Construction
"Participants in the construction industry are many and varied. They play critical roles in delivering the country’s infrastructure and built environment, and in operations and maintenance. Construction activity is a key economic indicator, with the industry contributing significantly to GDP."
Services and Expertise
Our Construction group has experience working with owners,
developers, financiers, head contractors, subcontractors,
consultants and project managers. Our services include negotiating
deals, documenting agreements, contract review, requests for and
responses to tenders, contract administration advice, strategic
advice around disputes, security of payment, litigation,
arbitration and expert determination.
We have accumulated down-to-earth knowledge of the
characteristics that typify construction projects and disputes.
Resolving issues is our key objective.
Our Construction group goes further than helping to solve our
clients' problems - we identify creative approaches and competitive
advantages to assist our clients in achieving their objectives. Our
knowledge of the construction industry enables us to steer clients
to a balanced position. Equally, we work collaboratively with
clients within agreed frameworks.
Our aim is for our clients to keep moving forward and to bring
their projects to a successful and profitable conclusion. Where it
is necessary or desirable to 'run' a dispute to resolve contentious
issues, we imbue the strategy for the process with a sense of
perspective and purpose.
As part of our services to our clients, our team was heavily
involved in the preparation of a compendium of security of payment legislation
(including frequently asked questions), a useful guide for those
working in the construction industry. This comprehensive document
was compiled by the Australasian member firms of ALFA
International, a global legal network of law firms.
Experience
Our experience spans the issues that surround projects over
their lifetime, including:
- advising on and drafting a design and construct contract with
an interface to a complex and evolving property acquisition and
development transaction
- acting in a major dispute with a coating manufacturer over the
failed coating of a bridge, including the conduct of a successful
23-day Supreme Court trial
- advising a specialist contractor in the water 'space' on a
dispute, including a detailed response to a show cause notice and
default notices (successfully resolved through negotiations)
- acting for Ericsson on aspects of contract negotiations with
NBN Co for the roll out of Australia's national broadband network
(NBN)
- advising on contracts for the supply of construction services
and communications equipment by Ericsson to Telstra's T3
network
- acting for Ericsson in two construction disputes, for $115
million and $117 million respectively, incorporating a series of
security of payment claims and an international arbitration
- acting for a statutory body on a large-scale landscaping
project and dispute with a construction contractor that settled
shortly following mediation
- acting for an infrastructure contractor, including advising on
contracts for capital works, and operations and maintenance
- advising on the surfacing contract for Melbourne's EastLink
tollway
- advising on the design, supply, installation, integration and
commissioning of video display equipment, software and technical
support integrated into the control equipment for a New
Zealand hydro power station, road and rail network control rooms in
Victoria and New South Wales and various other commercial
applications
- acting on the development of bulky goods centres
Australia-wide, including drafting through negotiation during and
up to the end of the project
- advising on the design and construction of a manufacturing
plant, including contract drafting and advice throughout the term
of the project in Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia
- advising and preparing standard form contracts for clients
engaged in multiple construction transactions, particularly those
acting as principal or head contractor, Australia-wide
- acting on security of payment disputes, Australia-wide.