Guide
Responding to a Payment Claim: The Payment Schedule Deadline You Can't Miss
Miss the deadline to respond to a payment claim and you become liable for the full amount. Here's what the timeframe actually is.
A payment schedule is due within the time set by your contract, or 10 business days after the payment claim is served — whichever is earlier, with no flexibility built in. Miss it and you're liable for the full claimed amount, though a notice of intention to apply for adjudication can still give you a second chance to respond.
A payment schedule is your formal response to a payment claim. It states the amount you propose to pay and, if that's less than what was claimed, the reasons why.
The deadline
A payment schedule must generally be provided within the time required by your contract, or 10 business days after the payment claim is served — whichever is earlier. There's no flexibility built into this deadline.
What happens if you miss it
If a payment schedule isn't provided in time, you become liable to pay the full claimed amount. The claimant can then pursue recovery in court — where you're barred from raising any cross-claim or defence arising under the contract — make an adjudication application, or serve a notice of intention to suspend work. You do get one further chance to respond: if the claimant serves a notice of intention to apply for adjudication, you then have 5 business days to provide a payment schedule, and if you do, the dispute can still proceed through adjudication.
If a claim has just landed, call us straight away — timing is everything.