QLD’s Security of Payment regime is set by the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (Qld). This is a short, plain-English orientation — not legal advice, and not a substitute for the Act itself or qualified advice.
The lead Act in QLD
In QLD, progress-payment rights are governed by the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (Qld).
- Queensland consolidated its Security of Payment regime under the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (Qld).
- It operates a Project Trust Account regime: for in-scope building contracts, project funds (and retentions, via a separate retention trust) must be held in trust rather than mixed with the head contractor’s working capital.
- The trust regime has been phased in and expanded over time — confirm current value thresholds and coverage with the QBCC, as scope has changed across stages.
The process, in short
Like the rest of the East Coast model, the process runs from a payment claim, to a payment schedule in reply, to adjudication if the claim is short-paid or unanswered, and then to enforcement of the adjudicated amount. The specific timeframes and requirements are set by this state’s Act — each is a defined number of business days that varies by jurisdiction, so confirm the current Act rather than relying on a number from elsewhere.
Where it leaves trades exposed
The statutory right is powerful but reactive: you invoke it after the work is done and the money is already at risk, on strict timeframes, and a winning determination is worth little if the payer is insolvent. Milestone escrow addresses the same problem from the other end — ring-fencing each stage’s payment before the work starts. It complements the statutory regime; it does not replace it.