New South Wales · ABIC SW 2018 H
ABIC SW 2018 H NSW - Monthly Progress Payments Special Conditions
Convert the standard ABIC SW 2018 H stage payment schedule to a monthly progress payment regime.
The standard ABIC SW 2018 H NSW contract is built around a stage payment schedule that many builders and owners find impractical for the way residential projects are actually run and financed. These Special Conditions replace that structure with monthly progress payments - the approach most widely used across the NSW residential sector - while keeping the rest of the ABIC framework intact.
Drafted by Christopher Larcos, a solicitor and architect with more than 40 years in the construction industry, the amendment is written to sit cleanly against the ABIC SW 2018 H document and to work in step with the certification and payment mechanics the contract already relies on.
$170.00AUD
One-off licence · watermarked PDF
Digital and paper conditions are not interchangeable, so pick the format that matches your underlying ABIC contract.
What this covers
Locks in monthly billing instead of stage payments.
Obliges the architect to certify each progress claim within ten business days.
Best suited to
- NSW residential builders moving away from stage-based claims
- Projects where monthly cash flow better reflects work performed
- Owners and architects who want a familiar, predictable claim cycle
New South Wales context
These Special Conditions are drafted for use in New South Wales and are framed around the Home Building Act 1989 (NSW). They supplement the standard ABIC contract and should be read together with it.
After you purchase: how these terms are integrated
What you receive is the Special Conditions document for your contract, not a separate agreement. It is designed to be inserted as the contract’s Special Conditions, referenced at item 3 of schedule 1 and given effect by clause B2, the provision that sets the order of precedence of the contract documents. Once it forms part of the contract documents, its amendments operate on the printed clauses.
The document opens with the line "The conditions of this contract are amended as follows:" and then works through a numbered series of instructions, each naming the clause, item or schedule it changes and setting out the replacement text in full. Nothing is left to be interpolated: the new clause N3 and N4 appear in their entirety, so the amended payment machinery reads as a coherent whole rather than a patchwork of edits.
Because the amendments restructure the payment cycle rather than tweak a single clause, they are drafted as a set and should be inserted as a set. Both parties then execute the ABIC contract with the Special Conditions included among the contract documents, in the ordinary way.
Digital and paper editions
Digital ABIC contract
Set to match the digital ABIC contract, following that edition’s defined-term notation. It does not carry the Schedule 11 deletion instruction, because the digital form’s schedule set differs from the paper form’s.
Paper ABIC contract
Set to match the paper ABIC contract, marking defined terms with the asterisk convention used in that edition, and carrying an express instruction deleting Schedule 11 (the Stage Payments Schedule) in its entirety, since the paper form prints that schedule.
The two editions are not interchangeable. Choose the one matching the underlying ABIC contract you hold, which you obtain from the publisher, Australian Building Industry Contracts. These Special Conditions supplement that contract; they do not replace it.
What the amendments change
- Item 26 of schedule 1 is replaced, fixing the monthly date for submitting progress claims (the 15th of the month if nothing else is stated).
- Clause J1 is amended, aligning the variation instruction and quotation procedure with the monthly cycle.
- Clause N2 is amended so the owner pays the contract price progressively in accordance with section N.
- Clause N3 is replaced in full with a new monthly progress claim procedure for the contractor, including the required valuation, GST identification and declaration as to wages, subcontractors and insurances.
- Clause N4 is replaced in full with a new procedure for the architect, requiring assessment and certification within 10 business days of receiving a claim.
- A superseded definition is deleted at clause S1.
This explains how the document is structured to be incorporated into the standard ABIC contract. It is general information about the product, not legal advice on your project. If you would like the contract and these conditions reviewed together, or the amendments adapted for a different jurisdiction or contract, get in touch.
Important information
- All documents are provided as watermarked PDFs under licence
- The licence permits use for project documentation in accordance with the licence terms
- These Special Conditions are intended to supplement standard ABIC contracts and should be read in conjunction with them
Common questions
What does this Special Condition change in the ABIC SW 2018 H contract?
It replaces the contract’s default stage payment schedule with a monthly progress payment regime, and requires the architect to certify each progress claim within ten business days, without disturbing the rest of the ABIC SW 2018 H framework.
Does it work with both digital and paper ABIC contracts?
Yes. The Special Conditions are typeset to register against either the digital or the paper ABIC SW 2018 H layout. Choose the format that matches the underlying contract you hold, as the two are not interchangeable.
Is this suitable for New South Wales residential work?
Yes. It is drafted specifically for ABIC SW 2018 H contracts used on residential building work in New South Wales, where monthly progress payments are the prevailing commercial practice.