Construction Law - Brisbane, Queensland & Australia
Rachelle Hare has practised Construction Law for 25+ years across Tier 1 and Tier 2 contractors, top-tier private practice, government and defence. She advises construction businesses across Australia on contracts, payment, compliance, disputes and risk, plus much more.
The best place to go for help with Construction Law Brisbane issues
Construction Law covers every legal obligation that arises in the construction industry. The contract determines who is responsible for what. Payment law governs when money moves and what happens when it does not. Licensing law determines whether you have the legal right to do the work and claim payment for it. Safety and environmental obligations run on every site, continuously, whether or not anyone is paying attention to them.
In Queensland, the stakes are higher than in most industries. The QBCC Act can strip a contractor’s right to be paid if their licence does not cover the work they are performing. BIFA (the Building Industry Fairness Act 2017) gives contractors and subcontractors a fast, enforceable right to claim payment that overrides what the contract says. Time bars in construction contracts can extinguish valid claims in two to five Business Days, depending on the terms of the construction contract.
Given all this, getting Construction Law right is critical commercially, operationally and financially for your construction business.
Most businesses contact us when a specific problem has appeared. Here's what those problems look like - and what we do about each one.
We review head contracts, subcontracts and every standard form used in Australian construction - AS4000, AS4000:2025, AS2124, AS4902, ABIC, NEC4, FIDIC, GC21 and bespoke government forms. We explain what the contract actually requires, where the risk sits, and what is worth pushing back on before you sign. Rachelle has reviewed contracts at this level inside Tier 1 contractors and in private practice for 25 years.
Queensland's Building Industry Fairness Act 2017 gives contractors and subcontractors specific rights to claim and recover payment. The default due date for payment is 10 Business Days after a payment claim is given. A payment schedule must be issued within 15 Business Days or the full claimed amount becomes immediately due. Pay-when-paid clauses cannot legally prevent you from claiming under BIFA. Adjudication can produce a binding result in as little as four weeks.
Variation and extension of time claims fail for two reasons: the documentation is insufficient or the notice was served outside the time bar. Most construction contracts require written notice within two to five Business Days of the triggering event. Miss that window and the entitlement can be extinguished entirely, regardless of the merits of the underlying claim. We advise on what your contract requires, how to build the evidence, and whether a missed time bar can be challenged.
Before a contract is signed is when legal advice has the most commercial impact. We review tender documents, advise on risk allocation, help structure your subcontract suite, and identify what positions are worth negotiating before you are locked in. This includes Queensland government work under the Queensland Procurement Policy 2026, Commonwealth defence contracts, and major infrastructure procurement.
When a project is behind schedule, over budget, or a key relationship has broken down, you need advice fast. We advise on notice obligations, liquidated damages exposure, defects liability period management, practical completion disputes, and how to position your business before a construction dispute becomes formal. We also advise on what happens when a subcontractor on your project becomes insolvent mid-delivery - a situation where early action protects your ability to complete the works and recover from the available security.
A QBCC licence in the wrong category, a failure to meet Minimum Financial Requirements under the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (Minimum Financial Requirements) Regulation 2018, a Direction to Rectify, or a governance problem in the business structure can each affect your right to operate and be paid. Shannon Drew works alongside Rachelle to provide the financial management dimension where it overlaps with the legal work.
Blaze Business & Legal works with construction, civil and infrastructure businesses across Queensland and Australia. Most clients run revenue between $5M and $100M, with multiple active projects under fixed-price contracts. Rachelle has practised in Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra.
We also advise commercial managers, contracts administrators and project managers who need direct legal input on a specific contract or live project issue. You do not need to be the business owner or MD to work with us.
Most clients are in Queensland. We also advise businesses in New South Wales, the ACT and other states on construction contracts and Australian national law matters.
If you are a residential builder who needs help reviewing a MBA or HIA contract, or needs advice on a matter specific to schedule 1B of the QBCC Act or the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme, contact us and we will advise whether we can assist or point you toward the right resource.
Select the area that best fits what you are dealing with. Each links to a full page.
