Prompt Law Australia | Contract Review & Commercial Law Firm
- Breach of Contract and Contract Disputes
Breach of Contract Lawyer Sydney
When the other side stops performing, the contract you signed becomes the only thing that matters. Our breach of contract lawyers in Sydney read the agreement, tell you what you can actually enforce, and put a formal demand in front of the other party. Where that does not resolve it, we run the claim through the NSW courts.
Same-day response, and 100% online service across NSW. No Sydney office visit required.
- Breach of Contract & Contract Dispute Services
Contract Disputes We Run for Sydney Businesses From Demand to Judgment
The most common breach is the simplest one: the other party has taken the goods or services and has not paid. We confirm the debt is contractually owed, claim interest where the contract allows it, and move from letter of demand to court judgment and enforcement without letting the claim go stale.
Non-Performance and Defective Work
Work that was never delivered, delivered late, or delivered badly is a breach you can claim for. We assess what the contract actually promised, what the delay or defect has cost you, and whether you can withhold payment, demand rectification, or terminate and claim the cost of completing the work elsewhere.
Wrongful Termination and Repudiation
When a party walks away early, or makes clear it no longer intends to be bound, that is repudiation and it gives the innocent party a choice: accept it and claim loss of bargain damages, or insist on performance. Getting that choice wrong is expensive, so we advise before you respond, not after.
Former employees, contractors and business partners who take clients, staff or confidential material breach the terms they signed. These matters move fast and often need urgent injunctive relief in the Supreme Court as well as damages, so the first 48 hours matter more than in any other contract dispute.
Supply failures, exclusivity breaches, disputed variations and terminated distribution arrangements can cut off a revenue stream with little warning. We read the termination, variation and exclusivity clauses, assess the strength of each side’s position, and press for a commercial outcome backed by a credible claim.
Breaches of shareholder agreements, partnership terms, and business sale contracts, including unpaid instalments, broken warranties and ignored restraint clauses after a sale. These disputes mix contract law with company law, and the remedy often needs to address both.
- About Our Practice
Our Approach to Breach of Contract Claims - Leverage First, Court When It Is Needed
Most contract disputes are resolved by the party who is better prepared, not the party who is louder. We start by reading the contract properly: what was promised, which terms are essential, what the notice and termination clauses require, and what your loss actually is in dollars. That assessment tells you whether you have a claim worth running before any money is spent on it.
Based in Chatswood and acting for businesses across Sydney and NSW since 2014, we give you a fixed-fee position assessment and a fixed-fee letter of demand, so the first two steps have a known cost. Where the matter has to be litigated, our commercial litigation lawyers run it through the NSW Local, District and Supreme Courts. Where it is really about getting paid, our debt recovery process is usually the faster route.
Terminating Without the Right to Terminate
If the breach was not of an essential term and did not amount to repudiation, walking away makes you the party in breach and exposes you to the other side's loss.
Letting the Six-Year Limitation Period Run Out
In NSW most contract claims must be commenced within six years of the breach. Once that period expires the claim is usually statute-barred and the money is gone.
Agreeing Variations by Email Without Checking the Contract
Most commercial contracts require variations to be in writing and signed. Informal changes agreed over email can be unenforceable, or can undermine the claim you later want to run.
Failing to Mitigate or Evidence the Loss
You must take reasonable steps to limit your loss, and you must be able to prove what the breach cost you. Claims fail on evidence of damage far more often than on liability.
- Who We Help
Sydney Businesses We Act For in Contract Disputes
Suppliers and Service Businesses Who Have Not Been Paid
Where the work is done and the invoice is ignored, we convert the contract into a demand, then into a judgment. Interest and recovery costs are claimed wherever your terms of trade allow for them.
Businesses Let Down by a Supplier or Contractor
Late delivery, defective work and abandoned projects leave you carrying the cost of fixing someone else's failure. We pursue the difference, including the cost of completing the work elsewhere.
Companies Defending a Breach of Contract Claim
Being accused of breach is not the same as being liable for it. We test whether the term was essential, whether the other party performed its own obligations, and whether the loss claimed is real.
Directors and Shareholders in Agreement Disputes
Shareholder agreements, partnership terms and business sale contracts carry obligations that are frequently ignored once the relationship sours. We enforce them, or defend them, with the company law overlay in mind.
- Our Process
How Our Sydney Contract Lawyers Take a Breach Claim From Demand to Judgment
Contract Review and Position Assessment
Send us the contract, the correspondence and the invoices. We identify the terms breached, whether they are essential, what remedies are open to you, and what the claim is realistically worth.
Letter of Demand and Negotiation
We issue a fixed-fee letter of demand setting out the breach, the loss and a deadline, then negotiate directly with the other side or their lawyers. Many commercial disputes settle at this point.
Mediation and Without Prejudice Settlement
Where a demand alone does not resolve it, we pursue mediation or a without prejudice settlement conference. Settling before proceedings keeps costs proportionate to the amount in dispute.
Court Proceedings, Judgment and Enforcement
If the other side will not engage, we file in the appropriate NSW court, run the claim to judgment, and enforce it through garnishee orders, writs and other recovery mechanisms.
