Handed down on 28 February 2019, the 227-page judgment of His Honour Judge Woodward traces the history of Melbourne’s Lacrosse tower, from its inception as a mixed use development in April 2007, through a GFC-driven hiatus in May 2008, redesign into smaller stages from July 2009, through to completion in 2012. The focus of the […]

In Part 1, we explained the liability findings in the judgment on the Lacrosse building fire delivered on 28 February 2019. This Part 2 looks at some more detailed aspects. Does it matter that the Builder substituted an alternative cladding (Alucobest) in place of the originally specified product (Alucobond)? Not in this case. The court […]

Our online CPD library has about 25 hours of material created specifically for professionals in the construction industry. This includes recordings of our webinars as well as custom-made online courses. Delivered by specialist guests as well as our legally qualified risk managers, our courses cover topics from partial services and copyright, to defective building products […]

February 2019 saw the release of the Victorian Digital Asset Strategy (“VDAS”), one of the key projects from the newly created Office of the Victorian Chief Engineer. Its aim is to “improve the value and utilisation of both physical and digital assets with the use of digital engineering (DE) across the entire asset life cycle”. […]

During the course of a project, you may find yourself in a position where the work needs altering in some way, requiring a contract variation.  You and your client might enter into a further agreement (usually in writing) to modify the contract, allowing the contractual variation.  On occasion, you and your client might agree orally […]

The hardest thing to see is always the one thing that is missing. A college wanting to achieve early commencement of work engaged a contractor using a short form letter of intent, instead of a building contract. When delays occurred, the college found that it could not deduct liquidated damages, because the letter of intent […]

A review of the register of disciplinary matters investigated and determined by the New South Wales Architects Registration Board reveals a repeated failure, by architects whose clients have brought complaints against them, to enter into a written agreement compliant with the relevant code of professional conduct with the client prior to commencing architectural services Perhaps […]

The Queensland Government has issued a series of reforms to improve security of payment for subcontractors. These have been introduced in stages through the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (BIF Act). They replace the previous Building and Construction Industry Payments Act 2004 (BCIPA). The first stage, announced in March 2018, was to […]

After more than three years and several interim reports, the final report from the Senate Economic References Committee on Non-conforming Building Products delivered on 4 December contains no surprises. It does, however, draw together recommendations from past investigations* and it bestows a clear sense of priority upon some of these. Noting that the weight of […]

As construction projects have become more complex, the roles of consultants and contractors have become less distinct.  Increasingly, consultants are expected to provide undertakings relating to design suitability and Fitness for Purpose (FFP) which have been traditionally regarded as inappropriate for the provision of professional services. FFP clauses can include any of the following obligations […]