Australian Small Business Payment Statistics 2026

Large Australian organisations reported average payment terms of 29 days and an average payment time of 27.4 days, but it took 64 days for 95% of small-business invoices to be paid. Separately, Xero's platform data shows Australian small businesses waited 22.9 days for payment in Q2 2026 and were paid 6.0 days late on average.

This page was checked on 12 September 2026. It uses the Australian Government's payment-times data and original anonymised invoice analysis. The two datasets have different populations and are not blended.

Key Australian payment statistics

29 days: most common payment term averaged across reporting entities.
23 days: median payment time.
27.4 days: average payment time.
39 days: time taken to pay 80% of small-business invoices.
64 days: time taken to pay 95% of invoices.
66.5%: invoices paid within agreed terms.
68.2%: invoices paid within 30 days.
28.7%: reporting entities' procurement value sourced from small businesses.
3,098: entities included in the regulator's industry analysis.
22.9 days: Xero's Q2 2026 small-business time-to-payment result.
6.0 days late: Xero's Q2 2026 late-payment result.

What is the official Australian payment-time benchmark?

The average was 27.4 days, but the long tail reached 64 days at the 95th percentile. The figures come from the Payment Times Regulator's January 2026 Research and Intelligence report, using reports and revisions received by 31 December 2025 for the January-June 2025 reporting cycle.

Measure	All-industry result	Previous cycle
Common payment term	29 days	30 days
Median payment time	23 days	Not reported on the comparison table
Average payment time	27.4 days	27.1 days
80th-percentile payment time	39 days	Not reported on the comparison table
95th-percentile payment time	64 days	58 days
Paid within agreed terms	66.5%	66.4%
Paid within 30 days	68.2%	68.2%

The average alone hides a material tail: the regulator found that 85% of reporting entities took more than 30 days to pay at least 95% of their small-business invoices. Only 469 entities reported a 95th-percentile payment time of 30 days or less.

Which Australian industries pay small businesses fastest?

Financial and insurance services had the shortest average payment time at 17.4 days; manufacturing had the longest at 33.7 days.

Industry	Common term	Average payment	80% paid by	95% paid by	Paid on time
Accommodation & food	25	25.4	35	54	61.0%
Administrative & support	25	22.6	31	45	70.0%
Agriculture, forestry & fishing	24	23.4	35	49	73.4%
Arts & recreation	25	21.1	30	50	69.4%
Construction	34	33.5	47	68	64.8%
Education & training	20	24.4	33	62	71.6%
Electricity, gas, water & waste	26	23.5	31	48	68.6%
Financial & insurance	21	17.4	27	49	72.1%
Health care & social assistance	26	27.5	39	62	60.3%
Information media & telecoms	29	24.7	35	67	69.1%
Manufacturing	35	33.7	47	67	62.1%
Mining	32	30.0	39	70	68.7%
Other services	26	28.4	38	57	72.3%
Professional, scientific & technical	28	27.9	38	94	64.8%
Public administration & safety	23	23.3	31	51	68.0%
Rental, hiring & real estate	27	25.8	34	56	66.9%
Retail	31	28.7	40	77	67.5%
Transport, postal & warehousing	30	27.7	41	62	61.9%
Wholesale	33	29.3	41	65	65.4%

Values are days except the final column. Professional services had the longest 95th-percentile tail at 94 days, despite an average of 27.9 days. This illustrates why writers should not describe an average as the time every supplier waits.

Are payment times improving?

The share paid within 30 days improved from 63.2% in early 2021 to 68.2% in early 2025, but it did not improve in the latest cycle.

Reporting period	Paid within 30 days	Average standard/common term
Jan-Jun 2021	63.2%	36.7 days
Jul-Dec 2021	65.6%	35.9 days
Jan-Jun 2022	66.2%	35.4 days
Jul-Dec 2022	67.5%	35.1 days
Jan-Jun 2023	67.2%	34.9 days
Jul-Dec 2023	68.7%	34.8 days
Jan-Jun 2024	68.7%	35.0 days
Jul-Dec 2024	68.2%	30-day common term
Jan-Jun 2025	68.2%	29-day common term

The reporting framework changed from average standard terms to common terms, and consolidated reporting reforms affect comparability. The regulator cautions against treating the entire series as perfectly like-for-like.

What does real invoice data show?

Xero's Q2 2026 platform benchmark was 22.9 days to be paid and 6.0 days late. That improved from 24.2 days and 6.9 days late in Q1. Xero also reported Q2 Australian small-business sales growth of 6.5% year over year, jobs growth of 3.0% and wage growth of 2.4%. See the original Q2 release and methodology.

How fast do Commonwealth entities pay?

Commonwealth entities reported a common term of 19.6 days, a 12-day median, a 16.4-day average, 20 days at the 80th percentile and 40 days at the 95th percentile. They paid 74.3% within agreed terms, compared with 66.5% across all industries. Individual 95th-percentile results ranged from 5 to 76 days.

Methodology and citation notes

The Payment Times Reporting Scheme covers qualifying large businesses and certain Commonwealth entities, not the whole Australian economy. The cycle analysed here covers payment activity from 1 January to 30 June 2025 and was published in January 2026. Xero's figures cover fully paid invoices from its anonymised customer sample. Unpaid invoices are excluded from Xero's duration measure.

The government register dataset can be downloaded free and searched by entity or industry. See how to use the register.

Suggested citation: “InvoiceSonic, Australian Small Business Payment Statistics 2026, checked 12 September 2026.” Retain the original linked source when quoting a specific figure.

Create an ATO-ready payment request with the Australian invoice generator, or see what to do about overdue invoices in Australia.

Australian Small Business Payment Statistics 2026