Will 2022 be remembered for the sheer relief of escaping lockdown … or for a challenging market driven by escalating prices and scarce labour resources?
As the post-COVID economy delivers boosts in some areas and downturns in others, for the most part, the construction industry does seem to be holding up – certainly if the wave of tender contracts that hit our inboxes in late November/early December is anything to go by! That said, despite a few unpredictable spikes in activity over March, August and November, demand on our contract review service was down about 5% for the year overall.
In the wake of defective building enquiries and legislative reform, the National Construction Code (NCC) has quite rightly been the main focus of 2022. From July 2022, the NSW Architects Registration Board has made NCC one of three mandatory CPD topics architects must cover each year. Our intensive webinar on NCC was our most popular CPD event of the year, where we heard from a range of experienced speakers including the Australian Building Codes Board. We followed that up by getting more specific, with a webinar on Recent Court Rulings on Cladding Claims and an article on Performance Solution Reports and Certificates.
Of course, with Building Commissioner David Chandler leading the push for regulatory reform in Australia, everyone is keen for as much guidance as possible on legislative developments in NSW. We complemented our June webinar, Design and Building Practitioners Act (NSW) – One Year On with articles on Design and Building Practitioners Act (NSW) Update and on Legislative Duty of Care under the DBP Act.
In the world beyond Class 2 buildings, we looked at some of the most fundamental subjects for all consultants:
- Cost control (with a webinar from GRC Quantity Surveyors and an article Cost Control: More than Just the Budget)
- Scope of Services (with a webinar from barrister Tony Horan, and an article Getting your Scope of Services Right)
- Fee Recovery (with a webinar from solicitor James Turnbull and risk manager Felicity Dixon)
As the year progressed and the escalation of material and labour costs started to take its toll, we saw a number of builder insolvencies, including Probuild and Condev. We wrote about Managing the Risk of Builder Insolvency.
We also covered some more traditional risk management topics, from webinars on alternative dispute resolution to ancillary contracts, and an article on 10 Years of Safe Design: More Good News Than Bad.
In our January survey, you gave us feedback on the aspects of our risk management services that you find most valuable. After some changes to our team this year, we’re looking forward to introducing our new risk managers to you in January. With a few new faces, we continue to provide a team of dedicated risk managers drawing on their legal qualifications and litigation experience to deliver contract reviews and education that is specifically tailored to professionals in the construction industry.
In 2023, we’ll be presenting a shorter webinar series of six topics, plus a half-day intensive and our informed Beginnings fundamentals session for new consultants.
Thanks for your support through all the challenges and opportunities of 2022.
We’re looking forward to seeing you when our webinars kick off in February with a deep dive into claims that – for once – aren’t about cladding.
Wendy Poulton
Manager – Risk Services