When do construction businesses need a Construction Lawyer?
Construction Business Owners and Decision-Makers seek legal advice when:
A Contract carries risks they have not priced
Onerous Special Conditions, design responsibility, indemnities or insurance obligations.
A tender is closing
The team needs a Legal Review, Statement of Departures or negotiation advice before committing.
Payment has been withheld
Rejected Payment Claims, set-offs or retention are affecting Cashflow.
A project claim is disputed
Variations, Latent Conditions, Extensions of Time or Liquidated Damages are at stake.
A dispute is escalating
Allegations about defects, performance, suspension or termination require a considered response.
A Construction Lawyer with Commercial Manager experience
Our Construction Law services help established Contractors, Subcontractors, Builders and Suppliers work out their contractual position and decide how to protect their business.
With 25+ years in Construction Law and six years working full-time as a Commercial Manager, Rachelle Hare brings both legal and project delivery experience to tender negotiations, claims and difficult commercial decisions. Clients work directly with Rachelle, whether their projects are in Brisbane, elsewhere in Queensland or across Australia.
What do construction lawyers in Brisbane do?
Construction Lawyers in Brisbane advise construction businesses on Construction Contracts, Contract Drafting and Contract Negotiations, Security of Payment rights, Project Claims and Construction Disputes. Their work includes risk allocation, Variations, delays, defects, termination and dispute resolution.
Our services concentrate on front-end Construction Law, including Tendering, Contract Administration, Contractual Claims and Pre-Litigation Negotiations. For a broader explanation, read our Construction Law guide.
Why choose Blaze Business & Legal for Construction Law advice?
We act for Contractors, Subcontractors and Suppliers on commercial building, civil construction and infrastructure projects.
Legal advice informed by Commercial Management
An indemnity, a design warranty or a notice deadline has a direct consequence for tender pricing, insurance and the people administering the Contract.
Our advice connects those obligations to the decisions your estimating, commercial and project teams must make.
Rachelle has 25+ years of Construction Law experience, including six years working full-time as a Commercial Manager. Her experience spans Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 Contractors, including Thiess, Laing O'Rourke, Acciona, UGL and Golding, and Commonwealth work involving Defence Housing Australia, CASG and the Australian Government Solicitor.
Construction industry experience
Heavily amended AS 4000 and AS 4902 Contracts, Subcontract flow-down terms, disputed claims and difficult project negotiations require an understanding of how construction businesses operate.
Our work focuses on commercial building, civil construction and infrastructure Contractors, Subcontractors, specialist trades and Suppliers.
Advice considers the obligations the business is being asked to accept, the work it must deliver and the consequences for the people responsible for administering the Contract.
Direct access to your Construction Lawyer
Contractors dealing with urgent tender or claim deadlines need their lawyer to understand the project history without repeatedly briefing different people.
Clients deal directly with Rachelle throughout their legal engagement.
Our fixed-price quotation identifies the agreed scope, deliverables and exclusions before work begins. Separate work, including a Statement of Departures or Commercial Review, is scoped and quoted separately.
Construction Law services that protect your commercial position
Advice for Contractors, Subcontractors and Suppliers from tender through to dispute.
Construction Contract Reviews
Before a tender is submitted, a Contractor, Subcontractor or Supplier needs to know whether the proposed Contract transfers risks that were never included in its price.
Our Construction Contract Review service helps identify Special Conditions that could increase cost or liability. Particular attention goes to design responsibility, professional indemnity insurance, payment restrictions, short time bars, indemnities, liability caps and performance security.
A Legal Review is delivered as a detailed email with priority-ranked advice and recommended amendments.
See also Construction Contract Advice.
Tender and Contract Negotiations
A tender is often the last chance to change the Contract before it becomes binding.
Our advice helps you decide which departures matter most to your price and risk, prepare a Statement of Departures and negotiate amendments with the Principal or Head Contractor.
Where you need a Statement of Departures, tender negotiations or a separate Commercial Review, our quotation identifies that additional work.
Read more about Construction Contract Negotiation.
Contract Drafting and Commercial Agreements
A Head Contractor may have accepted obligations that its Subcontract does not pass through to the party performing the work. That can leave the Head Contractor responsible for risks it expected someone else to manage.
Our drafting and negotiation advice helps align agreements with the actual scope, payment procedures, insurance and design obligations.
For Suppliers, our work extends to supply-and-install agreements, warranties, retention of title and delivery terms.
Read more about Construction Contract Drafting.
Variations, Latent Conditions and Extensions of Time
A rejected Variation can leave the Contractor paying for directed work while a separate delay claim remains unresolved.
Our advice helps identify the contractual basis of entitlement, the required notices and the records needed to support the claim.
Depending on the project, the assessment may involve Superintendent's Directions, Latent Conditions, Extensions of Time, disruption, the Date for Completion and Liquidated Damages.
Our Contract Variations and Construction Contract Claims pages provide further information.
Project Delivery Legal, Commercial and Risk Advice
Once a project starts, legal and commercial risk shows up in the programme, design changes, site instructions and the performance of Subcontractors and Suppliers.
Our advice helps project and commercial teams understand their obligations under the Contract and manage risk before it becomes a claim or dispute.
The procurement model, design responsibility, insurance, security and Subcontract flow-down terms can all affect that risk.
Read more about Construction Project Delivery, Commercial Management and Risk Management Services.
Contract Administration Advice, Notices and Claims
Many entitlements are lost because a notice is late, incomplete or sent to the wrong person.
Our advice helps you meet notice requirements and time bars, respond to directions and keep the records needed to support a claim.
Read more about Construction Contract Management and Construction Contract Claims.
Payment Claims and Payment Disputes
When a Principal or Head Contractor reduces a progress claim or applies set-offs, your business needs to understand both its contractual rights and any applicable Security of Payment rights.
