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What happens if I don't send a payment schedule on time in New Zealand?

You become liable to pay the full claimed amount on the due date, whatever you think the work is worth. If you then don't pay it, the payee can recover it as a debt in court and can serve notice that it intends to suspend work.

How the deadline works

  1. 01A payment claim is served on you. First check it is a valid claim under the Act: in writing, identifying the contract, the work and the period, stating the amount and due date, showing how the amount was worked out, and stating it is made under the Act (s 20).
  2. 02Your deadline for a payment schedule is the time your contract sets. If the contract is silent, it is 20 working days after the claim was served (s 22). Working days exclude 24 December to 5 January (s 5).
  3. 03Your payment schedule must be in writing, identify the claim and state the amount you will pay. If that is less than the claim, show how you calculated it, why it differs and why you are withholding anything (s 21).
  4. 04Miss the deadline and you become liable to pay the claimed amount on the due date (s 22).

If the claimed amount is then not paid

  1. 01The payee can recover the unpaid amount as a debt in any court, plus the actual and reasonable recovery costs the court awards (s 23(2)(a)).
  2. 02The payee can serve notice of its intention to suspend work. The notice must state the grounds and that it is given under the Act (s 23(2)(b) and (3)).
  3. 03If the amount is still unpaid 5 working days after that notice, the payee may suspend work (s 24A(1)(c)), and it gets an extension of time for the suspension (s 24A(2)(c)).

From practice

Put the payment schedule deadline in the diary the day a claim arrives, not the day you start checking it. Deductions you can't explain in the schedule are deductions you are likely to lose (s 21(3)).

Sources

Checked against the Act on 30 October 2026. General information only, not legal advice. Your contract may set different times, so check it.

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How we work

  1. Review

    We first secure any notice deadlines about to expire, then review your documents: the contract, the BOQ and the project records.

  2. Assess

    We test the assumptions, map entitlements, risks and dependencies, and put honest ranges on cost and time.

  3. Advise

    You get clear options and a recommendation: what changed, why it matters, what to decide and by when.

  4. Deliver

    We prepare what is needed and keep it on track, from notices, claims and programmes to reporting, procurement and AI workflows. That can be a single task or an ongoing role for the whole contract, such as Independent Certifier, contract administrator or financial management of claims and invoicing.

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