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Commentary and analysis on Security of Payment, delay and EOT claims, variations, quantum, and the commercial mechanics of Australian construction.
Case study · 15 Jul 2026 · 5 min
White Constructions v PBS Holdings: The Day the Court Rejected Both Delay Experts
In White Constructions v PBS Holdings [2019] NSWSC 1166, the court rejected both parties' delay analyses — windows and collapsed as-built alike — and decided causation on the site records. Still the most important Australian delay-methodology decision, and the reason your site diary matters.
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Case study · 13 Jul 2026 · 5 min
A-Civil v Ceerose: When the Adjudicator Goes Off-Script
In A-Civil v Ceerose [2024] NSWCA 7, an adjudicator decided a $115K retention claim on reasoning neither party advanced. The NSWCA upheld the partial setting aside for denial of procedural fairness — a rare successful challenge with lessons for adjudicators, claimants and respondents alike.
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Case study · 1 Jul 2026 · 5 min
Kwik Flo: No Second Bite at Adjudication
In Kwik Flo v SE Ware Street Dev [2026] NSWCA 9, a claimant who lost on jurisdiction before one adjudicator obtained $1.2M from a second. The Court of Appeal held the first ruling was a 'determination' and the re-run an abuse of process. The remedy is judicial review — not forum shopping.
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Case study · 29 Jun 2026 · 5 min
Rimfire Energy: 865 Days of EOT Lost to Defective Notices
In Rimfire Energy v BSF Co (No 2) [2025] FCA 384, six extension-of-time claims totalling 865 days all failed: none addressed the requirement that the delay wasn't caused by the claiming party. The result was full delay damages. A precise lesson in notice content for every EOT regime.
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Case study · 24 Jun 2026 · 5 min
Carbone v Fowler Homes: Why '$1 a Day' Liquidated Damages Don't Cap Your Delay Liability
In Carbone v Fowler Homes [2024] NSWCA 192, a builder argued nominal liquidated damages were the owner's entire remedy for 21 months of delay. The Court of Appeal disagreed: without clear words, a token LD rate leaves general damages at large. The drafting lesson cuts both ways.
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Case study · 22 Jun 2026 · 5 min
Santos v Fluor: $692M and a Masterclass in How Courts Test Delay Analysis
Santos v Fluor [2025] QSC 184 adopted a three-referee report and ordered roughly $692M paid on the GLNG cost-reimbursable dispute. Inside it: the standard for adopting referee reports, and a sharp lesson in delay-analysis method discipline. An appeal is pending.
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Case study · 17 Jun 2026 · 5 min
Cessnock in the High Court: Recovering Wasted Expenditure When Expectation Loss Can't Be Proved
In Cessnock City Council v 123 259 932 Pty Ltd [2024] HCA 17, the High Court allowed a company to recover $3.7M spent building an airport hangar after the council repudiated. The 'fair wind' principle for wasted expenditure matters to every terminated construction project.
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Case study · 15 Jun 2026 · 5 min
EnerMech v Acciona: Clawing Back a Called Bank Guarantee Through SOPA
In EnerMech v Acciona [2024] NSWCA 162, a subcontractor used a SOPA payment claim to recover $9.2M in cashed bank guarantee proceeds — and the Court of Appeal upheld it. Calling security no longer guarantees holding the cash. What both sides of the recourse decision need to know.
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Case study · 10 Jun 2026 · 5 min
Roberts Co v Sharvain: The $3.2M Deeming Clause That Couldn't Stop the SOPA Clock
In Roberts Co v Sharvain Facades [2025] NSWCA 161, a head contractor's payment schedule was three days late because it relied on a contractual deemed-service clause. The NSW Court of Appeal confirmed the SOPA clock runs from actual service. The cost: judgment for the full $3.2M claim.
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Case study · 8 Jun 2026 · 5 min
Tesseract: Proportionate Liability Now Follows You Into Arbitration
In Tesseract International v Pascale Construction [2024] HCA 24, the High Court held proportionate liability statutes apply in domestic commercial arbitration. Claimants can now be left chasing absent wrongdoers in court; respondents gain a powerful defence. Arbitration clauses need rereading.
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Case study · 3 Jun 2026 · 6 min
Pafburn in the High Court: The Non-Delegable Duty That Reshaped NSW Defect Claims
In Pafburn v The Owners – Strata Plan No 84674 [2024] HCA 49, the High Court held that the statutory duty of care under the NSW Design and Building Practitioners Act cannot be apportioned away. What that means for developers, head contractors and their subcontract chains.
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Article · 1 Jun 2026 · 8 min
Time Bars and Condition-Precedent Notices: Why Courts Enforce Them and How Not to Lose Your Claim
A valid claim served one day late can be worth nothing. Australian courts consistently enforce time bars and condition-precedent notices as written. Here is why they do it, where the narrow escape routes lie, and the notice discipline that keeps entitlement alive.
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