Did you miss something?
Well after a year like this one has been, we wouldn’t be surprised!
Despite the country being locked down for months on end, the occasional non-COVID related development did happen. Let’s take a moment now to look at some of the industry reforms we’ve kept you in touch with over 2020. The articles are there to catch up on anytime, and the webinar recordings are available for purchase from our online CPD library.
Ongoing Work on Non-Conforming Building Products
Big changes have been afoot this year, especially in NSW, although some of the largest don’t come into effect until July 2021.
Our State of Play webinar presented an overview of several different developments in this space and then, in July, Lander & Rogers Solicitors presented in-depth on the new obligations of Registered Design Practitioners under the Design and Building Practitioners Act in NSW.
We wrote updates on a combustible cladding case involving Biowood timber (August), and the final report of the NSW Parliamentary Committee on regulation of building standards (May).
Across Australia, all building consultants need to start planning for some changes to the National Construction Code starting on 1 July 2021. Our June article outlined the new provisions which require better documentation of performance solutions.
Getting Back to Basics
We started the webinar year with a critical but often overlooked topic, Why Briefing Matters, and followed that up in October by shining a spotlight on negligence and systems to help avoid it. We wrote a reminder on Seven Steps to Better Subconsulting.
Architect and solicitor Isla McRobbie presented an overview of claims involving consultants in our third installation of Tales from the Trenches (May).
And on the topic of contracts, we tried to cut through the mystery and legalese with our article on memorandums of understanding and letters of intent, and our webinar Contracts In-Depth.
And More Specifically
One of our most popular webinars was Peter Quigley’s practical advice on Understanding the many and varied roles of a superintendent. For a look at the legal side of the same coin, Colin Biggers and Paisley Lawyers took us through Cash Retentions and Other Performance Securities.
We’ve written about Professional Standards Schemes and a few questions around landscape architecture.
Somehow we even fitted in a timely webinar about Employment Law During COVID-19 (current at April 2020 and thanks again to Lander & Rogers Solicitors for lending us their expertise on that one).
Oh, and we launched a new law practice in March. Owned by IBL Limited (the company behind informed by Planned Cover), our new company informed Lawyers Pty Ltd (ACN 635 862 145) is finally able to offer legal advice on consultancy agreements.
2020 has been as crazy a year for us as it was for you, but we hope our regular articles and webinars have helped foster a sense of connection during our isolated working lives. If the above range of topic is anything to go by, it was as busy a year as any, even if we did the work in track pants and Ugg boots.
We’re taking suggestions for topics or speakers you’d like to hear from in 2021, so please reach out to us at info@informedprofessionals.com.au if you have suggestions.
The Team at informed by Planned Cover