Construction Management Guide

By Samer Skaik

Statutory adjudication has been enacted progressively throughout Australia on a state-by-state basis over a period of 10 years starting in 1999. The first Australian jurisdiction to introduce statutory adjudication was New South Wales (NSW) by virtue of the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999. Despite the many differences between all of the Acts in Australia, they can be broadly grouped on the basis of similarity into the East Coast model Acts (including New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Australian Capital Territory)[1] and the West Coast model Acts (including Northern Territory and Western Australia).[2] The East Coast model Acts were modelled after the original NSW Act and provide, in addition to an adjudication scheme, for a highly regulatory statutory payment scheme which runs alongside the contractual payment scheme. The West Coast model Acts are more akin to the UK Act, affording primacy to the contractual payment scheme. The common objective of all the legislation is to facilitate timely cash flow within the construction contractual chains. [Read more…]

By Samer Skaik

Quality of adjudication decisions under the Security of Payment legislation may mean different things to different people. The ultimate yardstick by which adjudication quality can be measured is to be found in the legal accuracy – both in terms of procedural and substantive fairness – of adjudication decisions whether such decisions involve a determination on the merits or dismissal for want of jurisdiction. However, recognising that there is a trade-off between fairness and efficiency in dispute resolution,[1] this criterion needs to be calibrated in the light of the legislative objective, being to provide a rapid dispute resolution procedure in order to expedite cash flow on construction contracts. Thus, it would clearly be absurd to hold adjudication decisions up to as higher level of scrutiny as in arbitration or litigation. [Read more…]

Need guidance on the new FIDIC contract changes that are about to come into effect?

Then you’d best act now as the official FIDIC contracts conference for this region is taking place this month on 14 & 15 February in Abu Dhabi.

[Read more…]

Get your career into first-gear with the Masters in International Construction Practice & Law.

Run by the University of Stuttgart, one of Europe’s leading centres of engineering excellence, this practical programme is designed for professionals in full-time employment. [Read more…]

By Samer Skaik

Many construction practitioners in Australia face difficulties in understanding the mechanism of the Statutory Adjudication and how it differs from a State to another. While it is important to point out that the Australian Acts are different, there are a number of common mechanisms. Typically, a person entitled to a progress payment for carrying out construction work (or supplying related goods and services) had to seek recovery of any unpaid amounts via lengthy legal proceedings in arbitration or court. As such, parliament enacted the Security of Payment (SoP) legislation to protect the rights of such persons and facilitate rapid recovery of due payment. The SoP legislation provides statutory rights enabling quick and inexpensive recovery of progress payment for any subcontractor or supplier performing construction works or supplying related goods and services. To facilitate these rights, the SoP introduced a rapid adjudication process to resolve payments disputes. [Read more…]

FIDIC have been busy transforming and improving the Rainbow Suite of Contracts.

What does this mean for you?

You can get insider tips on the new Rainbow Suite Contracts directly from the FIDIC Updates Task Groups and the FIDIC Contracts Committee at FIDIC’s official Contract Users’ event which is taking place this December in London. [Read more…]

By Samer Skaik

Many commentators have suggested that,[1] the “one size fits all” approach taken by the Australian security of payment legislation (save for Queensland) is no longer appropriate (if indeed it ever was) for producing quality outcomes in adjudications of complex payment claims, where larger and more difficult payment disputes are involved. [Read more…]

By Heba Osman

Descoping is usually instructed by employers as a variation omitting large parts of the works. Many employers appear to believe that they are contractually entitled to descope, which in part is true. However, many employers instruct the omission of large parts of the works for one of the following reasons: [Read more…]

by Laura Warren and Alexa Hall

Site condition risk is not static. All too often, during the course of construction, contractors encounter subsurface conditions that differ from those set out in information provided by its employer or anticipated in their bids, or come across unforeseeable or undetected site conditions in the field. Such discoveries can cause schedule delays, cost increases and dangerous working, invalidate design assumptions and ultimately pave the way to litigation. One size does not fit all and the site condition risk is unique for each and every project. In the context of site risks, there is no substitute for signing a clear contract which, where possible, identifies such risks, and particularises precisely what the parties should do if they eventuate. [Read more…]

Find out next month at their 2^nd annual Africa Contract Users’ conference.

This official FIDIC event is designed specifically for contract users in Africa and will explore the must-know areas of FIDIC such as claims, risk allocation, dispute resolution and much more besides.

You’ll also get the inside track on the latest contract changes and amendments that are due to come out in early 2017 – presented to you by the very people responsible for implementing these changes! [Read more…]