Cash flow · BIF Act

How to chase a payment claim in QLD without torching the relationship

Anna Marie Saplad · Field notes for QLD builders

Payment-claim problems can start with a date nobody tracked. In Queensland, the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 — the BIF Act — sets statutory response periods that need careful administrative attention.

The rule that matters

For a payment claim made under the Act, the respondent's payment schedule is generally due by the earlier of the deadline stated in the contract or 15 business days after the payment claim was given. Missing the applicable deadline can have serious statutory consequences, including exposure to recovery of the claimed amount.

Why good builders get caught

Because the admin arrives while you're flat out on the tools. A claim comes in by email, gets read on a phone at 6am, mentally flagged for "later" — and later becomes day 16. It's not incompetence; it's a missing system.

The fix is a calendar, not a confrontation

• Map client-confirmed dates and requirements — claim dates, contract response deadlines and relevant milestones — into a shared calendar with agreed reminders.
• One inbox rule: anything that looks like a payment claim gets flagged the day it arrives, not the day it's understood.
• A template payment schedule sits ready to go, so responding is a 20-minute job, not an afternoon.

And the relationship?

Prompt, documented responses can support clearer commercial communication. A regular follow-up cadence also reduces the chance that an item disappears into an inbox while the project team is busy.

A calendar cannot determine legal rights or replace professional advice, but it can keep client-confirmed dates and open actions visible to the people responsible for them.