Our advice addresses Payment Schedules, retention, back-charges, contractual payment provisions and the records supporting the amount claimed.
Queensland payment procedures under the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (Qld) can involve short statutory deadlines.
Our Construction Contract Payment service explains the assistance available.
Resolving Construction Disputes
Before responding to a breach notice, calling on security or considering termination, your business needs to assess its contractual rights, supporting evidence and commercial exposure.
Our advice may include claim responses, settlement terms and pre-litigation resolution with Principals, Head Contractors, Subcontractors or Suppliers.
Blaze Business & Legal focuses on front-end advice and pre-litigation resolution. Our Legal Services do not include insolvency advice, debt recovery proceedings, court or tribunal advocacy, arbitration representation or Adjudication representation.
For further information, see Construction Contract Disputes.
Client feedback
"Within the first 3 minutes, it was obvious how deeply Rachelle understood my business and industry. She knows so much about business, about the legal side, about Construction Contracts and how businesses operate."Robert FOwner, Civil Construction Company, Brisbane and Sunshine Coast
Queensland Construction Law advice for Contractors, Subcontractors and Suppliers
For Queensland Contractors, Subcontractors and Suppliers, a payment dispute, licensing issue or Project Trust Account obligation can affect what the business can claim, pay or do next.
Our advice considers the relevant contractual provisions alongside the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (Qld), the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 (Qld) and applicable QBCC requirements.
Where retention, Project Trust Accounts, Retention Trust Accounts or licensing obligations affect the proposed arrangement, our advice helps identify the legal issues the business needs to address in its contracts and project administration.
The QBCC publishes current regulatory guidance.
Construction Contract advice across Australia
Our Construction Law services extend beyond Brisbane to Contractors, Subcontractors and Suppliers undertaking projects across Australia.
A proposed Contract may be based on AS 4000, AS 2124, AS 4300, AS 4902, AS 4901, AS 4903, ABIC, NEC4, FIDIC, GC21, AUSDEFCON or bespoke Commercial Contracts.
Our reviews focus on the obligations your business will actually carry, rather than assuming the standard form provisions remain unchanged.
That assessment may include design liability, fitness for purpose, professional indemnity insurance, consequential loss, bank guarantees, Provisional Sums and termination for convenience.
The procurement model may also affect the allocation of risk. Our experience extends to Construct Only, Design and Construct, EPC, EPCM and Construction Management arrangements.
For contract-specific guidance, visit Types of Construction Contracts, AS 4000-1997 or our Construction Contracts hub.
Interstate advice is scoped against the applicable law and project documents.
Rachelle Hare - In my experience
I look at the Special Conditions alongside the people who must administer them.
A notice provision that seems manageable during tendering can become difficult when the project team is dealing with several directions and the full cost is still unknown.
I want contractors to understand those requirements before they accept the Contract.
Fixed-price legal advice and direct access to a 25+ year Partner-level Construction Lawyer with General Counsel experience
A tender closing date or contractual deadline should be raised in the first enquiry.
Our free initial chat helps establish the issue and the legal work required. Relevant Project Documentation may include the signed Contract, Special Conditions, notices, directions, Payment Claims, correspondence and a short timeline.
Following scoping and the required conflict search and client due diligence, our quotation identifies the fixed fee, deliverables and exclusions.
The Disclosure and Costs Agreement must be signed and accepted before legal work begins.
External General Counsel Service
For ongoing support across several projects, our External General Counsel service may be more suitable than separate instructions for every issue.
Construction Law help for your current issue
Call Rachelle Hare direct on (07) 3063 3373 to discuss your issue, or read more about how we can help on the following pages.
Tender conditions or a proposed Head Contract carry unacceptable risk.
Construction Contract Review →
A Subcontract or supplier agreement needs drafting or amendment.
Construction Contract Drafting →
A Variation, Extension of Time or Latent Condition claim has been rejected.
Construction Contract Claims →
A progress claim has been reduced or left unpaid.
Construction Contract Payment →
A dispute is developing over defects, delay, performance or termination.
Construction Contract Disputes →
Your business needs ongoing senior legal support.
External General Counsel →
FAQs about Construction Lawyer Brisbane
Before signing a significant Contract, when a tender qualification is needed or when a notice, payment or claim deadline is approaching.
Our advice helps you identify your contractual position and the action required.
Our Construction Contract Review service covers Australian Standard and bespoke contracts, including heavily amended AS 4000 and AS 4902 contracts.
Special Conditions and incorporated documents are assessed as part of the agreed scope.
Our services include advice on contractual entitlement, notices, supporting records, payment rights and negotiations.
Adjudication representation and debt recovery proceedings are outside our scope.
While Developers and Principals often appear as counterparties under our clients' contracts, we can act for them in their own right. Contact Rachelle Hare and we will perform a free conflict check to make sure we are free to act.
Our services mainly focus on established Contractors, Subcontractors and Suppliers, however we do also provide advice on home building contracts and domestic building disputes for homeowners if no conflict arises.
After discussing the work required, our fixed-price quotation identifies the agreed fee, scope and deliverables.
You can Request a Consultation through our contact page or call Rachelle direct for a free initial chat.
Our services are available to construction businesses across Queensland and Australia, subject to the agreed scope and applicable jurisdiction.
Get Construction Law advice before your next contractual decision
A tender deadline, disputed Payment Claim or threatened termination can leave your business exposed to costs and obligations it has not allowed for.
Find out where your business stands and what needs to happen next. Discuss the issue directly with Rachelle Hare, who can help work out the contractual position, the available options and the legal work required.
Call Rachelle Hare direct on (07) 3063 3373 for a free initial chat, or send a message and request a fixed-price quote.
