Late Payment Statistics Australia & NZ (2026)

TL;DR: Late payment is a systemic problem for small businesses in Australia and New Zealand, payments routinely run beyond agreed terms, and the cash-flow impact is significant. This guide explains the patterns, who's worst affected, and what you can do about it.

Late payment at a glance

How late are Australian businesses paying?

Late payment is widespread in Australia, with many businesses paying well beyond agreed terms. The common patterns:

• Larger businesses are often the slowest payers, using extended terms with smaller suppliers
• The construction sector reports some of the longest delays
• Government and large-enterprise terms can stretch small-business cash flow

The numbers:

• Nearly 80% of Australian small businesses faced cash-flow pressure in the past year (CommBank & UNSW, 2025).
• Late business-to-business payments are at a six-year high (CreditorWatch, 2025).
• Late payments cost Australian small businesses around $1.1 billion a year (Xero).
• 17% of Australian businesses lose more than $2,500 a month (about $30,000 a year) to late payments (GoCardless Pursuing Payments, 2025).
• Payment disputes made up 42% of all requests for help to the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman in 2023-24 (ASBFEO).

How late are New Zealand businesses paying?

New Zealand shows the same shape:

• Small businesses are disproportionately affected by late payment from larger clients
• Construction and trades report the longest delays
• Regional businesses often face longer cycles than the main centres

The numbers:

• NZ small businesses are paid an average of 4.5 days late, the lowest since the series began in 2017 (Xero Small Business Insights, Dec 2025).
• The average wait to be paid after invoicing is 24.8 days (Xero, 2025).
• By sector, manufacturers are paid 9.1 days late and construction 7.3 days late (Xero, Dec 2025).
• Late payments cost Kiwi small businesses about $827 million a year in 2023, up 81% from $456 million in 2021 (Xero).

The impact on small businesses

• Cash-flow pressure is a leading cause of small-business stress and failure in both countries
• Chasing overdue payments consumes significant owner time
• Late payment cascades, businesses paid late then pay their own suppliers late
• Growth opportunities are missed when cash is locked in unpaid invoices

"The numbers move year to year, but the shape never changes: small businesses do the work, then finance the wait on behalf of much larger customers. That's the real cost of late payment, and it's the gap we built FundTap to close."

Matt Peacey, Founder & CEO, FundTap

What you can do about it

You can't control when customers pay, but you can control how you manage the gap:

• Set clear payment terms in writing before work begins
• Invoice immediately on completion
• Follow up on a structured reminder schedule
• Run your debtor ageing report weekly to catch problems early
• Use invoice finance to access invoice value immediately, regardless of when customers pay

FundTap helps AU and NZ businesses bridge the late-payment gap: choose the invoices to fund, receive an advance within hours (median first fund: 3 days from sign-up; FundTap data, 2026), and stop financing your customers' slow payment. The selective model keeps risk low, with a 0.71% loss rate (FundTap, BNZ presentation 2025).

See how FundTap works → Rated 5★ on Google (117 reviews) · 4.9★ on the Xero App Marketplace (107 reviews).

Frequently asked questions

How late do businesses pay invoices in Australia?

Late payment is widespread, with many businesses paying well beyond agreed terms. Larger businesses and the construction sector tend to be the slowest. Late B2B payments are at a six-year high (CreditorWatch, 2025), and late payments cost Australian small businesses around $1.1 billion a year (Xero).

How late do New Zealand businesses pay?

New Zealand small businesses are paid an average of 4.5 days late and wait about 24.8 days from invoice to payment (Xero Small Business Insights, 2025). Small businesses are disproportionately affected by late payment from larger clients, and construction and regional businesses face the longest delays.

Why is late payment such a problem for small businesses?

It's a leading driver of cash-flow stress and business failure, it ties up cash, consumes time chasing, and forces businesses to delay their own supplier payments.

Which industries are worst affected by late payment?

Construction and trades consistently report the longest payment delays in both AU and NZ.

What can I do if my customers pay late?

Set written terms, invoice immediately, follow up on a fixed schedule, run a weekly debtor ageing report, and use invoice finance to access cash without waiting.

How does invoice finance help with late payment?

It removes the wait, FundTap releases the value of an outstanding invoice within hours, so a customer's slow payment no longer holds up your cash.