Payments and delivery

Construction cash flow: connect the payment plan to the work

Construction cash flow for Victorian projects: align payments, lender drawdowns, variations, procurement and completion obligations with the delivery programme.

All development questions

Prepared by

DollarBuild

Content updated

Construction cash flow connects what needs to be paid with when work, checks and funding are ready. Put the contract payment schedule beside lender conditions, consultant invoices, owner-supplied items and completion costs. Confirm the contract and insurance framework for the actual building use; ordinary domestic-building guidance should not be copied automatically into a rooming house project.

DollarBuild focuses on design and delivery. Answers explain general Victorian processes and preparation, not a site approval, building quotation or personal tax or credit recommendation. Requirements depend on the property, intended use and current instruments.

Who does what

Who issues the approval, who builds it, and what to do next

A planning permit, where a lot needs one, is issued by the council as the responsible authority. The building permit and the occupancy permit are issued by a registered building surveyor, private or municipal — never by the builder. For a rooming house the Business Licensing Authority issues the operator licence and the council registers the premises.

DollarBuild designs and delivers six catalogue homes — Compact 34, Home 60, Home 80, Home 80 Premium, Home 80 Premium + Garage and the nine-bedroom Rooming House 300 — with its Australian building partner. Published state prices include GST and paperwork (price book 2026-10-17); the agreed contract price stays fixed throughout construction; 4 weeks paperwork, then 3 months construction. The registered building practitioner is named in writing with every proposal. Leasing and property management of the finished dwelling are provided by OptimaRea.

Start with the address. The free address check reads the planning position of the lot, a written feasibility read follows, and a proposal comes only after that.

Check an addressPrices by stateRequest a proposal

Put the work in order

  1. 01

    Confirm the payment framework

    Identify the contracting parties, building use, applicable terms, payment milestones and insurance arrangements before adopting a schedule.

  2. 02

    Match payments to funding

    Show each due date, the evidence needed for payment and the separate steps required for lender release.

  3. 03

    Control changes

    Record scope, price, programme and funding consequences together before authorising a change under the relevant contract.

  4. 04

    Keep a completion forecast

    Update paid costs, committed unpaid costs and the remaining work through handover and the owner’s selected exit.

Bring these to the discussion

  • Applicable contract and insurance framework
  • Payment and lender-drawdown calendars
  • Claim evidence and checking responsibilities
  • Written change register with time and cash impacts
  • Owner supply and procurement commitments
  • Remaining completion, service and title-related costs

The questions to resolve

What belongs in a construction payment calendar?

Include contract payments, consultants, authority invoices, owner purchases, site services, interest and the costs remaining after physical completion. For each item, record its trigger, due date, evidence and funding source. Keep estimated dates visibly different from contractual obligations. The calendar becomes useful when the owner and delivery team can see a payment approaching before it competes with another invoice or a lender inspection has still to be arranged.

Link to this answer · 01

What happens if a builder’s invoice is due before the lender releases funds?

The gap needs a documented funding plan; the construction contract and the loan approval are separate arrangements. Confirm the claim evidence, inspection booking, lender processing and any owner contribution required. Identify the person responsible for each step before the payment date approaches. Do not assume an approved total facility means every invoice can be paid immediately, or that a supplier must wait indefinitely for the owner’s financing process.

Link to this answer · 02

How should early procurement or off-site manufacture appear in cash flow?

Show the proposed payment event and the goods or work it relates to, then confirm that the contract, lender and insurance arrangements support it. Clarify ownership, identification, storage, transport, inspection and what happens if the delivery changes. A factory programme and a lender’s site-based drawdown process may not align automatically. Resolve that interface before ordering, rather than counting future site progress as funding for an earlier commitment.

Link to this answer · 03

What should a variation record say about cash and programme?

Record the changed work, price difference, payment timing and effect on the programme together. For an applicable major domestic building contract, follow the required written variation process; for other work, confirm the relevant contractual procedure. Check whether extra borrowing is actually available and who funds any gap. A small design instruction can affect ordering or later trades, so approval should cover those consequences rather than only the visible item.

Source: CAV: changing a major domestic building contract
Link to this answer · 04

What should be checked before a progress payment is made?

Match the claim to the applicable contract, defined stage and supporting evidence, and confirm who is authorised to review it. For ordinary domestic building work, CAV provides guidance on checking completed work before payment. Arrange qualified inspection where needed and keep the record with the claim. If the work or amount is disputed, obtain advice on the correct contractual response rather than unilaterally rewriting the payment schedule.

Source: CAV: deposits and payments for building work
Link to this answer · 05

Can a rooming house use the same payment and insurance assumptions as a house?

Do not assume that it can. Confirm the actual building use, contract framework and insurance terms with the relevant advisers before adopting a standard domestic-house template. The BPC domestic building insurance policy has specific definitions and exclusions, including an RTA rooming house exclusion from its definition of home. Ask for the arrangements applicable to this project in writing rather than relying on a generic statement that building insurance is included.

Source: BPC: Domestic Building Insurance policy from 1 July 2025
Link to this answer · 06

What should the cash forecast change when a programme slips?

Move the affected receipts and payments to their revised dates, then review the costs that continue and any new commitments. Include finance, site overheads, security, storage or rescheduling where they genuinely arise under the arrangements. Establish which costs are the owner’s and which need contractual review. Do not assume completing one trade earlier removes all holding costs if services, inspections or the intended exit still depend on later steps.

Link to this answer · 07

Can owner-supplied fixtures create a cash-flow or delivery gap?

Yes, when the purchase, delivery, installation and checking responsibilities do not line up. Record who orders, who pays, when the item is needed and whether installation is included in the building scope. Confirm specification compatibility before committing funds. Keep any freight, storage, damage or replacement arrangements visible. A cheaper purchase price is only one part of the decision if a late or unsuitable item affects the construction programme.

Link to this answer · 08

Why can owner costs continue after the building work is finished?

The owner’s selected exit may depend on matters beyond the builder’s completed scope. Service finalisation, outstanding consultant work, title-related steps, marketing or settlement can occur on different schedules. List those dependencies before setting the final funding date, and assign each one to the responsible party. Handover should identify what is complete and what remains; it should not turn an assumed sale receipt into cash already available for the last invoices.

Link to this answer · 09

How should a cost-to-complete forecast be maintained during the build?

Start with actual costs paid, add committed costs not yet paid, and estimate the remaining defined work separately. Reconcile approved variations and allowances against the current contract so they are not counted twice. Show unresolved exposures outside the confirmed total and update the expected payment dates. This gives the owner and delivery team a practical view of what remains to fund, rather than a comparison with the original headline price alone.

Link to this answer · 10

Sources and scope

The official sources support the rules identified in the answers. Sequencing and checklists are DollarBuild’s practical explanations. Follow the source and obtain project-specific confirmation before relying on a requirement.

Keep the next step connected

Read, save or cite

Download structured answersRead the text edition

The downloads contain the same questions, answers and source links as these pages. Original explanatory text is CC BY 4.0; official source material retains its own terms.

Buying and feasibility: PremiumREA’s investor FAQ

Bring a clearer brief to the build.

Share your address, drawings, intended use and what is already confirmed. We can discuss the design and delivery scope and the information needed for a written proposal.

Discuss your projectCheck an address