Featured Analysis
Shannon Drew has modelled how six simultaneous cost inputs cascade through project margin, overhead, WIP reporting and cash flow on live construction projects. If you have not read this, read it before you make any decisions about your portfolio.
Shannon Drew, Management Accountant, Costs Accountant and Fractional CFO
Most contractors feel the margin squeeze before they can see it in their reports. Shannon works through a real project scenario with all six cost inputs and shows exactly how the numbers move through your P&L, overhead recovery and business cash flow.
Read Shannon's cost and margin analysis →Industry Intelligence
Compiled by Rachelle Hare and Shannon Drew. Covers the 2026 fuel crisis, input cost data, supply chain disruption, contract risk, insolvency trends and the national outlook. Includes contributions from industry practitioners and government data. Read this alongside the 8-Step Action Plan to understand the full context behind the cost pressures hitting your projects.
Read the full industry report →Our 8-Step Action Plan
We developed this framework because construction businesses were coming to us with the same problem and no clear path through it. Each step builds on what the previous step reveals. Work through them in order, or bring your questions to a Strategy Session.
Why costs are rising in 2026, how the six main cost drivers interact with your contracts, and a step-by-step framework for assessing your position, recovering what you can and protecting your business.
Read our full 8-Step Action Plan →Project by project. All six cost inputs. Without this number, nothing else is possible.
Which projects are critical, which need managing, which need watching.
Before any other step. Time bars close and valid claims are lost permanently.
Documented, verifiable, specific. Built from actual cost data, not estimates.
Lead with delivery risk, not contractor hardship.
Deed of amendment before the project moves forward.
Whether downstream contracts pass cost risk and on what terms.
Director obligations, personal exposure, structural decisions under financial stress.
Where the Cost Pressure Is Landing
Cost escalation moves through your contracts, your project finances and your business at the same time. Read the articles that apply to your business.
Every unrecoverable cost increase comes directly off your margin. Most contracts contain no effective escalation mechanism. The question is whether yours is one of the exceptions, and what you can do if it is not.
Read: fixed-price contracts and cost increases →Most Australian escalation clauses calculate against a price index that moves slower than actual costs. Caps and base date limitations often reduce what you recover to well below what you have spent.
Read: rise and fall clauses in Australian construction contracts →Notice time bars in Australian construction contracts typically run from 2 Business Days to 14 Business Days from the triggering event. A missed notice extinguishes an otherwise valid claim permanently.
Read: notice obligations for cost claims →The 2026 Iran conflict pushed diesel, transport, plant and materials costs sharply higher. If your projects are fuel-sensitive, the gap between your tendered costs and actual cost-to-complete has widened significantly.
Read: fuel costs and construction in 2026 →When costs cannot be recovered through the contract, the shortfall comes off margin. Reduced margin reduces the cash buffer that keeps your projects and your business viable.
Read: how rising costs compress construction margins →Construction failures in Australia are running at elevated levels. The warning signs frequently do not appear in management accounts until the position is already serious.
Read: why builders go broke in Australia →Blaze Business & Legal
Get help with your contracts, cash flow and business
All Articles, Analysis and Resources
Start with our 8-Step Action Plan and Shannon's cost and margin analysis above. Then work through the articles below that apply to your contracts and your business.
What rise and fall clauses actually provide, how they calculate under AS 4000 and other standards, and why they frequently deliver less recovery than you expect.
Read this article →When force majeure applies to cost escalation, what your clause must say to provide relief, and what principals and contractors are arguing on Australian projects in 2026.
Read this article →Notice requirements under AS 4000, NEC, GC21 and other standards, and how a missed notice extinguishes an otherwise valid cost entitlement permanently.
Read this article →What options you actually have when locked into a fixed-price contract and your costs have moved, covering variation entitlements, commercial renegotiation and documented change management.
Read this article →How government contract frameworks handle cost escalation, including Commonwealth procurement rules, GC21 Schedule 7, and the realities of approaching a government client for relief.
Read this article →How the Iran conflict disrupted Australian fuel supply and pushed diesel, transport, plant and materials costs up, and what that means for your live projects.
Read this article →Shannon Drew's analysis of how cost escalation moves through project P&L, overhead recovery and cash flow, and what the data looks like before the pressure becomes a crisis.
Read Shannon's analysis →How principals assess contractor cost claims, what arguments they anticipate, and what commercial approach gives you the best prospect of a negotiated outcome.
Read this article →The main causes of construction business failure, the warning signs before insolvency, and the actions available when problems are identified early enough to act.
Read this article →Blaze Business & Legal
A contract issue affects cash flow. A cash flow problem creates structural exposure. Operational decisions carry legal consequences. Blaze Business & Legal addresses your contracts, commercial position, project finances, business structure and risk together, because in construction, none of these are separate problems.
Construction Lawyer and Managing Director
25 years in construction law and business advisory. Worked in-house at Thiess, Laing O'Rourke, Acciona, DHA and Golding, and in private practice at Corrs Chambers Westgarth and McCullough Robertson. She advises on contracts, security of payment, commercial disputes, QBCC compliance, business structuring and director obligations.
Management Accountant, Costs Accountant, Fractional CFO, Commercial Adviser and Business Adviser
25 years working inside and alongside construction businesses at every scale. Shannon provides management accounting, cost accounting, fractional CFO services, commercial advisory, cash flow modelling, project profitability analysis, pricing strategy, WIP reporting, operational advisory and business advisory across the full scope of a construction business.
Blaze Business & Legal
We work out exactly where you stand, give you a clear set of recommendations across your contracts, commercial position, project finances and business structure, then work alongside you to implement them.
Most accessible
Strategy Session
$750 + GST
60 minutes with Rachelle or Shannon. Verbal advice on your specific position.
Most requested
Contract Audit
$1,500 + GST
Written advice on your specific contract. What you can claim and how.
Most comprehensive
Business Triage
$1,975 + GST
Rachelle and Shannon together. Written recommendations across all 8 steps.
