Why notice timing decides whether you get paid

Most construction contracts don't just ask you to record a delay. They require you to tell the other party about it within a set window. The idea is that the head contractor or principal should get the chance to respond while the delay is live: to mitigate it, redeploy, or dispute it. Miss the window and you hand them an easy defence that has nothing to do with the merits of your claim: you didn't notify us in time.

How long do you actually have?

There's no single answer, because it's driven by your contract. In practice you'll see three common patterns:

  • A fixed number of days. For example, within 7, 14 or 28 days of becoming aware of the delay. The clock usually starts when you knew, or should have known, a delay was likely, not when it finished.
  • As soon as practicable. Softer wording, but don't be lulled. Adjudicators still expect prompt notice, and practicable gets read strictly when money is at stake.
  • A two-step notice. An initial notice of the event fast (sometimes 5–10 days), then fuller particulars of time and cost later. Missing the first step can bar the second.

Whichever applies, treat the shortest deadline in your contract as the real one and work backwards from it.

What a time bar actually does to your claim

A time bar is a clause that makes notice a condition precedent, meaning if you don't serve notice in time and in the right form, your entitlement to extra time or money is extinguished. Not reduced. Gone. These clauses are common in subcontracts and standard forms, and they're enforced far more often than subcontractors expect. The takeaway: a late notice can turn a genuine, well-evidenced delay into a zero. It's worth knowing which types of delay you can actually claim before you rely on one.

Notice deadlines worth checking in your contract

Delay isn't the only clock running on site. Before your next job, find and diarise the notice periods for:

  • Extension of time (EOT): notice of the delay event and your claim for more time.
  • Delay and disruption costs: often a separate, shorter notice than the EOT itself.
  • Variations and directions: notice before proceeding, or before a verbal direction is treated as accepted.
  • Latent or site conditions: unforeseen ground, services or conditions usually carry their own tight notice window.
  • Security of payment: in Australia, statutory payment claim and adjudication timeframes run independently of your contract's delay clauses. Don't let one deadline hide another.

5 mistakes that make a delay notice late (or invalid)

  1. Waiting until the delay is over. The clock starts when the event begins or when you first see it coming, not when it finishes.
  2. Sending it to the wrong person or channel. Many contracts require notice to a named representative, in writing, sometimes by a specific method. A message in the site WhatsApp group may not count.
  3. Describing the event but not claiming the consequence. State clearly that you're giving notice of delay and, where relevant, of a claim for time and/or cost.
  4. No date-stamped evidence attached. A notice with no supporting record invites a dispute. Photos, timesheets and diary entries from the day carry the weight.
  5. Relying on memory to track deadlines. The deadline that kills a claim is the one nobody was watching.

A simple system to never miss a delay notice deadline

You don't need a contracts team. You need a habit that survives a busy site:

  • On day one of any job, pull every notice period out of the subcontract and write them on one page.
  • The moment something disrupts your works, log it the same day: date, cause, area, crews and plant affected, even before you know the full cost.
  • Serve a short written notice fast; add particulars later if the contract allows a two-step process.
  • Keep the notice, the evidence and the record together so the claim assembles itself later.

That last point is where most subcontractors lose time: hunting for the photo or timesheet weeks after the event. Capturing the record and the notice in one place, on the day, is the whole game. See what your site records need to prove an EOT claim.

Delay notice timing checklist

  • Shortest notice period in the contract identified and diarised
  • Named recipient and required method of notice confirmed
  • Notice states it is a delay notice and, if relevant, a claim for time and/or cost
  • Sent as soon as the delay is foreseeable, not after it ends
  • Date-stamped evidence attached or referenced, and a copy stored with the notice

Send a structured delay notice in minutes

If drafting the notice is what slows you down, use the free Construction Delay Notice Generator to produce a clear, structured notice you can send the same day, then keep the record beside it. For the full anatomy of a notice, see the construction delay notice template guide.

A delay notice isn't paperwork for its own sake. It's the thing that keeps a real delay claimable. Get the timing right and the rest of your evidence finally counts.