Certificates may come in many forms and do not necessarily need to be labelled as a “Certificate”. Increasingly, consultants are being asked to issue certificates to third parties not necessarily aligning with the services they have been engaged to provide. For example, at the request of your client’s financier, you write a letter to the […]

“You’re the only consultant who won’t sign our contract,” said practically every commercial and government client ever, at some point when they became frustrated with the contract negotiation process. When your client suggests that you are the only consultant who seeks to negotiate more balanced contract terms, how do you prove otherwise? How can you […]

Proportionate liability legislation was introduced in Australia nationally between 2002 and 2004 for claims involving economic loss or property damage arising from a failure to take reasonable care. In 2018, what are the implications for consultants and their consultancy agreements?

Ten Hot Tips for Inspections When the builder and trade sub-contractors are insolvent, or impecunious, or simply resistant to fixing building defects, principals can find it advantageous to instead pursue their consultant team for negligent inspection of the building work. Your inspection or observation role is also one of the most important quality checks on […]

The bad news is that, yes, it probably is. The default position for all of us is that, if our work is negligent or otherwise in breach of a legal duty, there is no limit or “cap” on the amount of compensation we can be required to pay. So long as the loss is caused […]

From 1 March 2018, projects tendered by the Queensland Government will use PBAs on building and construction projects valued between $1 million and $10 million (including GST), where more than 50% of the contract price is for building work. The new PBA regime under the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 is complex […]

In February, we asked for feedback on your experience working under a partial services or novated procurement structure. This is what you said. Our survey results illustrate both the variation in experience, and the areas of strong consistency. We hope it will be a useful opportunity to benchmark your experience against your peers.

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 […]