Construction Lawyer, Commercial Manager and Business Adviser
Rachelle Hare works with construction, civil and infrastructure businesses on contracts, procurement, risk, commercial strategy, business structure and front-end project issues where legal advice needs to make commercial sense in the real business.
Rachelle Hare is the Managing Director, Founder and Principal Legal Practitioner of Blaze Business & Legal, and a Construction Lawyer, External Commercial Manager and Business Adviser based in Brisbane, Queensland, at Suite 8, Level 7, 154 Melbourne Street, South Brisbane QLD 4101. She can be reached directly at (07) 3063 3373.
She holds a Queensland Law Society Unrestricted Principal Practising Certificate and is admitted to practise in Queensland. She advises Construction Businesses from $5M to $100M+ on Construction Contracts, Contract Review, Contract Negotiation, Construction Contract Claims, Contract Payment, Compliance, Construction Business Improvement, External General Counsel services, External Commercial Manager services, Construction Business Structuring, Governance, Risk Management, Commercial Law, and Brisbane 2032 Contract Readiness.
Her career spans top-tier private practice at McCullough Robertson, Corrs Chambers Westgarth and Meyer Vandenberg, six years as a Senior Lawyer at the Australian Government Solicitor, secondments as General Counsel at Thiess and Defence Housing Australia and as Senior Legal Counsel at Laing O’Rourke, and six years working full-time as an External Commercial Manager on major Projects, including as Deputy Program Manager for eight months.
Rachelle Hare is a Construction Lawyer, External Commercial Manager and Business Adviser with 25+ years of experience advising and working inside Construction Businesses across Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT and nationally. She founded Blaze Business & Legal with Shannon Drew in May 2021 to give Construction Businesses a whole-of-business advisory capability that private practice law firms and accounting firms cannot replicate.
Her background spans front-end Construction Law at top-tier national and specialist firms, six years as a Senior Lawyer at the Australian Government Solicitor, secondments as General Counsel at Thiess and Defence Housing Australia and as Senior Legal Counsel at Laing O’Rourke, and six years as an External Commercial Manager working full-time inside major Projects. That combination gives her a perspective most Construction Advisers lack: she has drafted, reviewed, negotiated, managed and administered the same contracts from the Principal’s side, the Head Contractor’s side and the Subcontractor’s side, and managed the commercial consequences at Project level.
At Blaze Business & Legal, Rachelle advises on Construction Contracts, Contract Payment, Compliance, Construction Business Improvement, Business Structuring, Risk Management, External Commercial Manager services, pre-litigation Dispute Resolution, External General Counsel services, Commercial Law, Government and Defence Contracts, and Brisbane 2032 Contract Readiness. Shannon Drew provides management accounting, Fractional CFO services and business advisory. Together they provide integrated legal, commercial and management accounting advice, so clients are not coordinating three separate advisers.
Explore Construction Lawyer Brisbane | Explore Construction Business Advisory | Meet Shannon Drew
Most Construction Businesses that come to us seem to be doing well on the surface. They’re winning work, delivering Projects, paying their people on time. But something underneath is not quite right. The contract terms they’re signing shift most Project risk onto them. Their business structure made sense six years ago but not now. Scope blowouts and rising costs erode more than half of a Project’s margin in too many cases. Nobody is seeing the patterns across all contracts, Projects and programs and then translating those patterns into ways to improve the business as a whole. That is where we come in.
I spent six years as an External Commercial Manager before returning to legal practice full-time. I sat in the site office, dealt with client pressure, drafted Variation claims, had them rejected, and had to find a different way to get payment. I ran the commercial function alongside Project Managers and Site Engineers on both sides of the principal/contractor relationship. That experience changed how I give legal and business advisory advice. When a client asks me whether a Variation notice will hold up, I am thinking about how that notice will look to the commercial team on the other side, what their instructions are likely to be, and what approach they are most likely to take to the claim.
My focus is front-end and practical: contracts, procurement, commercial strategy, risk management and dispute resolution before litigation becomes necessary. At Blaze Business & Legal, Shannon Drew covers financial management, cash flow forecasting and operational improvement. Together we provide integrated legal, commercial and management accounting advice, so our clients are not paying three separate advisers.
