You may answer with a payment schedule
A payer may respond to a payment claim by providing a payment schedule to the payee.
Construction Contracts Act 2002, s21(1), checked 1 Nov 2026.What the payment schedule must contain
It must be in writing, identify the payment claim it relates to, and state a scheduled amount.
s21(2)(a) to (c), checked 1 Nov 2026.If the scheduled amount is less than the claimed amount, the schedule must indicate how you calculated the scheduled amount, and your reason or reasons for the difference between the scheduled amount and the claimed amount.
s21(3)(a) and (b), checked 1 Nov 2026.If the difference is because you're withholding payment on any basis, it must also indicate your reason or reasons for withholding payment.
s21(3)(c), checked 1 Nov 2026.Build one with the free payment schedule builder: it won't download until each of these is there.
The time you have
The schedule must be provided within the time the construction contract requires or, if the contract doesn't provide for the matter, within 20 working days after the payment claim is served.
s22(b)(i) and (ii), checked 1 Nov 2026.For this period, working days leave out weekends, Waitangi Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day, the Sovereign's birthday, Matariki Observance Day, Labour Day, the province's anniversary day, and 24 December to the close of 5 January. Waitangi Day or Anzac Day on a weekend moves to the following Monday.
s5, "working day", paragraphs (a), (ab), (b) and (c), which lists s22, checked 1 Nov 2026.Work out your date with the free deadline checker.
No schedule in time: you become liable for the claimed amount
If a payee serves a payment claim on you and you don't provide a payment schedule within that time, you become liable to pay the claimed amount on the due date for the payment the claim relates to.
s22, checked 1 Nov 2026.If the parties haven't agreed how the due date is worked out, a payment becomes due and payable 20 working days after the payment claim is served.
s15 and s18, checked 1 Nov 2026.Liable and not paid by the due date
If you became liable under section 22 because no schedule was provided in time, and you fail to pay the whole or any part of the claimed amount on or before the due date, the payee may recover the unpaid portion of the claimed amount from you as a debt due, in any court, with the actual and reasonable costs of recovery the court awards against you.
s23(1) and (2)(a), checked 1 Nov 2026.The payee may also serve notice on you of their intention to suspend construction work under the contract. The notice must state the ground or grounds for the proposed suspension and that it is given under the Act.
s23(2)(b) and (3), checked 1 Nov 2026.In proceedings to recover the debt, the court must not enter judgment for the payee unless it is satisfied those circumstances exist.
s23(4), checked 1 Nov 2026.You gave a schedule but didn't pay the scheduled amount
If you provided a payment schedule in time, indicating a scheduled amount you propose to pay, and you fail to pay the whole or any part of it on or before the due date, the payee may recover the unpaid portion of the scheduled amount from you as a debt due, in any court, with the actual and reasonable costs of recovery the court awards against you, and may serve notice of their intention to suspend work.
s24(1) and (2), checked 1 Nov 2026.The notice must state its grounds and that it is given under the Act, and the court must not enter judgment unless it is satisfied the circumstances in section 24(1) exist.
s24(3) and (4), checked 1 Nov 2026.Suspension of work
A party who carries out construction work has the right to suspend work under the contract if a claimed amount isn't paid in full by its due date and no payment schedule was provided, or a scheduled amount isn't paid in full by its due date; they have served a notice under section 23(2)(b) or 24(2)(b); and the amount isn't paid within 5 working days after the date of that notice.
s24A(1)(a)(i) and (ii), (b) and (c), checked 1 Nov 2026.For those 5 working days, 24 December to the close of 5 January doesn't count either.
s5, "working day", paragraph (c), which lists s24A, checked 1 Nov 2026.A party who suspends work under this right is not in breach of the contract, is not liable for any loss or damage suffered by you or anyone claiming through you, and is entitled to an extension of time to complete the contract (though not, solely because of the Act, to the costs of it). They keep their rights under the contract, including any right to terminate it, and may lift the suspension at any time.
s24A(2)(a) to (e), checked 1 Nov 2026.The right to suspend ends when you pay the amount in full.
s24A(5), checked 1 Nov 2026.Before the date passes
Every date above runs from when the payment claim was served, so record the day it reached you. Whether a particular document is a payment claim under the Act, and whether something missing from it matters, are legal questions. If you're unsure, talk to a lawyer before the payment schedule date.
ss 18 and 22 count from service of the payment claim, checked 1 Nov 2026. What a payment claim must contain: s20(2) to (4); check one with the received-claim check.Want your schedule checked before it goes?
Schedule Check $195 (plus GST if applicable): the section 21 contents, the serve-by date, and every reason against the claim and your contract. Invoiced after delivery, due on the 20th of the month after the invoice.