Receive 11 points at the price of 10! Featuring three of our most popular construction law programs, start by joining us live online for the Construction Regulation webinar, where you’ll unpack key reforms to the Security of Payment Act 2002 and the ongoing review of the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995, helping you spot risks before they impact your projects. Then, earn your core competency points with the Ethics, Professional Skills & Practice Management for Construction Lawyers webinar. Wrap up the bundle with a post-seminar recording of the Step-by-Step Guide to Reviewing Domestic Building Contracts, where you’ll master drafting watertight clauses, handling contract amendments, and ensuring every agreement protects your clients.
Description
Attend and earn 11 CPD units including:
8 units in Substantive Law
1 unit in Ethics & Professional Responsibility
1 unit in Practice Management & Business Skills
1 unit in Professional Skills
This program is based on VIC legislation
Step-by-Step Guide to Reviewing Domestic Building Contracts
Thursday, 21 November 2024
This is your step-by-step guide to reviewing domestic building contracts and your key to advising clients with precision, uncovering key clauses, and identifying red flags for enhanced protection. Explore effective dispute resolution strategies, learn the art of drafting watertight clauses to avoid costly delays, and discover insider tips for amending and terminating contracts with finesse. Don't miss this essential opportunity to elevate your expertise and safeguard your clients' interests in every contract review.
Chair:
John Gurr SC, Foley’s List; Recommended Construction & Infrastructure Senior Counsel, Doyle’s Guide 2024
10.00am to 11.00am Domestic Building Insurance: What you Need to Know
- The DBI framework: What is it and what happens if you don’t have it?
- Key policy terms
- Coverage: incomplete work, structural and non-structural defects
- Overview of the claims process
- Legislative changes and new offences under the DBCA and Building Act
Presented by Fabienne Loncar, Partner, Moray & Agnew Lawyers
9.00am to 10.00am How to Advise Your Clients about Domestic Building Contracts
- Key clauses and concepts to consider when reviewing a domestic building contract
- Red flags and warnings to clients
- Practical improvements to protect clients’ interests
Presented by Nathan Abbott, Partner, Dentons; Recommended Construction & Infrastructure Litigation Lawyer, Doye’s Guide 2023
12.15pm to 1.15pm Amending and Terminating Building Contracts
- Issues to consider when negotiating contracts and avoiding common mistakes
- Variations post contractual formation
- Hidden traps and tricky issues when terminating contracts
- Minimising the risk of committing any wrongful termination when acting for client
Presented by David Fairweather, Principal, Fairweather Legal
11.00am to 11.15am Morning Break
11.15am to 12.15pm Dispute Resolution Clauses in Domestic Building Contracts
- Are dispute resolution (DR) clauses necessary and worthwhile?
- Different options to consider when drafting DR clauses
- Poorly drafted DR clauses can cause delays and additional costs
- Not all DR clauses are binding
Presented by Adam Rollnik, Barrister, Mediator, Arbitrator, List G Barristers; Director, Arbitration Victoria; Recommended Construction & Infrastructure Law Junior Counsel, Doyle’s Guide 2024
Description
Attend and earn 4 CPD units in Substantive Law
This program is based on VIC legislation
Presenters
Nathan Abbott, Partner, DentonsNathan is a Partner in Dentons’ Melbourne office in the Construction team. Nathan has extensive experience advising on major construction projects and acting in construction disputes. The projects he has worked on include office buildings, sporting complexes, large residential developments, freight distribution facilities, food processing facilities, port redevelopments and extensions to the terminal at Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport. Nathan has acted for the Victorian Government, the Australian Government, property developers, contractors, major corporations and significant clubs and sporting organisations, including Carlton Football Club, Essendon Football Club, the Royal Automotive Club of Victoria and the Melbourne Cricket Club. Nathan has extensive experience acting on Security of Payment claims in construction disputes.
Fabienne Loncar, Partner, Moray & Agnew Lawyers
Fabienne specialises in commercial litigation and dispute resolution in the areas of building defects and flammable cladding claims, strata law and domestic building insurance. Fabienne’s clients range from leading private and government insurers, through to property developers, owners corporations and homeowners. She provides accurate advice to facilitate solutions and effect results. Fabienne’s growing strata practice includes a range of stakeholders from owners corporations to developers. She advises on building defect and cladding claims, topical concerns such as COVID-19 requirements, debt and levy recoveries, and litigated disputes. Fabienne also advises developers on strata establishment obligations including the preparation of bespoke owners corporation rules for complex developments.
