Queensland runs its own Security of Payment regime under the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 — the BIF Act — and it pairs the usual payment-claim-and-adjudication process with something the other states do not have at the same scale: statutory project and retention trusts that quarantine your money before a dispute ever starts. If you build in Queensland, here is how to get paid, and how the trust framework protects you.
New to how this works? Start with Security of Payment explained.
The payment claim process
The mechanics are East-Coast style, like NSW, but with Queensland's own timing:
- Payment claim — you give a payment claim for a progress payment, tied to a reference date under your contract.
- Payment schedule — the respondent has 15 business days (or sooner if the contract says so) to reply with a payment schedule stating what they will pay and why (QBCC: respond to a payment request).
- Due date — the default due date for the progress payment is 10 business days after the claim is given, unless the contract sets another date.
- No schedule and no payment — if they neither schedule nor pay, you can pursue the full claimed amount.
Adjudication timeframes — the part people get wrong
The window to apply for adjudication depends on what happened (QBCC: apply for adjudication):
- Got a payment schedule and disagree with it: apply within 30 business days after the schedule was given.
- Got a schedule but were not paid in full by the due date: apply within 20 business days after the due date.
- No schedule and not paid: apply within 30 business days after the later of the due date or the last day they could have given a schedule.
Miss the window and you lose the statutory route for that claim. Once lodged, the registrar refers your application to an adjudicator within 4 business days.
What makes Queensland different: project and retention trusts
Under the BIF Act trust framework, money for an eligible project must sit in a project trust account, with retention held in a separate retention trust account — quarantined from the head contractor's general cash flow so it does not vanish if they go under (QBCC: trust account rollout).
- It currently applies to eligible Queensland Government contracts of $1 million or more, and to private-sector contracts at the higher value thresholds.
- The rollout down to smaller private projects (below $10 million) was paused from 10 February 2025 — so do not assume a trust covers a small private job. Check the current threshold.
- Amendments commencing 1 July 2024 changed parts of the framework, and the thresholds have moved more than once. Confirm the current position with the QBCC.
For a subbie, on a trust-covered project your progress and retention money is legally protected — a far stronger position than holding a bare debt.
Common mistakes
- Treating Queensland like NSW on timing — the adjudication windows (20 versus 30 business days) are Queensland's own.
- Assuming a project trust covers your job — the thresholds changed and the small-private rollout is paused.
- Letting retention sit in a head contractor's account without checking whether a retention trust should hold it.
- Missing the adjudication window and losing the fast route.
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