Before you sign. We review head contracts, subcontracts and consultant agreements across every standard form used in Australian construction and tell you exactly what you are agreeing to.
Learn more →Contracts drafted to protect your position. Head contracts, subcontracts and bespoke agreements for civil, commercial, infrastructure, government and defence projects.
Learn more →Negotiation, advice and full contract suites. AS4000, AS4000:2025, AS2124, ABIC, NEC4, FIDIC, GC21 and government forms. Head contracts, subcontracts and supply arrangements.
Learn more →Design and Construct, Construct Only, ECI, Managing Contractor, Alliance, PPP and EPC. Advice on what each method means for your risk allocation before you commit to a delivery model.
Learn more →Legal and commercial advice during live project delivery. Contract administration, superintendent management, payment compliance and commercial positioning throughout the project.
Learn more →Notice obligations, variation claims, extension of time claims, latent conditions, delay and disruption, defects liability and final account negotiations.
Learn more →BIFA payment claims, payment schedules, adjudication strategy, subcontractors' charges, Project Trust Account compliance and recovering money owed to you on Queensland construction projects.
Learn more →Managing disputes before they reach formal proceedings. Negotiation strategy, adjudication under BIFA, and pre-litigation positioning to protect your commercial position.
Learn more →QBCC licensing, Minimum Financial Requirements, nominee supervisor obligations, Directions to Rectify and regulatory compliance across Queensland and national frameworks.
Learn more →Contractual risk allocation, construction insurance alignment, director and personal liability exposure, performance security and structural business risk.
Learn more →Director duties, shareholder agreements, joint ventures, company constitutions and corporate governance frameworks for construction businesses.
Learn more →Acting as the embedded legal function for construction businesses without in-house counsel. Ongoing legal oversight, contract administration and strategic legal support.
Learn more →Getting construction law advice from Rachelle is direct. No junior lawyers handling your matter.
Describe what you are dealing with. Rachelle responds personally. If the matter is within scope, she will tell you what she can do and what it will cost before any work begins.
Every matter is priced upfront. There are no hourly billing surprises and no open-ended arrangements. You know the cost before the work starts.
Rachelle works directly with you throughout. You deal with the person who has 25+ years of Construction Law Brisbane experience - advice specific to your contract, your project and your business.
Fixed-price quotes for all legal work. No surprises.
Construction law in Australia comes from several sources at once. Federal law sets national standards. Queensland legislation adds state-specific rules that can override what the contract says. Common law principles, developed through court decisions over decades, fill the gaps between the statutes.
Getting the right answer depends on knowing which layer applies, and that’s why you need to engage a Brisbane Construction Law expert.
The NCC sets minimum technical standards for building design and construction across Australia. It covers structural safety, fire safety, energy efficiency and accessibility.
In Queensland, NCC 2022 is the currently applicable edition. NCC 2025, the updated national edition, will not apply in Queensland until 1 May 2027. Queensland has included a variation in Schedule 7 of NCC 2025 delaying its commencement by 12 months to give the construction industry time to prepare.
NCC 2025 may be used on a voluntary basis in Queensland from 1 May 2026 if both parties agree.
Non-compliance with the applicable NCC edition creates both regulatory and contractual consequences. Many construction contracts require compliance with the NCC as an express obligation, so it is important that all construction companies are familiar with its requirements.
The QBCC Act is the primary licensing and regulatory law for the Queensland building industry.
The QBCC Act requires anyone performing building work to hold a QBCC licence in the correct category for that work. The payment consequences of getting the licence category wrong are severe, and not as well-known as they ought to be.
Under section 42 of the QBCC Act, a contractor who performs building work without the right licence cannot make a statutory progress payment claim under BIFA (see below). They are limited to recovering the direct cost of supplying labour and materials – no profit, no overhead recovery, and no payment for their own time on the job.
Queensland courts have applied this provision strictly. This has ended disputes badly for contractors who did not know it applied to them.
The QBCC Act was amended by the Queensland Building and Construction Commission and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 (Qld), which modernised the regulatory framework to support digital service delivery and updated administrative procedures.