Adam Rollnik, Barrister, Mediator, Arbitrator, List G Barristers
Adam Rollnik is a barrister at the Victorian Bar who specialises in commercial disputes in all State and Federal Courts. He also acts as a mediator and arbitrator and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Australian Centre of International Commercial Arbitration. Adam has particular expertise in contractual disputes, commercial arbitration (international and domestic), building and construction (including security of payment), owners corporations, commercial leasing, franchising, sports law, and insurance. Adam is a former lecturer at Monash University; he has taught advocacy at the Leo Cussen Centre for Law and has been recognised in Doyle’s Guide of Australia’s Best Barristers. Adam is a director of Arbitration Victoria, and prior to coming to the Bar, Adam worked as an industrial chemist for ICI and Chevron; he was a police officer with Victoria Police and a lawyer and Senior Associate at King & Wood Mallesons and Ashurst in Melbourne, Perth and London.
David Fairweather, Principal, Fairweather Legal
David Fairweather is the principal of Fairweather Legal, a legal practice which focuses predominantly on all aspects of the building and construction industry. David's twenty-year career has ranged from providing advice in relation to the redevelopment of the MCG, windfarm projects and the redevelopment of the old Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital into a TAFE which was fraught with industrial relations issues. Fairweather legal typically represents parties in all Courts, the VCAT and before building statutory boards. David was appointed a member of the Building Appeals Board on which he served for 6 years. He also has a specialty in defending building practitioners in disciplinary proceedings. Fairweather Legal has been responsible recently for the Court of Appeal's greater clarification of the National Construction Code which has gained national interest and application.
John Gurr SC, Foley’s List
John Gurr SC is a commercial barrister at the Victorian Bar who specialises in disputes concerning major infrastructure, resources and construction projects. He is regularly briefed in commercial matters in the superior courts, including industrial disputes in the construction and engineering sector. John is recognised in the Australian Financial Review's Best Lawyers for construction/infrastructure and is ranked in Doyle’s Guide as a leading construction senior counsel in construction and infrastructure. John is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and has appeared as counsel in significant domestic and international commercial arbitrations, both ad hoc and under the auspices of the ICC, LCIA and IAMA, including arbitrations seated in London, Singapore and most Australian capitals.
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Construction Regulation: Legislative Reform, Insolvency and Dispute Resolution
Thursday, 6 March 2025
Arm yourself and your practice with the insights and practical strategies needed to navigate the vulnerabilities in Victoria's construction sector. Benefit from an in-depth discussion on recent recommendations to reform the Security of Payment Act 2002 and prepare yourself to spot potential weaknesses in your projects. Examine the ongoing review of the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 and its impacts. As insolvency rates climb, you’ll acquire practical strategies to manage counter-party insolvency and explore innovative dispute resolution techniques that can bolster the integrity and viability of your construction matters and projects.
10.55am to 11.45am Managing Counter-Party Insolvency Risk in the Construction and Engineering Industry
- Upstream and downstream risk-considerations
- Contractual remedies and implications
- The role and effectiveness of performance securities
- The role of insurance
- Any place for Security for Payment?
- Practical steps to manage insolvency risk/events
Presented by St John Frawley, Partner, Thomson Geer Lawyers; Recommended Construction & Infrastructure Litigation Lawyer, Doyle’s Guide 2024
Description
Attend and earn 4 CPD units in Substantive Law
This program is based on VIC legislation
Chair:
Alexandra Golding, Barrister, NMAS Accredited Mediator, Chancery Chambers; Recommended Construction & Infrastructure Law Junior Counsel, Doyle’s Guide 2024
9.00am to 9.50am Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Act) Reforms
- November 2023: The Legislative Assembly Environment and Planning Committee tabled a report on "Employers and contractors who refuse to pay their subcontractors for completed works."
