to. An adjudication order is enforceable, and the cost of fighting it further often outweighs the debt.

Bottom Line: Don’t Wait

If you’re owed money for tiling work, the sooner you act, the sooner this gets resolved. A formal demand letter costs nothing but your time. A payment claim costs AUD $79 and triggers a legal process designed to move fast.

Sitting around hoping they’ll pay out of goodwill is a tradie’s trap. Use the law. It’s there for you.