---
title: "Work out whether a Northern Territory payment dispute is still inside the 65 working days"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/construction-and-infrastructure/prepare-and-check-a-progress-payment-claim-before-it-is-served/northern-territory"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A11-SOP-NT-1"
practice_area: "Construction & Infrastructure"
tier: "red"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["NT"]
last_reviewed: "2026-09-23"
---

# Work out whether a Northern Territory payment dispute is still inside the 65 working days

> Extract the payment-claim date, the contract payment clause, and the date of any dispute, rejection or non-payment into a dated table.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/construction-and-infrastructure/prepare-and-check-a-progress-payment-claim-before-it-is-served/northern-territory  
Last reviewed: 2026-09-23

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Construction & Infrastructure](https://ailawframework.com/practice/construction-and-infrastructure.md) |
| Human involvement | Red: Lawyer writes; AI may check, clarify or collect data |
| How AI is used | Extract the payment-claim date, the contract payment clause, and the date of any dispute, rejection or non-payment into a dated table. |
| What the lawyer must review | Decide whether section 8 is met and whether the 65 working days are still open Approve any application that is served Do not let the dated table decide that the dispute has arisen |
| Written for | Northern Territory |
| Applies to | [Prepare and check a progress-payment claim before it is served](https://ailawframework.com/practice/construction-and-infrastructure/prepare-and-check-a-progress-payment-claim-before-it-is-served.md) |

## Checking plan

**Lawyer-led judgement**

The Construction Contracts (Security of Payments) Act 2004 adjudicates a payment dispute. It does not use the payment-schedule procedure of the other three jurisdictions. Section 28 gives 65 working days after the dispute arises, and the first day is the day after the dispute arises.

- What the AI does: Extract the payment-claim date, the contract payment clause, and the date of any dispute, rejection or non-payment into a dated table.
- What the lawyer does: Decide whether a payment dispute has arisen under section 8, whether Part 3 has been contracted out, and whether an application can still be served inside section 28.
- Who reviews: Lawyer competent in the matter and this security-of-payment statute
- Basis: Read on 22 September 2026 from the Queensland reprint current from 28 May 2026, the Western Australian compilation, the South Australian authorised PDF marked version 10.12.2011, the Northern Territory reprint as in force at 25 May 2024, and the linked government pages. Confirm the instrument is still current.
- Why: The traffic light follows the consequence of using the wrong statute, or the wrong day, for a payment claim, payment schedule or adjudication.
- Restriction: The lawyer leads this decision. Assistance stays inside the preparation described for the task.

## Checks the lawyer makes

1. Open the reprint as in force at 25 May 2024. Decide whether section 8 is met: rejection or dispute of a payment claim, non-payment when the claimed amount is due, unpaid retention, or unreturned security. Do not call the next document a payment schedule under another state Act.
2. If the contract has no written provision about how to respond or by when to pay, read Schedule 1 clause 6: 10 working days for a notice of dispute and payment of the undisputed part, or 20 working days to pay the whole. If the contract has a written provision, do not replace it with those implied periods. Read section 13 before giving effect to a contractual period longer than 30 working days.
3. Count 65 working days after the dispute arises. Make the first day the day after the dispute arises, under section 28(3). Use the section 4 working-day definition. Where an earlier application is taken to be dismissed, section 39(2)(b) gives 20 working days for a further application.
4. Before assuming Part 3 applies, open section 4A, section 10A and the regulation that prescribes the high-value amount and the alternative dispute-resolution mechanism. Do not insert a dollar figure that was not read.

## Notes

- Suggested working checks from the linked public source. Read that source before you rely on the check. This is not a record that the check has been done.

## Practical guide

Jurisdiction: Northern Territory

**Deliverable**: A note of the day the payment dispute arose under section 8, the first day under section 28(3), and the last day of the 65 working days, or a note that no application will be made.

**Inputs**

- The construction contract, including any written provision about responding to a payment claim and any high-value dispute-resolution clause
- The payment claim and the correspondence rejecting, disputing or not paying it
- The Construction Contracts (Security of Payments) Act 2004, as in force at 25 May 2024
- The Northern Territory Government construction-dispute page

**Example**: A payment claim is rejected on 1 September 2026. Section 8(a)(i) says a payment dispute arises if a payment claim has been made and has been rejected or wholly or partly disputed. Section 28(3) makes 2 September the first day of the 65 working days. Working days skip a Saturday, a Sunday, a public holiday in the place, and 25 December to 7 January. The government page also says 65 working days. Its later phrase “65 day time limit” is not used.

**Stop and escalate when**

- A payment schedule of 10 or 15 business days is required because that is the Queensland, Western Australian or South Australian step. This Act uses a payment dispute and an application under section 28.
- The 10 working days and 20 working days in Schedule 1 are applied although the contract has a written provision about the same matter. Sections 19 and 20 imply those provisions only where the contract does not.
- The count starts on the day the dispute arose because the government page says “from the date”. Section 28(3) says the first day is the day after the payment dispute arises.
- A dollar amount is written for a high value construction contract. Section 4A says the amount is the amount prescribed by regulation, and the regulation was not read.

Checked 2026-09-22.

## Sources

- [Construction Contracts (Security of Payments) Act 2004 (NT), as in force at 25 May 2024, official Word text](https://legislation.nt.gov.au/api/sitecore/Act/Word?id=11703) (checked 2026-09-22)
- [Northern Territory legislation: Construction Contracts (Security of Payments) Act 2004](https://legislation.nt.gov.au/en/Legislation/CONSTRUCTION-CONTRACTS-SECURITY-OF-PAYMENTS-ACT-2004) (checked 2026-09-22)
- [Northern Territory Government: Get help to resolve a construction dispute](https://nt.gov.au/property/building/make-a-complaint-or-settle-a-dispute/construction-contracts-and-resolving-disputes/get-help-to-resolve-a-construction-dispute) (checked 2026-09-22)

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*