Services
Building and Construction
Construction disputes rarely arrive one issue at a time. A payment claim can escalate into a defects dispute, a delay claim, or an argument over variations within weeks — and what starts as a straightforward disagreement can quickly involve multiple parties, overlapping contracts and competing legislation.
Archer Lawyers advises property owners, builders, developers and contractors through every stage of a building dispute, from the first demand letter through adjudication and expert determination to Tribunal or court proceedings where a negotiated outcome isn't possible. We understand that time and cost are usually as important to our clients as the underlying legal issue, so our advice is practical and focused on resolving the dispute as efficiently as the facts and the other side allow.
We act for parties on both sides of a construction dispute, from single dwellings to multi-stage commercial developments, including in relation to:
- Contract drafting, review and advice: reviewing and negotiating construction contracts before work begins, to reduce the risk of disputes arising in the first place
- Payment claims and security of payment: preparing, responding to and enforcing payment claims and payment schedules under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act, including acting for parties in adjudication applications
- Contract disputes: advising on breach, repudiation, termination and other disputes arising under building and construction contracts
- Retention, bank guarantees and security: advising on the release, withholding or calling on retention monies and performance security
- Practical completion and defects liability: advising on disputes over whether practical completion has been reached, and rights and obligations during the defects liability period
- Delay and extension-of-time claims: advising on entitlement to extensions of time, and disputes over liquidated damages arising from delay
- Variations and scope disputes: resolving disagreements over what work was agreed, what was instructed, and what should be paid
- Defect claims: advising owners, contractors, builders and developers on claims arising from statutory warranties under the Home Building Act 1989 and the statutory duty of care imposed by the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020, from first notice of an alleged defect through rectification, expert reports and, where needed, compensation claims
- Builder and contractor licensing: advising on licensing requirements, compliance and disputes arising from unlicensed or improperly licensed work
- Home Building Compensation Fund claims: advising owners and builders on insurance claims and disputes involving the Home Building Compensation Fund
- Strata building defects and building bonds: advising owners corporations on defect claims and claims under the strata building bond scheme
- Adjudication, expert determination and proceedings: representing clients through each of the forums in which construction disputes are determined
Outcomes we help clients work toward include:
- Resolution without the cost and delay of a full hearing, wherever that serves your interests
- Recovery of amounts properly owed under a construction contract
- Rectification of defective work by the responsible party, or fair compensation where rectification isn't practical
- Extensions of time or delay claims resolved on a defensible commercial basis
- A construction contract that reduces the risk of disputes arising, through clear drafting and early advice
- Retention monies or security released, or claims on that security properly resisted or enforced
- Clarity on practical completion and defects liability obligations, reducing scope for later disputes
- Statutory warranty or Home Building Compensation Fund claims resolved in the client's favour
- A clear, defensible position if a matter proceeds to adjudication, tribunal or court
