Every matter overseen personally, first call to resolution
The time you have to serve a payment schedule after a payment claim
Response to enquiries received before 3pm
Acting for builders, subcontractors, developers and owners across the state
Archer Lawyers acts for builders, subcontractors, developers, principals and property owners in Security of Payment matters across New South Wales, from a single progress claim to a final claim on a multi stage commercial development.
We act on both sides of these disputes, so the advice reflects how these matters actually resolve, not just how they would be argued.
Security of Payment work sits alongside our construction disputes, building defects and property work, which matters when an argument about an unpaid claim turns out to be an argument about defective work: it stays with the same lawyer instead of being handed on.
We are a lean, hands-on firm. The person advising you is the person running your matter, from first instruction through to resolution.
We read the claim, the contract and the correspondence, work out whether the claim complies with the Act and what the deadlines actually are, and deal directly with the other side. Where it is needed, we take the matter to adjudication, and to the court if it goes that far.
A short phone or video conversation with our principal. We listen to what's happened, look at any key documents you send through, and give you a clear view of your options and likely next steps - free, and with no obligation to proceed.
Not necessarily, but the window is the thing that matters most. Send us the payment claim and the contract the day they arrive and we will tell you what can still be done. If the deadline has already passed the options are fewer and narrower, which is why it is worth calling before it does.
Matthew personally oversees every matter Archer takes on, from the first call through to resolution. He acts on both sides of Security of Payment matters, for claimants chasing payment and for respondents who have been served, from a single progress claim to a final claim on a multi stage development.
A head contractor was served with a payment claim for an amount it disputed.
A subcontractor was not paid on a progress claim and no payment schedule came back.
A respondent faced a determination it said was made outside the adjudicator's jurisdiction.
— Preparing a compliant payment claim, and serving it correctly
— Responding with a payment schedule inside the 10 business day window
— Adjudication applications and adjudication responses
— Jurisdictional objections, and applications to set aside a determination
— Notices of intention to suspend work under the Act
— Enforcing a determination as a judgment debt, and recovery where payment still does not come
— A claim resisted, or narrowed to what the contract and the evidence actually support
— Recovery of amounts properly owed under the Act, including progress claims and variations
— Resolution without the cost and delay of a full hearing, wherever that serves your interests
— A clear, defensible position if the matter does proceed to adjudication, the tribunal or the court
Recover unpaid progress claims, and serve a payment schedule within time when a claim comes in.
Enforce a payment claim, or find out why one has been knocked back.
Manage payment claims and adjudications across a project, on either side of them.
Understand what you owe under the Act, and what you do not, before you pay it.
Free to start, and you'll know within days whether we can help.
A few details on the form below — we get back to you personally, the same day if we receive it before 3pm.
Free Case ReviewA plain-English conversation about your options. Free, no obligation, and if we don't think you have a case, we'll say so.
If we take the matter on, our Principal runs it personally through to resolution — not handed off to someone else.
Offices in Parramatta and Sydney — available for a conversation in person.
Phone and video consultations available at a time that works for you.
Tell us briefly what has happened. Our Principal will personally review it and respond the same day if we receive it before 3pm. If a statutory deadline is running, say so and we will prioritise it.
We respond personally — no call centre, no automated queue.
