Letter of demand, Ridgeline Landscapes to Coastal Fitouts, $6,840
Letter of demand template that can go straight to the tribunal
A letter of demand is the last letter that is not a court form, and it works because it is specific: what is owed, for what, since when, and what happens on day fifteen. This one itemises two invoices, lists the reminders already sent, gives fourteen days and names the court and the amounts that will be claimed.
The document, page by page
Every page as it renders and as it prints, with nothing summarised. Read the wording before you reuse it.
Section by section
What each section is for, so you can keep the ones you need and drop the rest.
- Letterhead and addressee
- Ridgeline Landscapes ledger letterhead with ABN, dated 22 September 2026, to the director by name.
- Openness callout
- Why the letter is not marked without prejudice.
- Subject
- Letter of demand: outstanding amount of $6,840.00.
- 1. The debt
- Two invoices as a table with amounts and days overdue, totalling $6,840.00.
- 2. The work
- The Terrigal works, the quote accepted 28 May, the sign off sheet of 10 June.
- 3. What has already been sent
- Statement, reminder, phone call with a promise, final notice, all dated.
- 4. Demand
- $6,840.00 within 14 days, by 6 October 2026, to the account below.
- 5. If payment is not received
- A claim in the NSW Local Court Small Claims Division, plus a credit record callout.
- 6. Interest and costs
- 8 percent under the quote terms, $96.22 to date, and the $358 filing fee.
- 7. To resolve it
- Pay in full, or a written payment plan by 1 October clearing the debt by 30 November.
- Payment details and sign off
- Account details for payment, then the director's sign off.
Clauses in this document
What happens next: small claims by state
If day fifteen arrives without payment, the claim goes to the small claims forum for your state. In New South Wales that is the Local Court sitting in its Small Claims Division, which hears claims up to $20,000 informally, with filing fees of $179 for an individual and $358 for a corporation. In Queensland, minor debt claims go to QCAT; in Victoria, to the Magistrates' Court; in Western Australia, to the Magistrates Court's minor case procedure. Limits and fees differ by state and change over time, so check the court's own fees page before you promise a number in writing.
How to adapt this document
For a consumer owed a refund, the debt table becomes one row, the purchase, and section 2 cites the consumer guarantee that was not met, with the consumer tribunal named as the forum. For a landlord owed rent beyond the bond, the table lists the unpaid weeks, section 2 cites the lease, and the forum is the tenancy tribunal. For a building contractor chasing progress payments, a payment claim under your state's security of payment legislation is usually the sharper tool, because it starts a statutory clock. Whatever the debt, keep the skeleton: itemise, show the history, set a date, name the forum.
What makes this document work
Days overdue is the column nobody can argue with
The debt table shows 72 days against INV-2231 and 51 against INV-2258. An invoice amount can be disputed; the number of days since it fell due cannot. That count in its own right hand column makes the age of the debt the first thing the reader absorbs.
The history puts the 29 August promise on record
Section 3 lists a statement on 1 August, a reminder on 15 August, a phone call on 29 August with a promise to pay by 5 September, and a final notice on 8 September. The list proves this is not the first contact, and the dated broken promise is the detail a magistrate remembers.
The consequence names the court and the extras
Section 5 does not threaten legal action in the abstract. It names the Small Claims Division of the NSW Local Court and says the claim will add interest, $96.22 to 22 September under the quote's 8 percent terms, and the $358 filing fee. Naming the forum and the numbers turns a reminder into a demand.
Questions people ask
Do I need a lawyer to send a letter of demand?
No. A clear letter from the business, like this one signed by the director, is a proper letter of demand and is all a small claims court expects to see. A solicitor's letterhead adds cost and urgency; consider it for large debts or a debtor with lawyers of their own.
How long should I give them to pay?
Seven to fourteen days is the usual range, counted from the date of the letter. This one gives fourteen, converted into a calendar date, 6 October 2026, so the deadline cannot be argued about. Shorter looks aggressive to a court reading it later; longer just delays the claim.
Can I charge interest on an overdue invoice?
Only if your terms provided for it, or the court awards it at the prescribed rate with judgment. This letter can claim 8 percent because the accepted quote said so, and it shows the calculation, $96.22 to 22 September, rather than a round number pulled from the air.
What happens if they still do not pay?
You file in the small claims jurisdiction for your state, in NSW the Local Court's Small Claims Division, which hears claims up to $20,000 for a fee of $179 for an individual and $358 for a company. The letter, the invoices and the history list become the evidence attached to the claim.
Should a letter of demand say without prejudice?
No, and the callout at the top of this one explains why: without prejudice protects settlement negotiations from being shown to a court, but a letter of demand is written precisely so it can be shown to the court. Mark settlement offers without prejudice; write the demand openly.
What about using a debt collector instead?
An option after this letter, not before it, since a collector's first step is usually the same demand at a commission. Anyone collecting must follow the ACCC and ASIC debt collection guideline on contact hours, frequency and conduct; this letter sits comfortably inside it.
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