- Why Choose A Lawyer
What Sydney Business Owners Get Wrong When They Handle a Contract Breach Themselves
The two most damaging mistakes in a contract dispute are made early and cannot easily be undone. The first is terminating the agreement without the legal right to do so, which turns the innocent party into the party in breach. The second is sending angry correspondence that concedes facts, waives rights, or makes admissions the other side later relies on. Both happen before anyone speaks to a lawyer.
Our breach of contract lawyers in Sydney give you a fixed-fee assessment of your position first, so you know whether you can terminate, what you can claim, and what the realistic recovery is. With 11+ years acting for Sydney businesses in contract, shareholder, lease and debt recovery disputes across the NSW courts, we resolve most matters without litigation, and run the ones that need it properly.
- Key advantages of getting legal advice first:
- Confirm whether the term breached is essential, and whether you are entitled to terminate, before you act on it
- Quantify your loss the way a court would, including loss of bargain, and identify the mitigation steps you are required to take
- Protect the six-year limitation period so the claim cannot be defeated on timing alone
- Issue a letter of demand that creates a formal record and often resolves the dispute without proceedings
- Run the claim in the correct NSW court and enforce the judgment once you have it
Start with a confidential
consultation.
Enquire today and receive a same-day response from our Sydney contract dispute lawyers. We act in breach of contract claims for suppliers, service businesses, buyers and defendants across NSW, at a transparent fixed fee for the first steps. Book a Consultation.
- Why Choose Us
Why Sydney Businesses Choose Our Contract Dispute Lawyers
Contract Dispute Focus
Our Sydney lawyers run breach of contract matters every week, from unpaid invoices and defective supply to repudiated agreements and restraint breaches, across the NSW Local, District and Supreme Courts.
Fixed-Fee Assessment and Demand
Your position assessment and your letter of demand are both fixed fee, confirmed before any work starts. You know what the first two steps cost before you commit to a dispute.
Responsive Service
Enquire today and receive a response the same business day. Contract disputes are decided by what you do in the first week, so we move quickly. We work 100% online across NSW.
11+ Years Experience
Since 2014, PromptLaw powered by CMI Legal has acted for Sydney businesses in contract disputes across supply, services, construction, leasing, shareholder and business sale agreements.
- What Our Clients Say
Client Testimonials and Reviews
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- Our Team
Meet Our Team of Lawyers
Mathew Wu
Director
John Zhang
Principal
Tina Tang
Lawyer
Rita Lam
Lawyer
- FAQs
Breach of Contract FAQs Answered by Our Sydney Lawyers
What counts as a breach of contract in NSW?
A breach happens when a party fails to perform an obligation the contract imposes, performs it late, or performs it defectively. Not every breach justifies ending the agreement. Minor breaches generally sound in damages only, while breaches of an essential term, or conduct showing a party no longer intends to be bound, can give the innocent party the right to terminate as well.
How long do I have to sue for breach of contract in NSW?
Under the Limitation Act 1969 (NSW), most contract claims must be commenced within six years of the date of the breach, not the date you discovered it. Claims founded on a deed have a longer period of twelve years. Waiting is still costly, because evidence and witnesses become harder to secure as time passes.
What can I claim for a breach of contract?
The usual remedy is damages that put you in the position you would have been in had the contract been performed, which can include lost profit. You may also claim interest, and in limited cases specific performance or an injunction requiring the other party to perform or to stop breaching. You must take reasonable steps to mitigate your loss.
Can I terminate the contract because the other party breached it?
Only if the contract gives you that right, the term breached was essential, or the other party’s conduct amounts to repudiation. Terminating without that entitlement is itself a repudiation and exposes you to the other side’s loss. Check the termination and notice clauses, and get advice, before you give any notice.
Do I need a written contract to make a claim?
No. Verbal and partly written agreements are enforceable in NSW, though they are harder to prove. Emails, invoices, quotes, purchase orders, text messages and a consistent course of dealing can establish both the agreement and its terms. Some contracts, such as those for the sale of land, must be in writing.
How much does a breach of contract claim cost in Sydney?
PromptLaw charges a fixed fee for the initial position assessment and for the letter of demand, confirmed before the work begins. Litigation costs depend on the court and the complexity of the matter, and court filing fees are additional. We give you an upfront estimate before any proceedings are commenced.
Which NSW court hears breach of contract claims?
The NSW Local Court hears claims up to $100,000, with claims up to $20,000 in its Small Claims Division. The District Court hears claims up to $750,000, and the Supreme Court hears larger or more complex matters, including urgent injunction applications. We file in the court that suits the amount and the urgency.
Should I send a letter of demand before suing?
In almost every case, yes. A letter of demand sets out the breach, the loss and a deadline for response, and creates a formal record that you sought to resolve the matter before litigation. Courts expect parties to have attempted resolution, and a demand from a lawyer frequently settles the dispute on its own.
- Get Expert Advice
Speak to a Breach of Contract Lawyer in Sydney Today
Contact our Sydney contract dispute lawyers today. Book a 15-minute quick advice call or a full 45-minute contract review and position assessment. Fixed fees, same-day response, 100% online. No office visit required.
Quick Advice
In-Depth Review
Has Someone Breached Your Business Contract? Get Advice Before You Respond.
Talk to our Sydney breach of contract lawyers today. Fixed-fee position assessment and letter of demand, same-day response, 100% online. We act for suppliers, service businesses, buyers and defendants in contract disputes across NSW.