The QBCC Act also establishes the Minimum Financial Requirements framework, operated under the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (Minimum Financial Requirements) Regulation 2018. Licence holders must maintain minimum net tangible asset and current asset ratios relative to annual reported turnover. Annual reporting is required. Non-compliance triggers licence conditions and, if unresolved, suspension or cancellation.
Shannon Drew provides MFR assessment and reporting support alongside Rachelle Hare as part of Blaze Business & Legal’s services.
BIFA is Queensland’s security of payment law. It gives contractors and subcontractors the right to serve a payment claim, require a payment schedule in response, and pursue adjudication if payment is disputed or withheld.
The key timeframes:
Adjudication produces a binding decision, typically within 10 Business Days for standard claims, which is enforceable by the claimant as a court judgment.
Pay-when-paid clauses are void and unenforceable under BIFA. Subcontractors retain their right to claim and adjudicate regardless of whether the head contractor has been paid.
BIFA also introduced Project Trust Accounts for certain Queensland projects. Principals must hold project funds in trust and pay head contractors from those accounts. Head contractors must hold subcontractor funds in trust. Retention Trust Accounts apply on eligible private sector projects valued at $10M or more. Compliance is ongoing with specific reporting and training obligations.
Construction businesses in New South Wales operate under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW). Victoria operates under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Vic), with major reforms commencing 1 September 2026. Each state has its own timeframes and procedures – the timeframes above are Queensland-specific.
The WHS Act imposes obligations on all parties conducting business on a construction site. The concept of Principal Contractor – updated in AS4000:2025 to align with current WHS requirements – places site-wide safety obligations on the party managing the overall site.
These obligations sit alongside contractual safety obligations. They carry separate regulatory consequences if not met, including substantial fines and potential prosecution.
Construction projects in Queensland must meet obligations covering dust, noise, waste, soil and water contamination. Environmental approvals are frequently conditions precedent to commencing works under a contract. On government and infrastructure projects, environmental compliance is typically an express contract obligation with specific reporting requirements.
The Australian Consumer Law applies to all businesses in Australia, including construction businesses. The prohibition on misleading and deceptive conduct, unfair contract terms protections and statutory guarantees all affect how building contracts operate and how disputes about quality are resolved.
Some ACL protections cannot be excluded by contract. This has practical consequences for how indemnity clauses and liability caps in construction contracts actually work, particularly in circumstances where a party is also a consumer.
The PPSA governs security interests in personal property, including plant and equipment, materials on site and the proceeds of construction contracts. If a supplier becomes insolvent and has not registered a security interest, materials on your site may vest in the liquidator rather than remain yours to use.
AS4000:2025 addresses PPSA obligations that the 1997 version of AS4000 did not. Understanding your PPSA position is relevant on any project where material supply is a significant risk factor or where a counterparty’s financial position is uncertain.
Queensland’s proportionate liability legislation limits each concurrent wrongdoer in a construction dispute to their proportionate share of the loss. In a claim involving a designer, a contractor and a superintendent, each party pays only their share not the full amount.
Queensland allows parties to contract out of proportionate liability in certain circumstances. That agreement must be explicit and correctly drafted in the contract. Getting this wrong means one party carries more than their proportionate share.
QCAT has jurisdiction over certain building disputes in Queensland, particularly in the residential building sector, up to defined monetary thresholds. Above those thresholds, the Supreme Court of Queensland has jurisdiction.
Understanding which forum applies to your dispute matters. The procedures, costs, timeframes and available remedies differ significantly between QCAT and the Supreme Court.
Construction Law applies differently depending on your role on the project. Your legal obligations, payment rights and risk exposure are not the same as those of the other parties.
Your legal exposure runs in both directions. Upward to the principal through the head contract. Downward to subcontractors through your subcontract suite.
WHS obligations as Principal Contractor, QBCC licensing compliance, payment obligations under BIFA and the Project Trust Account regime, subcontract management, and performance security and retention obligations are all areas of active, simultaneous legal responsibility.
When a subcontractor on your project becomes insolvent, your position is specific and time-sensitive. Calling on available security, issuing correct contractual notices, and understanding the interaction with the Project Trust Account regime all need to happen quickly. Early advice protects your ability to complete the works and recover your losses from what is available.
