A recent decision of the Supreme Court of Western Australia in relation to infringement of intellectual property rights serves as a reminder to consultants working in the construction industry to make all necessary enquiries and seek appropriate assurances regarding copyright ownership and permitted use before adopting or amending the designs of a consultant whom they […]

We are pleased to welcome Kathryn Budd to informed’s Risk Management team. Kathryn holds Bachelor degrees in Law and Economics and was admitted as a solicitor to the Supreme Court of New South Wales in 2011.  Before joining informed by Planned Cover, Kathryn practised as a Solicitor/Associate in Insurance and Commercial litigation at Sydney law […]

When consultants have asked me whether I can point them to a “standard” joint venture agreement, I’ve always had to say no. Joint venture agreements are typically drafted by solicitors for each project, and I’m not aware of any pro forma contract published by Standards Australia or consultant representative bodies. But in 2017, the International […]

It is the time of merriment, the time for joy, the time for increased staff absences and for cheeky unexpected claims … oh yes, it’s that time of the year again, it’s the festive season! As the Christmas and New Year’s season quickly approaches, it is important to put down the glass of bubbles and […]

Prosecutions brought by the Board of Professional Engineers of Queensland (‘BPEQ’) provide an interesting insight into the types of conduct which has aggrieved users of engineering services in Queensland. Below is a brief summary of some of the disciplinary proceedings and prosecutions brought by the BPEQ […]

Since the tragedy of the Grenfell Tower fire on 14 June, developments in product compliance have sped up so quickly that it can be hard to keep pace with the latest thinking, and even harder to separate out official guidance from opinion and speculation. At our recent forum in Melbourne, a room full of consultants […]

In October 2016, we reported on the imminent commencement of ‘business to business’ unfair contract provisions in the Australian Consumer Law. As we approach the anniversary of the introduction of those laws, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (“the ACCC”) has announced that it has commenced its first enforcement action in relation to an alleged […]

Increasingly, the scale and complexity of projects are compelling practices in the same discipline to work jointly, pooling their resources to deliver the expertise that the client requires. This may be particularly so in the case of, for example, a PPP that you have been awarded, where you don’t necessarily have enough personnel to staff […]

In June 2017, the Commonwealth Government released its response to the Senate Economic  References Committee Report on Insolvency in the Australian Construction Industry (“the Report”). The Committee made forty-four recommendations in its Report to the Government in December 2015. Those recommendations sought to address the challenges encountered by the construction industry in dealing with the […]

However routine it may become, the humble “stat dec” should never be regarded as a mere formality. The Federal Court of Australia has recently found a senior staff member personally liable for loss arising from an inaccurate statutory declaration.