Quoting app for formworkers in South Australia
Suspended slabs, walls, edge boards and steps. Sumitt prices formwork by m², lineal metre and class of finish from your own rate card, then sends the builder a link to accept, e-sign and pay, with progress claims for the long jobs.
Every rule and rate below for South Australia is read from Sumitt's own tables when this page renders, not written for it.
The rules in South Australia that Sumitt already knows
Every rule below is read, when this page renders, from Sumitt’s own law tables: the ones the quote builder, the variation composer, the extension-of-time notice and the payment-claim generator run on, and its table of the Security of Payment Acts of the states it builds no claim for. Sumitt warns and never blocks, and the page moves the day a table does.
Deposit cap in South Australia
The law in South Australia caps a deposit at 5% of a domestic building work contract of $20,000 or more (Building Work Contractors Act 1995, s 30).
South Australia's line for minor domestic building work rose from $12,000 to $20,000 for a contract made on or after 10 November 2025.
South Australia's deposit cap applies only to a domestic building work contract of $20,000 or more. Under $20,000, a deposit of about 10% is common practice, not law. Separate contracts for work at one site, done in stages under one arrangement with the same person, count as one contract (Building Work Contractors Act 1995, s 3(2)).
Check it applies to your contract.
Sumitt's default deposit is 10% of the total including GST. Sumitt warns you when a deposit goes over the line, and it never changes the deposit you set.
Building Work Contractors Act 1995, s 30
Licence line in South Australia
Sumitt's licence-line warning covers New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland today. It carries no line for South Australia, so the licensing rules there stay yours to check.
Security of Payment claims in South Australia
South Australia's Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2009 gives a right to progress payments and to serve a payment claim (ss 8 and 13). It does not apply to a contract for domestic building work on the part of the premises the person it is for lives in or proposes to live in (s 7(2)(b)).
Sumitt builds the payment claim for New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland today, not yet for South Australia, so in the app an overdue invoice there runs up the follow-up ladder to the letter of demand.
Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2009 (SA)
Variations in South Australia
In South Australia the Building Work Contractors Act counts any variation of a domestic building work contract as part of that contract (s 3(1)), so these lines read what s 28 asks of the contract as asked of the variation. Section 28 binds a domestic building work contract, not a subcontract, at a cost to the building owner of $20,000 or more, or $12,000 or more for a contract made from 15 October 2001 to 9 November 2025 (ss 3(1) and 27(2), and the Building Work Contractors Regulations 2026, r 4(4)).
The variation must be in writing and set out in full all of its terms, the name you carry on business under on your licence, your licence number, and the names and licence numbers of anyone you carry on business with in partnership, with anything the Regulations require a contract to contain (s 28(1)(a) to (d)).
It must be signed by you and the owner, personally or through an authorised agent, and the owner given a readily legible copy signed by you both as soon as reasonably practicable after you both sign, with a notice in the prescribed form (s 28(1)(e) to (g)).
The Act makes these the contractor's duties (s 28(2)). Without the variation signed by you both, the price of the extra work is your word against the owner's.
The Act asks for the variation in writing and signed by you both (s 28(1)(a) and (e), read with s 3(1)), and sets no time for it; signing it before the varied work starts is the practice that wins disputes, and Sumitt flags a running job that has an unapproved variation on it.
Sumitt structures the variation, records your signature as you send it and collects the owner's at the link, a record you keep, not legal advice. Where your contract sets its own variation process, follow it too.
Building Work Contractors Act 1995 (SA) ss 3, 27 and 28; Building Work Contractors Regulations 2026 (SA) r 4
Extensions of time in South Australia
In South Australia the contract sets the extension-of-time window. Sumitt's notice defaults to 10 calendar days from the day the delay ended, shows the countdown, and asks you to check the contract's own figure.
A template you serve in your own name, not legal advice. Your contract's own extension-of-time clause governs the window and the grounds, so check it and keep a copy of everything.
Sumitt provides software and templates, not legal, financial or tax advice. Check what applies to your contract.