Each area below reflects where Construction Businesses most commonly engage Blaze Business & Legal, and where Rachelle Hare’s direct experience shapes the depth of advice clients receive.
Legal servicesRachelle reviews and advises across Construction Contracts, Subcontracts, commercial agreements and related documents before signing, identifying the clauses that create time-bar traps, unpriced risk and payment exposure. She advises across AS4000, AS4902, AS4903, AS2124, AS4300, ABIC, NEC4, GC21, FIDIC and bespoke forms used across Queensland, New South Wales and the ACT.
Blaze Business & Legal advises on all types of construction and related contracts, including Major Projects, mining, water, wastewater and sewage, transport, service agreements, Defence contracts and ICT contracts, from the head contract level through to Subcontracts, supply agreements and consultancy agreements. See Construction Contract Types for the full range Rachelle works with.
Rachelle advises on which terms are worth negotiating, what amendments to request and how to frame those requests so they are commercially sound. Having negotiated Construction Contracts from the Principal’s side and the Contractor’s side throughout her career, she understands what the other party is likely to accept and why.
Rachelle advises on Variation entitlement, pricing and claim preparation, Extension of Time entitlement and notices, and delay and disruption claims. In private practice she advised on, drafted, reviewed, negotiated and assisted in resolving those claims for clients across Queensland, New South Wales and the ACT. As External Commercial Manager and Deputy Program Manager she administered them at Project level, managing Variation registers, EOT notices and commercial meetings with Principals’ teams under time pressure on live Projects.
Rachelle advises on getting paid under a construction contract, including Payment Claim strategy, payment schedule responses and rights under Queensland’s Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017. She advises on both the claimant and respondent sides, and on security under construction contracts, including bank guarantees, retention and performance bonds.
Rachelle advises on dispute resolution strategy, commercial negotiations and structured resolution processes before a matter reaches tribunal or court. Her background as an External Commercial Manager gives her a direct understanding of how disputes develop and what approach the other side is most likely to take, which shapes the strategy she recommends.
Rachelle acts as External General Counsel for Construction Businesses that need a senior legal function without a full-time in-house lawyer. Having been seconded as General Counsel at Thiess and Defence Housing Australia, and as Senior Legal Counsel at a number of contractors and government agencies, she understands what a Construction Business needs from that function and how to deliver it cost-effectively on a monthly retainer.
Rachelle provides training and mentoring for in-house legal and commercial teams at Construction Businesses, covering contract administration, claims management, dispute resolution strategy and commercial risk. Her experience advising on, drafting, negotiating, managing and administering construction contracts across private practice and six years as External Commercial Manager gives that training practical depth.
Blaze Business & Legal advises on business-wide improvement for Construction Businesses through the 13-Step Construction Business Improvement System, covering systems, processes, contracts, commercial management and financial controls. Shannon Drew leads the operational and financial improvement work alongside Rachelle’s legal and commercial input.
Rachelle advises on entity structure, director risk, shareholder arrangements, joint ventures and business succession for Construction Businesses where the legal structure is creating risk or limiting growth.
Rachelle acts as External Commercial Manager for Construction Businesses that need experienced commercial management without a full-time resource. Her six years as a full-time External Commercial Manager at major Project level, including for Defence and a Tier 2 construction and technology provider, gives clients a depth of practical experience that most advisers cannot match.
Rachelle advises Construction Businesses on their compliance obligations across contract, regulatory and licensing frameworks, including Notifiable Work obligations, direction notices, show cause processes and the interaction between compliance risk and business structure. For Construction Businesses holding a QBCC Licence, she advises on Minimum Financial Requirements and Licence maintenance through growth and restructuring periods.
Rachelle advises on governance frameworks, board structure, director duties, policy and accountability for Construction Businesses where growth or restructuring has outpaced the existing governance arrangements. Her background includes governance advisory for Commonwealth authorities and large Contractors.
Rachelle advises on risk identification, risk allocation and risk management across contracts, Projects and business operations, drawing on her experience advising on, drafting, negotiating, managing and administering construction contracts across every position in the contract chain and six years managing commercial risk at Project level.
Rachelle advises Construction Businesses on preparing for and winning Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic infrastructure work, including contract readiness, procurement strategy and whether to bid for Brisbane 2032 work.
