Compliance Services Brisbane | Get help with your mandatory compliance obligations

Construction Compliance Services Brisbane

What Compliance Services from Blaze Business & Legal Cover

Compliance Services Brisbane from Blaze Business & Legal cover the legal, commercial and financial compliance obligations of a construction business operating in Brisbane, Queensland and across Australia. We work with construction businesses turning over $5M to $200M that need a senior adviser who understands the rules they have to comply with, the systems and documents that demonstrate compliance, and the way compliance is built into the day-to-day operation of the business.

Compliance for a construction business is a layered set of licensing, financial, contractual, regulatory and operational obligations that apply to the business.

Most construction businesses know about the main compliance regimes. Many have taken steps to comply with that regime, often Work Health and Safety. But their biggest exposure often lies in the compliance regimes the business has not yet realised apply to it. There is often also a gap between the systems the business has implemented, the policies and procedures they have promulgated, and the way the business operates day to day.

Rachelle Hare leads the legal and contractual compliance work, drawing on her 25+ years as a Senior Construction Lawyer and Commercial Manager. Shannon Drew leads financial compliance work, drawing on 25+ years as a Management Accountant and Costs Accountant. Because compliance issues usually arise across all parts of the business, Rachelle and Shannon work together on most compliance engagements.

Brisbane Construction Compliance Areas

Compliance Areas Covered for Construction Businesses in Brisbane

The compliance areas below are the ones most often engaged by construction businesses operating in Brisbane and across Queensland. Compliance Services from Blaze Business & Legal cover the legal, commercial and financial sides of each.

QBCC Licensing Compliance

QBCC contractor licence and nominee supervisor licence compliance, licence class scope, licence condition compliance, licensee notification obligations, licence renewal preparation, and QBCC complaint and direction response. 

Compliance with the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 (Qld) and the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Regulation 2018 (Qld) as they apply to your construction business.

Rachelle Hare leads this work.

Minimum Financial Requirements Compliance

QBCC Minimum Financial Requirements compliance under the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (Minimum Financial Requirements) Regulation 2018 (Qld).

Net Tangible Asset thresholds, Current Ratio compliance, Maximum Revenue compliance and the reporting obligations that sit alongside each. 

MFR reporting category review, MFR Report and Independent Review preparation alongside your accountant, and ongoing MFR compliance monitoring. 

Shannon Drew leads this work.

Building Industry Fairness Security of Payment Compliance

Compliance with the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (Qld). 

Payment Claim and Payment Schedule mechanics, Reference Date tracking, Project Bank Account compliance where applicable, retention trust account compliance, adjudication response readiness and the document and process compliance that sits behind each. 

Equivalent compliance reviews are delivered for construction businesses operating across other Australian jurisdictions, including New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.

Rachelle Hare leads this work.

Work Health and Safety Compliance

Compliance with the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) and the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld). 

Officer due diligence obligations under section 27 of the Act, principal contractor obligations on construction sites, safety management system compliance, incident notification compliance, and the legal exposure of directors and officers personally where the business is a person conducting a business or undertaking. 

Compliance with equivalent WHS legislation in other Australian jurisdictions.

Rachelle Hare leads this work.

Australian Consumer Law and Unfair Contract Terms Compliance

Compliance with the Australian Consumer Law as it applies to construction businesses, including the Unfair Contract Terms regime under sections 23 to 28 of the ACL as it applies to standard form contracts with consumers and small business counterparties. 

Standard form Subcontract review, Purchase Order terms review, Supply Agreement review, Consultancy Agreement review and review of standard Special Conditions, indemnity clauses and other terms commonly inserted into client-issued contracts.

Rachelle Hare leads this work.

Personal Property Securities Act Compliance

Compliance with the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) for construction businesses, including PPSR registration of retention of title, leased equipment, hire arrangements and ownership interests in materials supplied. 

Subcontractor and supplier PPSR registration review, perfection of security interests, and the compliance issues that arise where construction businesses do not understand the PPSA framework.

Rachelle Hare leads this work.

Contract Compliance and Notice Compliance

The contract compliance obligations that sit inside the Construction Contracts your business signs, including Notice obligations, time-bar compliance, Variation procedures, Extension of Time procedures, Practical Completion procedures, Defects Liability Period procedures, and the documented compliance trail the contract requires. 

