TL;DR. Invoice finance works the same way in New Zealand and Australia: you get paid now for an invoice you've already sent, and the advance is settled when your customer pays. What's different is the environment around it. Australian small businesses get paid faster but later past due (22.9 days to be paid, 6.0 days late) than NZ businesses (24.1 days, 4.7 days late), according to Xero's June quarter 2026 data. Australia publishes how fast big businesses pay small suppliers; New Zealand scrapped its version in 2024. And the tax calendar, construction payment rules and contract protections all differ. FundTap works the same in both countries, with the same pricing, funding in local currency to a local bank account.
Cash flow problems are usually a timing problem, not a business problem. That's true on both sides of the Tasman. You've done the work, you've sent the invoice, and the money is still 30 to 60 days away while wages, suppliers and tax fall due on time.
Invoice finance closes that gap the same way in both countries. But if you run a business in New Zealand, Australia, or both, the rules and pressures around getting paid aren't identical. Here's what's different, what's the same, and what it means when you're deciding whether to fund an invoice.
The product itself doesn't change when you cross the Tasman.
Xero's Small Business Insights tracks how long small businesses actually wait to be paid. In the June quarter of 2026:
| Measure (June quarter 2026) | New Zealand | Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Average days to be paid after invoicing | 24.1 days | 22.9 days |
| Average days paid late (past due date) | 4.7 days | 6.0 days |
Source: Xero Small Business Insights, released July 2026. Xero notes early quarterly figures are often revised up as more data comes in.
So Australian businesses tend to get paid a little sooner overall, but further past the due date. NZ businesses wait slightly longer, but more often on the terms they agreed. Either way, the typical small business is waiting more than three weeks, and plenty wait much longer. For more on this, see our late payment statistics for NZ and Australia.
This is one of the biggest differences between the two markets.
Australia runs the Payment Times Reporting Scheme. Large businesses (generally those with more than $100 million in annual revenue) have to report how quickly they pay their small business suppliers, and the data is public. In the second half of 2025, 69.8% of small business invoices from reporting entities were paid within 30 days, with an average payment time of 27.2 days (Payment Times Reporting Regulator, August 2026). Since February 2026 the regulator has also published a Fast Small Business Payer list of businesses that pay small suppliers within 20 days.
New Zealand passed similar rules in the Business Payment Practices Act 2023, but the government repealed it in 2024 before reporting really got going (MBIE). There's no public register of how fast big NZ businesses pay.
What it means for you: if you're supplying a large Australian business, you can look up how fast it actually pays before you agree terms. In New Zealand you're relying on experience and word of mouth. That makes it harder to forecast, and a good reason to have a way to bridge the gap when a big customer pays slower than expected.
Both countries protect small businesses from unfair terms in standard form contracts, including long or one-sided payment terms. The details differ.
Neither regime stops a customer from paying late. But if a big customer's standard terms push you to 60 or 90 days, it's worth knowing the rules exist.
Construction is where payment delays bite hardest in both countries, and the rules are set up differently.
In both countries, subcontractors at the bottom of the chain usually wait longest. Our customer Allied Civil Earthworks in Auckland waits until the 20th of the following month to be paid, and Trigga Seal in Queensland set up a facility before the next big invoice landed.
Fixed costs are where late payments really hurt, and the tax dates you're working around aren't the same.
If you're waiting on an invoice the week GST or payroll is due, the gap is the same problem in both countries. It just lands on different dates.
FundTap started in Nelson in 2018 and funds invoices for small businesses in both countries. The product and pricing are the same on both sides of the Tasman.
If you trade in both countries, the process is the same. You just fund invoices in the currency they were issued in.
The product works the same way in both countries: you're paid early on an invoice you've already issued, and the advance is settled when your customer pays. What's different is the environment around it, including payment times, payment reporting rules, construction payment laws and the tax calendar.
Do Australian or NZ businesses get paid faster?In the June quarter of 2026, Australian small businesses waited 22.9 days on average to be paid and were paid 6.0 days late. NZ small businesses waited 24.1 days and were paid 4.7 days late (Xero Small Business Insights, 2026).
Is invoice finance regulated in New Zealand and Australia?Business invoice finance isn't regulated like consumer lending in either country, because consumer credit laws are designed for personal borrowing. General business laws still apply, including fair trading and unfair contract terms rules, and providers usually register security on the PPSR.
Does New Zealand have payment times reporting like Australia?Not anymore. New Zealand passed the Business Payment Practices Act in 2023 but repealed it in 2024. Australia's Payment Times Reporting Scheme still requires large businesses to publicly report how quickly they pay small business suppliers.
Can I use FundTap in both New Zealand and Australia?Yes. FundTap funds invoices for small businesses in both countries, with the same pricing and process. Funds go to your local business bank account in NZD or AUD.
Is invoice finance a loan?No. You're accessing money you've already earned on an invoice you've already raised, for one flat fee. It's settled when the invoice is paid, so there's no fixed weekly or monthly repayment.
Want to see what you could access? Check your eligibility or get started in minutes. See how invoice finance works and our pricing.