Projects Insights

02 April 2007

Welcome to the April edition of Clayton Utz Projects Insights. In this edition we look at the growth of alliance contracts, and the little-understood risks they raise for non-owner participants.

We'll also see how NSW's new Planning Agreements have been working in practice, what's planned for Queensland's water infrastructure, copyright in architects' plans, and making liquated damages clauses work for you.

As usual, we'll also look at some current issues in tendering and security of payments.

Liquidated damages for delay - 10 points to remember

By Georgia Quick and Jennifer Thomas.

A liquidated damages clause is an essential element of any construction contract, but how do you ensure that it will work? Georgia Quick and Jennifer Thomas set out the key points to remember when drafting one.

Risk exposure of designers and constructors under alliance contracts

By Owen Hayford.

Alliance contracts continue to gain popularity as a consequence of the stronger bargaining position of contractors in the current fraught construction market, but they can expose non-owner participants to risks that are often not fully understood. Owen Hayford examines how non-owner participants in alliances may incur liabilities that are not limited to their fees under the contract.

Implied licence and the copyright in architects' plans - Does the licence run with the land?

By Peter Knight and Nick Thomas.

When you buy land with a development approval, can you assume that you can use the plans the subject of the approval to build? What if there is a dispute between the architect and the developer – will you be drawn into the litigation mire? Peter Knight and Nick Thomas draw out a decisive answer from the High Court’s latest decision on this longstanding conundrum of copyright law.

Planning Agreements in NSW

By Gary Best and Scott Aitken.

Gary Best and Scott Aitken look at the operation of the NSW Planning Agreements regime and its interoperation with other new parts of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act.

South East Queensland water infrastructure projects

By Alan Maguire and Sibel Balicok.

In the short term, the Queensland Government is responding to water shortages with demand management measures, but in the long term, as Alan Maguire and Sibel Balicok show, it will use major strategies such as recycled water schemes, a water pipeline grid, new water storage facilities and constructing a major desalination plant.

An owner may be liable to non-bidding consortium members for decisions on a tender

By Doug Jones and Prue Larcombe.

When will a court be prepared to find that a duty of care exists to non-bidding consortium members during the tendering phase of a project? Doug Jones and Prue Larcombe look at a recent Canadian case for guidance.

The RailCorp Rolling Stock PPP

By Aggie Goss.

On 7 December 2006 an exhaustive procurement process for the RailCorp PPP Project culminated in financial close on this historical project. This significant milestone for the development of the State’s infrastructure network marked the end of a long and successful haul for us as RailCorp’s adviser, says Aggie Goss.

Court restrains the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999

By Bill Ilkovski .

Bill Ilkovski examines a recent decision which shows that an application to restrain a central aspect of the Act can be successful where potential serious prejudice is demonstrated.

Did you know... sending contractual notices by e-mail can be dangerous?

By Jim FitzSimons.

Are you about to hit “send”? Maybe you should think again. Jim FitzSimons and Robyn Metledge explain the dangers of using e-mail.

Our Major Projects team welcomes new partners

We're delighted to welcome four new partners to our team.
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