The compliance gap inside the contract is often the largest unrecognised compliance exposure a construction business carries.

Rachelle Hare leads this work.

Privacy and Data Compliance

Compliance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles where the construction business collects personal information about employees, contractors, customers or other individuals. 

Privacy policy and procedure review, employee information handling, and the data breach response framework required for construction businesses operating at scale.

Rachelle Hare leads this work.

Director and Officer Compliance

The compliance obligations carried personally by directors and officers of construction businesses under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), the WHS Act, the QBCC Act, the BIF Act and other Acts that impose personal compliance obligations on directors or officers.

 Personal liability exposure review, indemnity and insurance review, and the director-level compliance framework that protects directors as well as the business.

Rachelle Hare leads this work.

Why Construction Businesses Engage Blaze Business & Legal for Compliance

Why Brisbane Construction Businesses Engage Compliance Services

Most construction businesses turning over $5M to $100M+ do not have a senior in-house compliance manager. Compliance is held part-time by the Managing Director, by the General Manager, by the in-house Lawyer where there is one, or by the external accountant where there is not. The result is that compliance is reactive, episodic and concentrated in the areas the senior person already knows well, while exposure builds up in the areas the senior person does not yet recognise apply to the business.

Compliance Services from Blaze Business & Legal close that gap. The work is delivered largely by Rachelle Hare, a Senior Compliance Adviser who has been responsible for compliance inside Tier 1 and 2 contractors and Commonwealth construction clients, and who bring that lens to the compliance position of a mid-market construction business.

Compliance Services are not a generic compliance review handed back as a report and forgotten. The engagement identifies the compliance gaps that matter, sets the priority order for closing them, builds the systems and documents that demonstrate compliance, and embeds the compliance obligations into the day-to-day operation of the construction business.

Why Most General Construction Lawyers Do Not Cover This Work

Most construction lawyers in Brisbane carry out Construction Contract Review, Construction Dispute Resolution and Construction Contract Drafting. Compliance work, particularly the financial side under the QBCC MFR Regulation and the BIF Act trust account regime, sits outside the work most construction lawyers do. 

Compliance work also sits outside the work most accountants do, because the contractual and regulatory compliance obligations are legal, not accounting, work.

Compliance for a construction business cuts across both. Rachelle and Shannon bring the legal, commercial and financial expertise to compliance under one roof as part of their Business Advisory Services, which is the way construction business compliance is best delivered.

Why Rachelle and Shannon Deliver Compliance Services

Rachelle and Shannon’s Construction Compliance Experience

Rachelle Hare, Construction Lawyer, Commercial Manager and Business Adviser

Rachelle has held senior in-house Construction Lawyer and Commercial Manager roles at Tier 1 contractors including Thiess (Acting General Counsel), Laing O’Rourke (Senior Legal Counsel), Acciona (Senior Legal Counsel) and UGL, and at Commonwealth construction clients including Defence Housing Australia (Acting General Counsel). She has also worked across Commonwealth Defence procurement, including CASG alongside the Australian Government Solicitor.

In each of those roles, Rachelle held responsibility for the legal and contractual compliance of large construction programs, including BIF Act and equivalent Security of Payment compliance across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and other jurisdictions, contractual compliance under AS4000, AS4300, GC21, AUSDEFCON and Commonwealth head contract suites, ACL compliance including Unfair Contract Terms compliance for standard form contracts, and WHS Act compliance at the construction business and the construction site level.

Rachelle also spent six years as a Commercial Manager inside a Tier 2 Construction and Technology provider working on Commonwealth Defence projects, which adds a commercial and contractual compliance lens to the legal one.

Shannon Drew, Management Accountant, Costs Accountant, Fractional CFO, Commercial Adviser and Business Adviser

Shannon has 25+ years inside the construction industry as a Management Accountant and Costs Accountant, with deep experience of QBCC Minimum Financial Requirements compliance, financial reporting compliance, cash flow and Project margin reporting, and the financial controls and systems that demonstrate compliance to QBCC and to lenders.

Shannon leads the MFR side of every compliance engagement, including MFR reporting category review, preparation of the financial position to meet Net Tangible Asset, Current Ratio and Maximum Revenue thresholds, and ongoing MFR compliance monitoring against the business’s actual financial performance through the year.

