This article explains why Australian governments should include the NEC4 suite in their contracting toolkit

Australia needs a new suite of construction contracts, inspired by the simplicity, functionality and optionality found in the NEC4 suite.

This article shares some observations on the state of the market for civil construction work, and the issues that are arising out of the way governments and other project owners have traditionally approached procurement and risk allocation. It then look at various strategies governments and other project owners are pursuing to respond to current market conditions.

Owen presented a private sector perspective on risk allocation in the infrastructure sector to a symposium on Infrastructure Project Delivery hosted by the Australia Government’s Infrastructure and Project Financing Agency.

Parties to construction contracts are struggling to meet their contractual obligations amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, governments around the globe have released guidance to government agencies to protect the financial viability of projects, to protect supply chains and to minimise exposure to Coronavirus related project stresses. This is particularly so in those jurisdictions where public health orders and the like have resulted in the complete closure of construction sites, but also in jurisdictions where sites have remained open and work has continued subject to various constraints (such as social distancing measures).