Progress payments in Tasmania
Here, the test is whether the amount tracks progress on site, and it is written into the Act. What a progress payment is, and how the stages of a build line up, is on the main guide.
Tasmania 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.
Tasmania: what the law sets
- Deposit, $20,000 and over
- 5% of the contract price
- Deposit, below that threshold
- 10% of the contract price
- Deposit, off-site work over 50%
- 20% of the contract price
- Stage percentages
- Not prescribed
- Progress payments (s 42)
- Must be directly related to progress of the performance at the building site
- Act applies
- Contract price of $20,000 or more
Read from Residential Building Work Contracts and Dispute Resolution Act 2016 (Tas), ss 41–42 on 26 October 2026. Consumer Affairs Tasmania is the authority on what applies to a particular contract, and a figure here is a ceiling rather than an entitlement.
The rule is in the Act, in one sentence
Section 42 of the Residential Building Work Contracts and Dispute Resolution Act 2016 says a builder must not demand or receive an amount other than a deposit unless the amount is directly related to the progress of the performance at the building site.
That phrasing does more work than it looks. It is not enough that costs have been incurred, or that materials have been ordered, or that a date in a schedule has arrived. The test is progress at the site, which is a thing you can stand in front of and look at.
Deposits are banded, and the bands matter less than they appear
Section 41 caps the deposit at 5% where the contract price is $20,000 or more, 10% below that, and 20% where off-site work is worth more than half the contract price. Since the Act itself applies only to contracts of $20,000 or more, the 5% figure is the one most readers will be dealing with.
Note the regulator's name: Consumer Affairs Tasmania took over from Consumer, Building and Occupational Services on 1 October 2026, so older guidance and older forms will still say CBOS.
Questions about paying a builder in Tasmania
Does Tasmania set stage percentages?
No. It sets a test instead: any amount other than the deposit must be directly related to the progress of the performance at the building site.
What is the maximum deposit?
5% where the contract price is $20,000 or more, which is the range the Act applies to. 10% applies below that, and 20% where off-site work exceeds half the contract price.
Why do some pages say CBOS?
Consumer, Building and Occupational Services became Consumer Affairs Tasmania on 1 October 2026. Older guidance still carries the former name.