Back-to-back obligations flow risk down from the head contract, often on terms that are harder to manage than those the head contractor accepted from the principal.
Notice periods are typically shorter. Indemnity clauses are frequently broader. Retention conditions and performance security requirements can be onerous. Defects liability period obligations extend your exposure well after practical completion.
Under BIFA, pay-when-paid clauses are void and unenforceable. Your right to make a payment claim and pursue adjudication exists independently of whether the head contractor has been paid by the principal. Subcontractors are among the construction businesses that benefit most from a contract review before signing.
Civil and infrastructure projects typically involve government contracts, complex delivery models and regulatory layers that commercial building does not.
Project Trust Account obligations, Queensland Procurement Policy 2026 requirements, environmental protection compliance and WHS Principal Contractor obligations all sit alongside the contractual obligations.
Understanding each of these from the start of the project, not partway through delivery, helps to protect your commercial position throughout the life of the contract.
If you are commissioning construction work, your legal obligations include contract obligations to your contractor, WHS duties under the WHS Act 2011 (Qld), financial obligations under BIFA, and on government projects, compliance with the Queensland Procurement Policy 2026 and Commonwealth procurement rules.
Getting contract terms right before you issue them to market is significantly cheaper than managing construction disputes after they arise. Rachelle has drafted and reviewed contracts from the principal's side across major commercial, civil, infrastructure and government projects.
Working across state borders? If your business operates in Queensland and New South Wales simultaneously (or in two or more other States and Territories), different Security of Payment legislation applies depending on where the construction work is performed, not where the contract is signed. Payment schedule timeframes, reference dates and adjudication procedures all differ between States. We advise businesses operating in other jurisdictions and across jurisdictions on which rules apply and how to comply with each. Rachelle Hare is a Construction Law Brisbane expert, but she also advises on other jurisdictions around Australia and can help you with your issue.
Rachelle has reviewed contracts as the contractor's General Counsel at Thiess and drafted them in private practice. She has prepared variation claims from inside project teams and assessed them in the role of principal's adviser. If you need advice from someone who understands how construction businesses actually work, call direct or send a message.
She knows what the other side is thinking when she reviews a construction contract, because she has been on that side.
Rachelle has practised construction law for more than 25 years across every environment in which construction law is practised in Australia.
At Corrs Chambers Westgarth and McCullough Robertson, two of Australia's top-tier private practice firms, she built her construction law and commercial law foundation. As Acting General Counsel at Thiess, she managed construction law across major projects in multiple states for the largest private sector infrastructure contractor in Australia at the time. As Senior Legal Counsel at Laing O'Rourke and Acciona, she negotiated and advised on major civil and infrastructure contracts. At UGL, DHA and Golding she provided specialist legal support across defence, government infrastructure and civil construction. Through the Australian Government Solicitor she advised Queensland and Commonwealth government clients on defence contracts, government procurement and Commonwealth construction law matters.
Alongside those legal roles, Rachelle spent six years as a full-time Senior Commercial Manager on major infrastructure projects. She prepared variation claims, managed extension of time submissions, dealt with principals' representatives, and negotiated final accounts from inside a contractor's project team. That experience changes how she reads a contract. She understands how the other party drafted it and what they were trying to protect, because she has sat in their chair.
At Blaze Business & Legal, she works directly with clients. Construction business owners, managing directors, commercial managers and contracts administrators dealing with live project issues all have direct access. Shannon Drew, Management Accountant, Costs Accountant, Fractional CFO, Commercial Adviser and Business Adviser, works alongside Rachelle on matters where the commercial, financial and business dimensions of a problem overlap with the legal work.
Rachelle Hare has spent 25 years practising construction law across Tier 1 and Tier 2 contractors, top-tier private practice at Corrs Chambers Westgarth and McCullough Robertson, government advisory through the Australian Government Solicitor, and in-house roles at Thiess, Laing O'Rourke, Acciona, UGL, DHA and Golding.
Fixed-price quotes for all Construction Law Brisbane work. No surprises.
