The Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (Qld) runs on strict, unforgiving timeframes. If you have missed one, the instinct is to assume the claim is dead. That is not always correct, and acting on that assumption too quickly can close off options that were still available.

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The Deadlines Under BIFA, and Why They Differ

Section 79 of the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (Qld) sets three separate timeframes for lodging an adjudication application, depending on what actually happened to your payment claim. Confusing these is one of the most common ways claimants lose their rights, because the deadline that applies to your situation is not always the one you assume.

• No payment schedule was given and you were not paid by the due date: 30 business days, running from the later of the due date for payment or the last day the respondent could have given a payment schedule under section 76.
• A payment schedule was given but the scheduled amount was not paid by the due date: 20 business days after the due date for the progress payment.
• A payment schedule was given but you disagree with the amount stated: 30 business days after you received the payment schedule.

These periods are calculated in business days, not calendar days, and the Queensland Building and Construction Commission will not accept an application lodged outside the relevant window. An application submitted after 5.00pm on a business day is treated as lodged the following business day, which has caught out claimants working to the wire.

If You Have Missed the Deadline: What Is Actually Gone, and What Might Not Be

Missing the section 79 window means you have lost the right to adjudicate that particular payment claim under BIFA. That is real, and there is no discretion in the Act to extend it. But it does not necessarily mean every avenue is closed.

The underlying debt usually survives

BIFA adjudication is a statutory fast-track, not the only way to recover money owed under a construction contract. If the adjudication window has closed, the contractual debt itself generally remains recoverable through ordinary court proceedings, a statutory demand if the debtor is a company, or, where the legislative requirements were met for a separate progress claim, a fresh payment claim against the next reference date.

A new reference date may give you a new claim

If your contract or BIFA’s default position generates a new reference date, for example the next month’s progress claim, you are not limited to relitigating the missed claim. A properly drafted new payment claim, capturing both current and previously claimed amounts, can sometimes achieve a similar practical outcome through a fresh, in-time adjudication application. This depends heavily on the specific facts and the contract terms, and is not a substitute for getting the first claim right.

Jurisdictional error can sometimes reopen a determination, but rarely a missed deadline itself

Where an adjudication decision has already been made and you believe the adjudicator fell into jurisdictional error, the Supreme Court of Queensland has supervisory jurisdiction to declare that decision void. In Tomkins Commercial & Industrial Builders Pty Ltd v Starline Interiors Pty Ltd [2026] QSC 21, the Court confirmed it can remit a void adjudication decision back to the same adjudicator and order the section 85 timeframe to recommence, even where the original statutory period for deciding the application had expired. That is a meaningful development, but it applies to errors in how a decision was made. It does not revive a claimant’s own missed section 79 lodgement deadline.

What This Means in Practice

The right next step depends entirely on which deadline you missed, why, and what stage your dispute is at. In our experience, the practical options tend to fall into a few categories.

• Confirm exactly which deadline applied to your claim and exactly when it expired, including the correct method of calculating business days.
• Assess whether a new reference date is available under the contract or under BIFA’s default provisions, and whether a fresh, properly drafted payment claim is realistic.
• If a decision has already been made and you suspect a jurisdictional error, in either direction, get advice quickly on whether a Supreme Court review is open to you.
• If adjudication is genuinely no longer available, assess the underlying contractual debt claim, including whether a statutory demand or court proceedings is the faster path to recovery.
• Review your internal processes so the next payment claim does not run into the same problem. Missed BIFA deadlines are almost always a process failure, not a legal one.

Why Early Advice Changes the Outcome

Every week that passes after a missed deadline narrows your options further, particularly where limitation periods on the underlying debt are also running, or where the other party is showing signs of financial distress. Boyle Litigation is a specialist commercial litigation firm. We do not draft payment claims as a volume service. We assess where you actually stand, including the parts of your matter that may still be salvageable, and advise on the fastest credible path to being paid.

Speak to a lawyer before you assume the claim is dead.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I get an extension of time to lodge a BIFA adjudication application?

A: No. The timeframes in section 79 of the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (Qld) are strict and the Act gives no discretion to extend them. The Queensland Building and Construction Commission cannot accept a late application, regardless of the reason for the delay.

Q: I missed the 20 business day deadline. Can I still recover the money?

A: Adjudication under BIFA is closed to you for that specific payment claim, but the underlying contractual debt is typically still recoverable. Depending on the amount and the debtor’s structure, that may mean court proceedings, a statutory demand against a company debtor, or negotiation backed by the credible threat of both.

Q: Does a new payment claim let me recover an amount I missed adjudicating?

A: Sometimes, in part. If a new reference date arises under the contract, a fresh payment claim can include amounts previously claimed, which may create a new, in-time opportunity to adjudicate. Whether this works depends on your specific contract terms and the history of claims already made, so this needs case-specific advice rather than a general assumption.

Q: What happens if the adjudicator made an error, not me?

A: That is a different problem with a different remedy. If you believe an adjudicator’s decision involved jurisdictional error, such as a failure to consider the parties’ submissions, the Supreme Court of Queensland can declare the decision void and, following the approach confirmed in Tomkins Commercial & Industrial Builders Pty Ltd v Starline Interiors Pty Ltd [2026] QSC 21, can in appropriate cases remit the matter back to the adjudicator rather than requiring the whole process to restart.

Q: How quickly do I need to act after realising I have missed a deadline?

A: Immediately. Limitation periods on the underlying debt continue to run regardless of what happened under BIFA, and a debtor showing signs of financial difficulty is a reason to move faster, not slower. The earlier you get advice, the more of your original options remain open.

Q: Is it worth pursuing the debt through the courts instead of adjudication?

A: It can be, particularly for larger claims where the adjudication outcome would only ever have been interim. Court proceedings produce a final, enforceable judgment rather than an interim determination, though they take longer. We will give you a realistic view of timeframes and costs for your specific claim before recommending a path.