Direct access to a Partner-level Construction Lawyer & skilled Business Adviser
No intake team, no juniors assigned to your file. Rachelle works directly with her clients from the first conversation through to completion. Call to discuss what you need help with, or request a fixed-price quote.
Rachelle’s 25+ year career spans top-tier private practice, six years as a Senior Lawyer at the Australian Government Solicitor, secondments as General Counsel and Senior Legal Counsel into a Tier 1 Contractor | Brisbane, Queensland and a major Government entity, and six years working full-time as an External Commercial Manager on major Projects contracted through Blaze Business & Legal.
Very few Construction Lawyers have been seconded as General Counsel into a Tier 1 Contractor | Brisbane, Queensland and a major Government entity. Very few Construction Lawyers have also practised as a Commercial Manager for six years, let alone a Deputy Program Manager for eight months as well. Rachelle has done both, and has also held roles on the Principal side, so she has drafted, reviewed, negotiated, managed and administered Construction Contracts from every position in the contract chain.
“Rachelle is the real deal. She read our head contract, told us straight which clauses were going to cost us money on the current job and which ones we could live with, and gave us the notices we needed to be issuing the same week. Blaze Business & Legal is now the first call I make on any new contract.”M. S., Director, mid-sized earthworks company, Brisbane
“We had a Variation Claim running into the hundreds of thousands that our Principal was refusing to pay. Rachelle reviewed our contract administration trail, told us exactly what we had and what we were missing, and helped us build a claim that held up. She didn’t sugarcoat the weak points, she fixed them. The matter resolved well before it needed to go any further.”J. M., Director, mid-tier civil Contractor, Southeast Queensland
“We brought Rachelle in when our business had grown faster than our systems could handle. She and Shannon looked at our contracts, our structure and our financials together and gave us a clear picture of where the risk actually sat. The restructure they recommended has made a massive difference to how we operate and what we can bid for. It’s not like talking to a lawyer, it’s like talking to someone who has actually run a construction business.”D. K., Managing Director, commercial builder, Brisbane
“We use Blaze Business and Legal as our External General Counsel. Every contract that comes across our desk goes to Rachelle first. She turns it around fast, flags the clauses that actually matter for our type of work, and gives us a clear steer on what to push back on and what to accept. Having that level of advice on a retainer means we can take on larger contracts with confidence.”S. B., Director, specialist subcontractor, Brisbane
Rachelle has written all of the articles, guides and resources in Construction Industry Insights, and has published and presented across legal, industry and professional platforms. External work where Rachelle is the named author or subject is listed below.
Five independent recognitions: a legal directory listing, a national newspaper feature, a peak body board role and two professional listings.
Doyle’s Guide, recommended Construction Lawyer
Rachelle is listed in Doyle’s Guide, Australia’s leading independent legal directory for Construction Law practitioners in Queensland.
The Courier-Mail, Brisbane’s 60 most inspirational women
Rachelle was named by The Courier-Mail (News Corp Australia) as one of Brisbane’s 60 most inspirational women shaping the city’s future, in an independent editorial feature from Australia’s leading Queensland newspaper.
Deputy Chair and Company Secretary, ACT Writers Centre
Rachelle served as Deputy Chair and Company Secretary of the ACT Writers Centre for four years, the peak body for writers and writing in the Australian Capital Territory.
Women on Boards Australia, Members on Boards
Rachelle is profiled in the Women on Boards Australia Members on Boards success stories, recognising her board and governance experience across professional and not-for-profit organisations.
Best Fractional General Counsel Services in Australia, Digital Reference
Rachelle is included in Digital Reference’s independent listing of leading External General Counsel practitioners in Australia.
Legal qualifications and admissions
Professional memberships
Rachelle was seconded as General Counsel at Thiess, one of Australia’s largest Tier 1 construction and mining Contractors, and as Senior Legal Counsel at Laing O’Rourke. She was also seconded as General Counsel at Defence Housing Australia and provided Senior Legal Counsel services to Acciona Infrastructure Australia.
She then spent six years as a full-time External Commercial Manager on major Projects before returning to full-time legal practice. That combination of top-tier private practice, Tier 1 in-house experience and six years in commercial management roles is uncommon in the Queensland Construction Law market.