Compliance Services Brisbane Delivery Model

How Compliance Services from Blaze Business & Legal Are Delivered

Compliance Services are delivered through one of three engagement models, depending on the compliance need of the construction business.

Strategy Session

A 60-minute Strategy Session is the most common entry point. The Strategy Session is paid up front, runs by phone or video, and works through the construction business’s current compliance position across the regimes that apply to it, the gaps and exposures Rachelle and Shannon can identify in the session, and the priority order for closing them.

Strategy Sessions are from $550 plus GST for a 60-minute session, with more complex sessions priced up to $750 plus GST.

Book your Strategy Session

Compliance Audit and Action Plan

A defined-scope compliance engagement that delivers a written compliance audit across the regimes the construction business is subject to, a written action plan with priorities and timeframes, and a written set of recommendations on the systems, documents and processes the construction business needs to put in place to close each gap.

Compliance Audits are scoped to the size and complexity of the construction business and priced as a fixed fee, with the fee agreed before the engagement starts.

Call Rachelle and Shannon direct to discuss a Compliance Audit and Action Plan

Compliance Retainer

An ongoing Retainer for construction businesses that want senior compliance cover month to month. The Compliance Retainer covers ongoing compliance monitoring, system and document updates as the regimes change, support on compliance questions as they arise during the month, and an annual compliance review.

Compliance Retainers are priced as a fixed monthly fee, scoped to the construction business’s size and the compliance areas covered. Some construction businesses already on the External General Counsel Retainer may have compliance work covered inside the External General Counsel Retainer scope, but generally we will need to scope this with you as a separate engagement..

Compliance Engagement Triggers for Construction Businesses

When Brisbane Construction Businesses Engage Compliance Services

The most common triggers that bring a construction business to Blaze Business & Legal for Compliance Services are below. Where three or more apply, a Strategy Session is the right next step.

• The construction business is approaching a QBCC MFR reporting date and the Managing Director is not confident the business will meet the Net Tangible Asset, Current Ratio or Maximum Revenue thresholds for its category
• The construction business has received a QBCC direction, complaint, audit or licence condition variation and needs a senior adviser across the response
• The construction business is operating across more than one jurisdiction and the BIF Act Security of Payment compliance position differs across the jurisdictions
• A Payment Claim has been received, the Payment Schedule deadline is short, and the construction business has no documented process to respond compliantly
• The construction business is moving from being a Subcontractor to being a Head Contractor and the contractual, commercial and operational compliance position needs to step up
• The construction business is preparing to bid for Tier 2 work, Brisbane 2032 work, Commonwealth work or larger State Government work, and the compliance position needs to be lifted to meet the prequalification requirements
• A WHS incident, near-miss or notifiable event has occurred and the construction business needs a senior adviser across the legal exposure of the business and the directors
• The construction business uses standard form Subcontracts or Purchase Orders and has not reviewed them for Unfair Contract Terms compliance since the Australian Consumer Law amendments commenced on 9 November 2023
• The construction business is preparing for a sale, a succession event or a transition to a new generation of ownership, and the compliance position needs to be clean before due diligence starts
• The Board or the Managing Director has asked for a compliance position paper and no one inside the business is positioned to write it

Related Construction Business Services

Related Services for Construction Businesses

Compliance Services are commonly engaged alongside the services below.

Risk Management Services

The construction business and Project risks that sit outside the compliance regimes, including contractual risk allocation, insurance review, indemnity and limitation of liability review, and the broader operational and financial risk profile of the construction business. See Risk Management.

Governance Services

The Board, director and senior management framework that sits above the compliance and risk position, including Board structure, director duties, decision-making frameworks, shareholder agreements and the documented operating system of the construction business. See Governance Services.

External General Counsel

The senior in-house legal function delivered on a Retainer to construction businesses that want ongoing senior legal cover including compliance work. See External General Counsel.

Construction Business Improvement Audit

Our Construction Business Improvement Audit is a whole-of-business audit delivered by Rachelle and Shannon together, covering your construction business across legal, commercial, financial, operational, compliance and governance dimensions.

Our Compliance Services engagement can be delivered as part of our 13-Step Construction Business Improvement System.