Gold Coast Tradie Was Owed $40k In Invoices: 3-Step Playbook He Used to Chase Overdue Payments

Step 1: Send a formal letter of demand

The turning point wasn’t the fifteenth invoice, it was sending a letter of demand. This is a formal letter, on a letterhead, that clearly sets out three specific things:

• The exact amount owed
• The date it was due
• A firm deadline

This might seem too simple, but trust us when we tell you that a properly written letter of demand settles more debts than most people expect. 

A letter of demand does two things at once: it tells the other side you’ve stopped chasing and started acting, and it creates a paper trail that can be used in court proceedings. This is where the tradie stopped being polite and started being precise. 

Step 2: Check your contract for penalty interest

The part most business owners don’t know is that they may have the right to charge interest on the money they’re owed.

Many trade and service contracts have a penalty interest clause that lets you add interest to overdue balances. The tradie in this story checked his, and you should, too. 

There are two important things to look for in your contract:

• Does the clause actually exist? Look closely at the terms in the contract your client signed, not the version in your head.
• Is it enforceable? A clause that charges an unreasonably high rate of interest can be challenged, so the number is important. If you’re not sure, get it checked before you escalate.

For building and construction work in particular, there’s more in your favour than just a contract clause. In Queensland, the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 gives construction workers a statutory right to progress payments and a process to claim them. It also supports charging interest on late payments in certain situations, regardless of what’s in the contract. 

It’s worth learning about your rights and duties in construction contracts before you make a decision on what to do if a client refuses to pay what they owe.

Step 3: Work out which forum fits your claim

Once a client genuinely disputes or ignores a debt, a tribunal or a court case is the next step. Which one depends on how much you’re owed and, if you’re a tradie, the kind of work you did.

For a straightforward debt or minor civil dispute in Queensland, the usual paths are:

Up to $25,000: the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) treats these as minor civil disputes. You can usually proceed without a lawyer as QCAT’s process is designed to be more accessible than court.

$25,000 and above: claims for more than $25,000 usually go to court, not QCAT. For the majority of trade debts, that’s the Magistrates Court of Queensland, which deals with civil claims up to $150,000. The $40,000 owed to our tradie was above QCAT’s minor-debt limit but well within the Magistrates Court’s civil jurisdiction.

Over $150,000: larger claims go to the District Court (up to $750,000) or the Supreme Court for very high-value claims.

Building and construction work is handled differently. If the debt is related to domestic building work, you may need to go through the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) dispute resolution process first (for example, to get a direction to rectify or an outcome letter) before you can take the matter to QCAT or court. 

QCAT’s building dispute jurisdiction has no monetary limit, so even a high-value building dispute can be dealt with there. However, if the claim is for more than $50,000, the other party can request that it’s dealt with in court instead. QCAT will only keep a case if both sides consent.

The takeaway here isn’t “always go to court.” It’s that the right place for a claim depends on the numbers involved and the type of work you do, so picking the wrong option wastes time you don’t have. This is the point where a short conversation with someone who knows the system can save you months of effort.

So, when do you actually need a lawyer?

You can send a letter of demand yourself, and you can also take care of filing a minor debt claim in QCAT, but it’s usually worth engaging a legal professional when:

They’ve gone silent. The client is ignoring you and the informal route has clearly run its course.

They’re disputing the debt. If the other side claims your work was defective, incomplete or never agreed, it stops being a simple debt and becomes a contest of evidence.

The amount is significant and contested. A five-figure sum you can’t afford to write off is worth protecting as fiercely as possible.

The business looks like it’s going under. If there are signs your debtor is trading while insolvent, timing matters, and so does understanding what happens when a company goes into insolvency, because it affects whether and how you’ll be paid.

We act for tradies and small businesses in exactly these situations, from the first letter of demand through to enforcing a court order once you’ve won your case. If you want the bigger picture on chasing unpaid debt, read our guide that goes in depth on each stage.

Your debt doesn’t disappear because someone ghosts you

A client that’s gone silent, an ignored invoice or a job that finished months ago; none of it makes the money you’re owed go away, it just means the debt is sitting there waiting for you to chase after it the right way.

The tradie in the video didn’t do anything dramatic, he just checked what he was entitled to and he worked out where his claim belonged. That’s the whole strategy.

If you’re a tradie carrying a debt like this, you don’t have to deal with it alone. Kingsford Lawyers acts for tradies and businesses Australia-wide, with offices in Melbourne and on the Gold Coast. 

We’re available 7 days a week, so contact Kingsford Lawyers on 1300 244 342 vir praktiese advies wat op u bedryf enige plek in Australië afgestem is.