Rachelle advises Contractors, Subcontractors, Specialist Subcontractors, Suppliers and civil builders. Having drafted, reviewed, negotiated and administered Construction Contracts from the Principal’s side, the Head Contractor’s side and the Subcontractor’s side throughout her career, she understands how risk is allocated differently depending on where a business sits in the contract chain.
Her advice to Subcontractors on Security of Payment claims, Variations and time bars draws directly on her experience administering those issues as an External Commercial Manager at head contractor level.
Rachelle advises on the full range of Australian standard form Construction Contracts, including AS4000, AS4902, AS4903, AS2124, AS4300, ABIC, NEC4, GC21 and FIDIC, as well as bespoke head contracts, Subcontracts, supply agreements and consultancy agreements. She also advises on Commonwealth procurement contracts, defence contracts, mining contracts, PPPs and alliances. Her advice covers contract structure, risk allocation, payment terms, Variation clauses, Extension of Time entitlements, termination rights and security provisions.
Rachelle advises on both legal and business questions, and for a Construction Business the two are rarely separate. She advises on business structuring, commercial strategy, governance, risk management, compliance, External Commercial Manager services and Construction Business Improvement alongside her construction law work.
Where a client engagement also has a management accounting, cash flow or financial dimension, Rachelle works alongside Shannon Drew so clients receive integrated legal, commercial and management accounting advice without coordinating separate advisers.
Rachelle is based at Blaze Business & Legal’s Brisbane office at Suite 8, Level 7, 154 Melbourne Street, South Brisbane QLD 4101. She advises clients across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, the ACT and nationally, and has worked on Projects and with clients across all major Australian states and territories throughout her career.
Commercial Law and Construction Law engagements at Blaze Business & Legal are priced on a fixed-fee basis, with the fee agreed before work begins. Business Advisory engagements are scoped and priced at the outset. To request a fixed-price quote, call Rachelle directly on (07) 3063 3373 or use the contact form.
Rachelle offers External General Counsel retainers for Construction Businesses that need a senior legal function on an ongoing basis. The Quick Question Retainer starts from $2,000+GST per month and the External GC Retainer starts from $2,500+GST per month, both available month to month with no lock-in beyond the current month. Defined-project retainers, such as a Legal Playbook for a specific contract or procurement process, are also available. See External General Counsel for full details.
Rachelle’s point of difference is the combination of front-end Construction Law and six years as a full-time External Commercial Manager at Project level, on both sides of the principal/contractor relationship. Most Construction Lawyers advise on contracts without having drafted Variation registers, run commercial meetings with a Principal’s team, or prepared EOT notices under time pressure on a live Project. Rachelle has done all of those things across Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT and nationally.
On the business advisory side, Shannon Drew adds management accounting, cash flow and business improvement capability, so clients get integrated advice across legal, commercial and financial matters without coordinating separate advisers. Very few firms in Australia offer that combination under one roof.
Rachelle has advised on contracts from the Principal’s side and the Contractor’s side, and managed commercial functions at Project level as an External Commercial Manager. Getting the legal position right and getting the commercial outcome right go together: cash flow, project delivery, negotiation leverage and what her client can put into practice all depend on sound legal foundations and sound commercial judgment working in the same direction.
Rachelle starts with the commercial objective, not the contract clause. She identifies what outcome her client needs, which risks carry the most financial exposure, and what commercial position can realistically be protected or improved before any drafting or advice begins.
A contract dispute affects cash flow. A payment issue affects the relationship. A structuring problem creates legal exposure. Rachelle looks at the contract, the delivery environment, the Project pressure points and the broader business consequences together, drawing on her background as an External Commercial Manager and General Counsel.
Where a matter also has a financial or operational dimension, Rachelle works alongside Shannon Drew so her client gets integrated legal, commercial and management accounting advice without coordinating two separate advisers. See the Construction Business Improvement Audit and the 13-Step Construction Business Improvement System.
Rachelle works directly with her clients. Relationships are not handed off to junior team members. All engagements are scoped and priced at the outset, with the fee agreed before work begins.
Call or write to Rachelle directly
You get a Partner-level Construction Lawyer and Commercial Lawyer with 25+ years experience, and a skilled Business Adviser and Commercial Manager as well. Call to discuss what you need help with, or submit a request for a fixed-price quote.
Or email enquiry@blazebusinessandlegal.com.au