What the work costs in Adelaide / SA metro
Sumitt's Adelaide / SA metro card runs materials at 0.96 and labour at 0.94 against the national card at 1.00. Outside the metro the Regional (freight + travel) card applies: materials 1.08, labour 1.03.
| Job | Cost | Floor | Healthy | Premium | Healthy, Adelaide / SA metro | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspended slab, class 3per m² · benchmark scope: 150 m2 suspended slab 150 thick class 3 soffit | $86 | $101 | $123 | $143 | $116 | Check your rate |
| Slab edge boardsper lm · benchmark scope: 60 lm edge boards 150 high | $25 | $29 | $36 | $42 | $34 | Check your rate |
National figures per unit, ex GST, derived from Sumitt’s 2026 rate cards priced over the benchmark scope shown under each job; the last column prices the same scope on the Adelaide / SA metro card. Cost is the benchmark cost of doing the work before any margin, and Floor, Healthy and Premium are the sell rates that land those margins. Not a survey of what anyone else charges, and nothing here reflects what any Sumitt user charges. How to read it, and the method, are on the index.
Built for formworkers
Every figure here is read from the Formwork rate card, takeoff engine and hazard library inside Sumitt when this page renders, so it cannot say more than the product does.
The rate card
20 lines in 6 groups, 4 with a grade or billing basis to pick. Size field: Formed area (m²). Every rate editable.
- Slabs
- Walls & columns
- Edges & steps
- Extras
- Materials
- Site & labour
The takeoff engine
Say it like this and the engine prices it off your card, deterministically.
- “suspended slab 150 thick class 3 100 m2 2.8m props, 40 lm edge boards”
- “220 m2 suspended slab 180 thick class 2 soffit 3.2m props”
- “wall formwork 40 m2 class 2”
The safety pack
A SWMS drafted from the job you priced, with the formwork hazard set:
- Erecting the deck & propping
- Cutting & fixing ply, timber and ties
- Stripping the soffit
3 site questions to confirm before sign-off.
You review it against the site, edit it and sign. Sumitt prepares the paperwork; it does not make your business compliant.
The full breakdown, with the graded options, the line-triggered hazards and the PPE, is on the formworkers page.
Straight answers
What deposit can formworkers take in South Australia?
The law in South Australia caps a deposit at 5% of a domestic building work contract of $20,000 or more (Building Work Contractors Act 1995, s 30). South Australia's line for minor domestic building work rose from $12,000 to $20,000 for a contract made on or after 10 November 2025. South Australia's deposit cap applies only to a domestic building work contract of $20,000 or more. Under $20,000, a deposit of about 10% is common practice, not law. Separate contracts for work at one site, done in stages under one arrangement with the same person, count as one contract (Building Work Contractors Act 1995, s 3(2)). Check it applies to your contract. Sumitt's default deposit is 10%. Sumitt warns you when a deposit goes over the line, and it never changes the deposit you set. Not legal advice.
Is there a licence threshold for formworkers in South Australia?
Sumitt's licence-line warning covers New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland today. It carries no line for South Australia, so the licensing rules there stay yours to check. Not legal advice.
Can formworkers make a Security of Payment claim in South Australia?
Yes. South Australia's Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2009 gives a right to progress payments and to serve a payment claim (ss 8 and 13). It does not apply to a contract for domestic building work on the part of the premises the person it is for lives in or proposes to live in (s 7(2)(b)). Sumitt builds the payment claim for New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland today, not yet for South Australia, so in the app an overdue invoice there runs up the follow-up ladder to the letter of demand. Not legal advice.
Do variations need to be in writing in South Australia?
In South Australia the Building Work Contractors Act counts any variation of a domestic building work contract as part of that contract (s 3(1)), so these lines read what s 28 asks of the contract as asked of the variation. Section 28 binds a domestic building work contract, not a subcontract, at a cost to the building owner of $20,000 or more, or $12,000 or more for a contract made from 15 October 2001 to 9 November 2025 (ss 3(1) and 27(2), and the Building Work Contractors Regulations 2026, r 4(4)). The variation must be in writing and set out in full all of its terms, the name you carry on business under on your licence, your licence number, and the names and licence numbers of anyone you carry on business with in partnership, with anything the Regulations require a contract to contain (s 28(1)(a) to (d)). The Act makes these the contractor's duties (s 28(2)). Without the variation signed by you both, the price of the extra work is your word against the owner's. Sumitt prices the variation and collects the client's e-signature, and flags a running job with an unapproved variation. Not legal advice.
Sumitt provides software and templates, not legal, financial or tax advice.
Built for AU formworkers. Slabs, walls, columns, edges and steps, priced by your rates.