On staged work — a rewire, a bathroom reno, an extension — you don’t wait until the very end to be paid. A progress claim is the formal request for payment for the work completed to a given point, made under the relevant state’s Security of Payment Act. Understanding it matters, because a progress claim is a request the other party still has to honour — not money in your account.
Progress claim versus a plain invoice
A tax invoice is an accounting document. A progress claim is a statutory instrument: when it is made and served correctly under a Security of Payment Act, it triggers the other party’s obligation to respond with a payment schedule within a defined window, and — if they don’t — can make them liable for the full amount claimed. That statutory weight is what makes a compliant progress claim more powerful than an ordinary invoice.
The trade-off is that the power comes with rules. What a valid claim must contain, how it must be served, and the timeframes that follow all depend on your state’s Act. This is where small operators most often lose their rights — not because the money isn’t owed, but because a step was missed.
Why the money still isn’t guaranteed
Even a perfectly drafted progress claim is a claim, not cash. The respondent can short-pay it, dispute it, or force you into adjudication — and if they become insolvent, a winning determination is worth little. The whole “pay now, argue later” design assumes the payer is solvent and present. For the residential and light-commercial work most trades do, that assumption doesn’t always hold.
How a progress claim generally works
A general, educational outline of the East Coast model. This is not legal advice, and timeframes and requirements vary by state — treat each step as orientation and confirm the current Act for your jurisdiction.
- 1
Check your entitlement
Confirm you have a right to a progress payment for the period — the “reference date” is set by your contract or the Act. You can typically claim periodically as work progresses.
- 2
Prepare a compliant payment claim
Identify the work and state the amount claimed. Some jurisdictions have specific form requirements. Getting this right is what gives the claim its statutory force — check what your state’s Act requires.
- 3
Serve it on the party who owes you
Serve the claim on the party above you in the chain, in the manner the Act and your contract allow. Keep dated proof of service.
- 4
Wait for the payment schedule
The respondent has a defined window to reply with a payment schedule stating what they propose to pay and why they are withholding any difference. Failing to schedule in time generally makes them liable for the full claimed amount.
- 5
Consider adjudication if short-paid
If the claim is short-paid or unanswered, you can apply within a further defined window for adjudication — a fast, independent determination. Watch the clock: missing the window can cost you the claim.
- 6
Enforce the determination
An adjudicated amount is binding on an interim basis and can be registered and enforced as a judgment debt. Recovery still depends on the other party having money to pay.