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

If you’re a tiler owed money by a builder or head contractor, you already know the frustration. Work done. Site cleared. Invoice sent. And then—silence. Or worse, excuses.

The good news? You have legal tools available. Australia’s Security of Payment legislation exists specifically to help tradies and subcontractors like you recover what you’re owed, without waiting months for court cases. This isn’t hypothetical—it’s a structured process with real teeth.

Here’s what you need to know and how to move forward.

Understand Your Legal Right to a Payment Claim

Every Australian state and territory has Security of Payment legislation designed to protect subcontractors and suppliers in the construction industry. If you’ve done work under a construction contract, you have a statutory right to make a payment claim.

The exact name and rules vary by state:

• 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 Act 2004
• Northern Territory: Construction Contracts Act 2004

The detail matters—each Act has slightly different timeframes, notice requirements, and procedures. But the principle is the same: you can claim progress payments you’re entitled to, and the law gives you a fast, affordable path to enforcement if the head contractor or builder doesn’t respond fairly.

Step 1: Prepare Your Payment Claim Document

A payment claim isn’t just an invoice. It’s a formal document that triggers your legal rights under the Security of Payment Act.

Your claim must include:

1. A clear statement that it’s a “payment claim” under the relevant Act
2. The date of the claim
3. Details of the work performed (or materials supplied)
4. The amount claimed, broken down clearly
5. The period the claim covers
6. The contract details (date, parties, reference)
7. The name and contact details of the claimant (you)

If you get this wrong, the claim can be rejected on a technicality. It’s worth getting the format right from the start.

Step 2: Serve the Claim Properly

Once your claim is prepared, it must be served on the person or company that owes you money. The Act specifies how service must happen—usually by hand, email, or post to a nominated address. Timing and method matter; if you don’t serve it correctly, you lose your legal protection.

Each state’s legislation sets out the exact rules. For instance, in NSW, the respondent (the person you’re claiming from) then has 10 business days to either pay you or issue a payment schedule explaining what they’ll pay and when.

That’s the power of the Act: it forces a response. Radio silence isn’t an option anymore.

Step 3: Use Fast-Track Adjudication if They Dispute It

If the head contractor or builder issues a payment schedule but you disagree with it, or if they don’t respond at all, you can refer the dispute to an adjudicator. This is where things move fast.

Fast-track adjudication is a streamlined process—not a court case. An independent adjudicator reviews your claim and the other party’s response, then makes a determination. The whole thing typically happens in weeks, not months. And importantly, the adjudicator’s determination is binding and enforceable immediately, even if the other party wants to appeal later.

Many debtors choose to pay or settle rather than face fast-track adjudication, because they know the process is quick and the outcome is hard to overturn.

The cost? Modest. Filing and adjudicator fees are typically a few hundred dollars—a fraction of what you’re owed.

Step 4: Enforce the Adjudication if Needed

Once an adjudicator makes a determination in your favour, you have a legal document you can take to court for enforcement. If the debtor still won’t pay, you can pursue them through the courts to recover the judgment debt. Again, this is faster and cheaper than litigating from scratch.

Keep Your Evidence Together

Before you file any claim, gather everything: your contract, invoices, delivery dockets, photos of work completed, emails, payment records, and any correspondence. If the claim goes to adjudication, you’ll need to prove what you did and why you’re entitled to payment. Don’t rely on memory.

The stronger your evidence, the stronger your position.

Get Your Claim Filed

The process works, but only if you actually start it. Sitting on an unpaid invoice doesn’t recover money—filing a proper payment claim does.

If you’re unsure about the technical details or want to make sure your claim is formatted correctly for your state, you can file a payment claim through PayClaim for a flat fee of AUD $79. It’s practical, straightforward, and takes the guesswork out of the paperwork.

You’ve done the work. You deserve to be paid. Australia’s Security of Payment laws exist to make that happen. Use them.