Debt notice deadlines: how many days each notice gives you

When a demand arrives, the first question is always “how long have I got?” The answer depends on who sent it, which law it relies on and, sometimes, which state the property is in. Get the count wrong and an option you thought you had can disappear: a statutory demand that wasn’t set aside in time, a director penalty that can no longer be remitted by appointing an administrator, a mortgagee that can now sell.

This page puts the common deadlines in one place, links each to the Act or regulator that sets it, and notes what can realistically be done inside the window. It’s general information to help you move quickly. Your solicitor, accountant or insolvency adviser should confirm how a deadline applies to your notice.

What are the key deadlines at a glance?

Notice or event	Who issues it	Time you have	Starts from	Source
Director penalty notice (DPN)	ATO	21 days	The day the ATO posts it or leaves it at your ASIC-registered address	ATO
Notice of intent to disclose business tax debt	ATO	28 days	Receiving the notice	ATO
Garnishee notice	ATO	No response window; operates once served	Service on the third party	ATO
Creditor’s statutory demand (company, debt of $4,000 or more)	Any creditor	21 days to comply or apply to set aside; no extension to set aside	Service	Federal Court
Winding-up application after an unmet demand	Creditor	Creditor may rely on the presumption within 3 months of non-compliance; court must determine within 6 months unless extended	Non-compliance; filing	Federal Court
Bankruptcy notice (individuals, including sole traders)	Creditor via AFSA	Generally 21 days; check the notice	Receiving the notice	AFSA
Mortgage default notice, NSW	Registered mortgagee	At least one month to remedy, or longer if the mortgage says so	Service	RPA s 57
Mortgage default notice, Victoria	Registered mortgagee	Notice after one month’s default; sale if not complied with within one month of service, or another period fixed in the mortgage	Service	TLA s 76, s 77
Mortgage default notice, Queensland	Mortgagee	30 days to remedy before power of sale (Property Law Act 2023, in force 1 August 2025)	Notice	Qld Parliament
Mortgage default notice, WA	Registered mortgagee	Notice after one month’s default; sale if default continues one month after service, or another period fixed in the mortgage	Service	TLA s 106, s 108
Bank payment default (small business, Banking Code)	Subscribing bank	No less than 30 days’ notice before demanding full repayment or enforcing, with exceptions	Notice	Banking Code
Bank decides not to extend a fixed-term loan (small business, not in default)	Subscribing bank	At least 3 months’ notice before full repayment is due	Notice	Banking Code
Notice to complete (property contract)	Other party to the contract	Set by the contract; 14 days is common in NSW special conditions	Service	NSW Government
Small business restructuring plan	Restructuring practitioner and creditors	20 business days to propose (one extension of up to 10); creditors generally 15 business days to vote	Appointment; receipt of plan	ASIC
Unfair preference look-back	Liquidator	Payments in the 6 months before liquidation began (3 months and over $30,000 for unrelated creditors in simplified liquidation)	Relation-back day	ASIC INFO 45
Payday Super contributions	Employer obligation	Received by the fund within 7 business days of payday	Each payday (from 1 July 2026)	ATO

Caveat lapsing notices are another important clock for anyone holding or facing a caveat. The periods differ by state; see our caveat lapsing notices by state guide.

How do the ATO deadlines work?

Director penalty notice. The ATO says you have 21 days to act, starting on the day it posts the DPN or leaves it at the address registered with ASIC. Within that time the penalty can be remitted if the company pays in full, appoints an administrator or a small business restructuring practitioner, or begins to be wound up. Those wider options apply only where the unpaid PAYG withholding or GST was reported within 3 months of its due date; if it wasn’t, paying in full is the only way to remit. For super guarantee charge, the test is whether it was reported by the SGC due date. Our guide to director penalty notices and property equity walks through funding inside the 21 days.

Notice of intent to disclose. Where a business has an ABN and at least $100,000 of tax debt overdue by more than 90 days, and isn’t engaging with the ATO, the ATO can report the debt to credit bureaus. It gives 28 days from receiving the notice to act. See ATO debt on your credit file.

Garnishee notice. The ATO describes this as requiring a third party, such as your bank, a trade debtor or a merchant facility provider, to pay your money directly to the ATO. There’s no response window to plan around. Our page on ATO garnishee notices covers what to do.

How strict is the 21-day statutory demand deadline?

Very. The Federal Court’s information sheet explains that a creditor’s statutory demand must relate to debts totalling at least $4,000, and the company has the statutory period, currently 21 days after service, to pay or apply to set it aside. An application to set aside must be filed and served within that period, and the Court can’t extend it. If the company does nothing, it’s presumed insolvent, and the creditor can rely on that presumption in a winding-up application within three months. Once filed, winding-up proceedings must be determined within six months unless the Court extends the time.

