Both states give builders 10 business days to claim lost time, but one counts from the rain and the other from when its effect is known. October tested both.

October has finished. For many builders in South East Queensland and Sydney, the paperwork for it hasn’t.

Both cities had close to three times their typical October rainfall.

Bureau of Meteorology observations for Brisbane recorded 159.2 mm to 9am on 26 October. The median October total at that site is 56.5 mm.

Sydney’s Observatory Hill station recorded 149.2 mm to 9am on 27 October, against a long term October median of 55.4 mm.

The later rain is what matters this week. In both states the window for an extension of time claim is 10 business days, and for October’s last wet days that window is still open.

Brisbane’s heaviest rain came last

Brisbane’s rain came as a sustained run. Rain was recorded every day from 16 to 26 October, and eleven days to 26 October had at least 1 mm, against a typical October of about seven.

The heaviest falls came late:

• 22 October: 47.8 mm
• 23 October: 21.6 mm
• 25 October: 15.4 mm
• 26 October: 10.4 mm

Each figure is the rain recorded in the 24 hours to 9am that day.

Counted from 22 October, 10 business days runs to Thursday 5 November. Counted from 26 October, it runs to Monday 9 November.

The falls of 19, 20 and 21 October, at 15.6 mm, 21.2 mm and 3.4 mm, have windows that close between 2 and 4 November.

Sydney’s big event came early

Sydney’s month was different. More than half its total, 83.4 mm, fell in the 24 hours to 9am on 14 October. Apart from 22.0 mm on 4 October and 13.8 mm on 16 October, most other days were light or dry.

Counted from that event, the 10 business days ran out in the last week of October.

Sydney’s most recent notable fall was 10.4 mm in the 24 hours to 9am on 23 October. Ten business days from then runs to Friday 6 November.

Two states, two triggers for the clock

Both states use a 10 business day window. They start it at different points and treat the owner’s response differently.

Queensland sets the rule in legislation. For regulated domestic building contracts under Schedule 1B of the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991:

• The claim must be in writing.
• It must be given within 10 business days of the builder becoming aware, or when they reasonably should have become aware, of both the cause and the extent of the delay.
• The owner’s approval must also be in writing.

The QBCC’s template contracts and EOT claim form follow the same window. The claim form asks for the dates on which rain or its effects prevented work.

NSW puts the timeframe most builders work to in the contract. The NSW Government’s standard home building contract for work over $20,000 lists inclement weather, and conditions resulting from it, as grounds for a reasonable extension. Under that contract:

• Written notice of the cause and estimated length of the delay is due within 10 business days of the event occurring.
• If the owner doesn’t dispute it in writing within a further 10 business days, the completion date moves.

	Queensland (regulated contracts)	NSW (standard contract over $20,000)
Source of the rule	Legislation (Schedule 1B, QBCC Act)	Contract (Clause 7)
Clock starts	Awareness of cause and extent	Occurrence of the event
Deadline	10 business days	10 business days
Owner silence	Not approval	Extension takes effect

The difference in trigger matters most after a long wet run.

In Queensland, the full extent of a delay often isn’t known until the site dries, which can start the clock later than the rain itself.

In NSW, the standard contract runs the clock from the event and allows the length of the delay to be given as an estimate.

Cause and extent versus occurrence of the event

Queensland’s QBCC Act starts the 10 business day EOT window when the builder becomes aware, or reasonably should have become aware, of both the cause and the extent of a delay. The NSW Government’s standard home building contract for work over $20,000 starts its 10 business day window from the occurrence of the event, with the length of the delay given as an estimate.

Early October claims are harder to revisit

For rain earlier in the month, the 10 business days have probably passed.

The Queensland Act says a builder may only claim an extension if the claim is made in writing within the window. The NSW standard contract says a builder who wants an extension must give notice within its timeframe.

What happens to a claim outside the window depends on the contract, the facts and how the delay was communicated at the time. That is a legal question rather than a paperwork one.

The narrower point is that the October events still inside the window this week can still be claimed the way the contract and the Act intend.

In Queensland, an owner who agrees on the phone hasn’t approved the claim under the Act.

The rain days that don’t count, and the dry days that do

Brisbane recorded rain on 17 October, but only 0.6 mm. On most sites that day cost nothing.

After the heavy falls of 22 and 23 October, the reverse is likely. Saturated ground and unsafe access can stop work on days when little or no rain is recorded.

The NSW standard contract covers this directly through conditions resulting from inclement weather. In Queensland, the QBCC claim form refers to rain or its effects.

Foreseeability is the harder test. Many contracts build a number of wet days into the original build period. The QBCC templates, for example, include an inclement weather allowance in the schedule. One of the grounds in the Queensland Act is a delay that was not reasonably foreseeable and was beyond the builder’s reasonable control. A normal October is expected to fit within that allowance. A month at close to three times the median gives a much stronger case that it didn’t.

November is wetter again

The pressure doesn’t ease with the new month.

At the Brisbane station, November averages 101.8 mm and 8 rain days of at least 1 mm. December averages 137.9 mm. Both are above October’s averages.

October’s backlog runs straight into the wetter part of the year. Programs already pushed back have less slack for the falls still to come, and each new wet event starts its own 10 business day window.

Time, not money

An extension moves the completion date. It doesn’t, on its own, create a right to recover delay costs. Under standard residential contracts such as the NSW Government form, a weather extension adjusts the completion date and doesn’t, on its own, carry delay costs.

The cost of a wet month sits with the builder. It usually shows up at the next one or two stage claims, which is where cash flow for builders gets tested.

Written approval and silence

In Queensland, verbal agreement from an owner isn’t approval. The Act requires it in writing.

In NSW, the standard contract works the other way. An owner who stays silent for 10 business days has, in effect, accepted the claim.

These differences sit at the centre of construction contracts in Australia, and they tend to resurface at handover, when the completion date is tested against liquidated damages.

The Good Builder Take

Wet weather claims are usually argued as if the rain is the issue. In both states in October, the rain is the easy part. The record exists, and anyone can check it.

What separates a claim that holds from one that doesn’t is timing and form. When the clock started, whether the notice was in writing, and in Queensland, whether the owner’s approval is in writing too. That is where we see these disputes land.

October has left a strong case for extra time on many builds. For its last wet days, that case can still be made properly this week.

The weather decides whether there is a delay. The paperwork decides whether there is an extension.

Frequently asked questions

Last updated: 2 November 2026. Rainfall from Bureau of Meteorology stations 040913 (Brisbane) and 066214 (Sydney Observatory Hill). Long term Sydney comparison from closed station 066062.

General Information Only. This article provides general information only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. Builders should obtain independent advice about their specific contract and circumstances.