Progress payments in South Australia
Here, a flat-dollar deposit on small jobs, and a payment may only follow work already carried out. What a progress payment is, and how the stages of a build line up, is on the main guide.
South Australia does not set stage percentages. Only Victoria and the Northern Territory do. Here the amounts are whatever your contract says, and the law constrains how they may be claimed rather than how large they may be — so the check below is a different one.
South Australia: what the law sets
- Deposit, up to $20,000
- $1,000 — a flat amount, not a percentage
- Deposit, over $20,000
- 5% of the value of the work
- Stage percentages
- Not prescribed
- Progress payments (s 30)
- Only for building work already carried out
- Written request
- No obligation to pay until the builder requests it in writing
Read from Law Handbook South Australia (Legal Services Commission of SA), Building Work Contracts on 26 October 2026. Consumer and Business Services is the authority on what applies to a particular contract, and a figure here is a ceiling rather than an entitlement.
South Australia caps the small-job deposit in dollars
Nearly every jurisdiction expresses its deposit cap as a percentage. South Australia does not, below $20,000: the limit is a flat $1,000, whatever the job is worth. On a $6,000 job that is a far tighter limit than the 10% most states would allow, and on a $19,000 job tighter still.
Above $20,000 it reverts to a familiar 5% of the value of the work. Certain third-party costs can be paid in advance on top of the deposit — the building indemnity insurance premium, and fees for engineering, drafting or surveying.
Already carried out, and asked for in writing
Under section 30 of the Building Work Contractors Act 1995, a builder may only seek an interim payment for building work that has already been carried out — and you are not obliged to pay until the builder has made the request in writing.
The written-request requirement is the quieter of the two and the more useful in a dispute. A verbal demand on site, with trades waiting, is not a request you are obliged to answer.
Questions about paying a builder in South Australia
Is the deposit really capped at $1,000 on a small job?
Yes, for work valued up to $20,000 the cap is a flat $1,000 rather than a percentage. Above $20,000 the cap is 5% of the value of the work.
Can a builder charge for things before work starts?
Beyond the deposit, certain preliminary third-party costs may be paid in advance — the building indemnity insurance premium and fees for professional services such as engineering, drafting or surveying.
Do I have to pay a progress claim made verbally?
Under section 30 of the Building Work Contractors Act 1995 you are not obliged to pay a progress payment until the builder has made the request in writing.