Practically, that gives you three choices inside 21 days: pay, negotiate a settlement the creditor accepts in writing, or file to set aside on genuine grounds. See responding to a statutory demand and, if it’s gone further, stopping a winding-up application.

How long does a mortgage default notice give you?

State law sets the minimum, and the mortgage can add to it:

• NSW: section 57 of the Real Property Act 1900 requires the notice to give one month after service to comply, or a longer period if the mortgage sets one. If you remedy the default within the period, it’s treated as never having occurred.
• Victoria: under section 76 of the Transfer of Land Act 1958, the mortgagee may serve notice once default has continued for one month or another period fixed in the mortgage. Under section 77, it may sell if the notice isn’t complied with within one month after service, or another period fixed in the mortgage.
• Queensland: the Property Law Act 2023 commenced on 1 August 2025. The Queensland Parliament’s statement of compatibility for the Bill describes clause 114 as requiring the mortgagee to give notice requiring the default to be remedied within 30 days before exercising a power of sale.
• WA: under section 106 of the Transfer of Land Act 1893, notice may be given once default has continued for one month or another fixed period; under section 108, the mortgagee may sell if the default continues for one month after service, or another period fixed in the mortgage.

For other states and territories, check your mortgage terms and the local Act with your solicitor. If the deadline has passed and the lender is moving to sell, see stopping a mortgagee sale and our glossary entry on a mortgagee in possession.

What notice does a bank have to give a small business?

The Banking Code of Practice applies to subscribing banks. Its 2025 version, effective 28 February 2025, treats a business as small where the group has turnover under $10 million, fewer than 100 full-time equivalent staff and under $5 million in total debt. For those customers the Code commits the bank to:

• no less than 30 days’ notice of a payment failure before demanding full repayment or starting enforcement, subject to listed exceptions;
• for other defaults that can be fixed, a notice setting out the grounds and no less than 30 days to remedy, again with exceptions;
• at least 3 months’ notice, if you’re not in default, before you must repay a fixed-term loan the bank has decided not to extend;
• at least 30 days’ notice of most changes to terms that are unfavourable to you.

Three months sounds generous until you try to refinance a business loan inside it. See when the bank won’t renew your facility.

Where does a notice to complete come from?

From the sale contract, not from an Act. The NSW Government’s property buying guidance notes that a solicitor or conveyancer should review the contract, and that’s where the default terms sit. In NSW, a notice to complete is commonly set at 14 days by special condition; a 2022-edition land sale contract published by Bathurst Regional Council is one example. Consumer Protection WA notes a buyer who misses settlement may have to pay penalty fees to the seller. If you’ve received one, see notice to complete.

What can realistically be funded inside these windows?

Window	What’s realistic with property-secured funding
7 business days (Payday Super)	Possible for $20k–$250k the same day once documents are in, if property, ID and loan statements are ready
21 days (DPN, statutory demand, bankruptcy notice)	Comfortable if you start in the first week; tight if you start in the third
28 days to one month (ATO disclosure, mortgage default notices)	Usually workable, including a refinance of the defaulted loan
30 days (bank default notices)	Workable for a private refinance where equity and an exit are clear
3 months (bank non-renewal)	Enough for a private bridge while a new bank assesses the business

Funding is possible within 24–48 hours for up to $5m once documents are in, and there’s no formal valuation required. What eats the time is finding title details, statements, trust deeds and co-owner signatures. The urgent business loans page explains how to prepare.

What does acting inside a deadline look like?

Illustrative example: a Melbourne joinery company receives a creditor’s statutory demand for $96k on a Monday, and the ATO posts a DPN for $140k of unpaid PAYG withholding to its registered office two days later. The director owns a home worth about $1.5m with $600k owing. At an illustrative 70% LVR band ($1.05m) there is about $450k of room behind the bank. A $260k caveat loan is documented in the first week and settles on day 8 of the statutory demand window, with interest capitalised for 6 months. The next day both are paid in full: day 9 of the demand’s 21 days and day 7 of the DPN’s. The company repays the loan from a large commercial fit-out contract five months later.

Melbourne businesses can read our Melbourne private lender page, and the caveat loans pillar explains the structure.

Clock running? See if you qualify

If you own property and a deadline is counting down, start an enquiry today; it takes about a minute. There’s no credit check to ask, your details go to one direct lender rather than a panel, and a specialist reads every enquiry. Tell us the date on the notice, the property and what’s owing on it, accurately, and you’ll know quickly whether funding fits inside your window. Check what your property could fund.