It doesn’t take a misplaced banana peel to cause a slip injury. Although personal injury claims aren’t the biggest cause of notifications under consultants’ professional indemnity insurance, they are a regular periodic contributor, and slip resistance is a key factor within those. A ramp in a shopping centre, in a potential wet area exposed to […]

In the current landscape, architects and other consultants are becoming increasingly exposed to litigation and risk of claims arising from their contractual obligations. There is a general awareness in the construction industry about clients’ ability to commence litigation or make a claim from another party who might have caused them to suffer loss or damage […]

It’s time to celebrate the end of the financial year!  On a less exciting but equally important note, the end of financial year is a good time to consider what records you need to keep and how you might go about destroying any records if the circumstances and time are right. Why keep your documents […]

We have all come across ‘Dispute Resolution’ clauses in commercial contracts, also known as ‘Alternative Dispute Resolution’ (“ADR”). ADR offers alternative methods for resolving disputes without recourse to litigation saving costs, time and stress. It can help resolve a dispute before it goes court or tribunal. This article aims to summarise the different types of […]

“Other consultants don’t have a problem with this clause.” As part of the contract review service we provide to PI insurance clients of Planned Cover, we regularly see consultants’ clients giving this exact reason as justification for refusing to amend a problem clause in their contract. For what it’s worth, a great many of you […]

The Australian Institute of Architects has released a new version of its pro forma client and architect agreement. The new 2019 Client Architect Agreement (“CAA2019”) replaces the previous 2009 version. In our experience, the Institute of Architects contracts are widely used on domestic projects, but there is no impediment to using them on commercial or […]

Are you experiencing unclear and cumbersome procurement processes for government and institutional projects?  If so, you’re not the only one… The Australian Institute of Architects (‘Institute’) has recently undertaken extensive research, sourcing both qualitative and quantitative data, the results of which have shown that there are significant widespread problems with procurement processes.  Some of the […]

Last month, the Building Ministers’ Forum (‘BMF’) released details of their plans for implementation of reforms to the nation’s building and construction industry in response to the Shergold Weir Building Confidence Report (February 2018). The Shergold Weir report was commissioned by the BMF following the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017 and growing concerns over the […]

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 […]