- The report contained 28 recommendations, including:
- Abolition of the excluded amounts regime
- Elimination of reference dates
- Extension of the time limit for making payment claims to six months
- Introduction of a retention trust scheme
- Modernisation of notice provisions
- Fairer payment terms
- The Victorian Government had six months to respond to the report
- 31 July 2024: The Hon Kathleen Matthews-Ward MP addressed the Legislative Assembly, expressing the need for substantial improvements in payment practices for subcontractors
- 11 September 2024: The Building Legislation Amendment and Other Matters Bill 2024 was introduced, but it did not address any of the security of payment recommendations
- What, if any, action has Parliament taken since on the recommended reforms?
Presented by Hon Michael Whitten KC, Barrister, Arbitrator, Mediator, List G Barristers
9.50am to 10.40am Reviewing the 20-Year-Old Domestic Building Contracts Act
The Victorian government announced a review of the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (DBC Act) to ensure it is still applicable and protects consumers in our current building industry. Consider some of the issues that are forming part of the review of the DBC Act and effect our construction industry:
- Progress claims: Do we build homes the same way we did 20 years ago?
- Warning notes: Should cost plus be limited to the same monetary amount?
- Building works: In light of the increase in residential medium density should the DBC Act apply to all?
- Dispute resolution: Does the DBDRV achieve its initial purpose ‘Free. Fair. Fast’?
- Insurance: With the rise of insolvencies and the struggles of timeframes in VCAT, is a last resort domestic building insurance sufficient?
Presented by Donna Abu-Elias, Director and Principal Lawyer, Spectrum Lawyers & Consultants
10.40am to 10.55am Morning Tea
11.45am to 12.30pm Incorporating Dispute Avoidance Boards (DABs) and Pre-Issue Mediation in Major Project Contracts
Presented by Dr Donald Charrett, Barrister, Arbitrator, Mediator and Dispute Board Member, Foley’s List
12.30pm to 1.15pm The Latest in Dispute Resolution
- An update on the latest jurisdiction movements with domestic building disputes in Victoria
- Running building cases efficiently: a refresher
- Perspectives from the bench: what decision makers do and do not like
Presented by Fabian Brimfield, Barrister, Owen Dixon Chambers West; Sessional Member, Tasmanian Civil & Administrative Tribunal (TASCAT)
Presenters
Alexandra Golding, Barrister, NMAS Accredited Mediator, Chancery ChambersAlex practises in the commercial sphere, particularly in construction, insurance, professional liability/discipline and environment. Alex appears in courts and tribunals, and undertakes advisory work. She has been listed in Doyles Guide for Construction and Insurance. Alex has held/is currently: past President of the Victorian Chapter of APIG and National Board Member; member of the Bar’s Ethics Committee; member of AILA and BDPS; Board Member of the Victorian Legal Admissions Board; A member of the Victorian Admission Committee; and A member of the Victorian Practical Legal Training Committee. Alex is an accredited mediator.
Hon Michael Whitten KC, Barrister, Arbitrator, Mediator, List G Barristers
The Hon Michael Whitten KC practises in civil and commercial litigation. He is the former Lord Chief Justice of Tonga. For more than 30 years, he has appeared in courts, tribunals and arbitrations throughout Australia and overseas. Between September 2019 and August 2023, Michael served in country as the Lord Chief Justice of the Kingdom of Tonga and President of the Tongan Court of Appeal. During that term, he heard and determined over 1,300 cases across all areas of law with over 300 judgments published and/or cited on PACLII. In 2024, Michael was appointed an Acting Judge of the Supreme Court of Samoa. Prior to moving to Tonga, Michael specialised in all aspects of building and construction disputes including associated insurance actions. He is a co-editor of the 4th, 5th and 6th editions of ‘Brooking on Building Contracts’. Alternate dispute resolution remains an important part of Michael's practice.
Donna Abu-Elias, Director and Principal Lawyer, Spectrum Lawyers & Consultants
Having worked in private practice at Clayton Utz and as an in-house general counsel for both commercial builders and residential builders, Donna Abu-Elias founded Spectrum Lawyers & Consultants as she was passionate about the building and construction industry. Donna was admitted as a lawyer in April 2004. Donna has worked from some of the major volume builders in Australia including Burbank Group, Carlisle Homes and Simonds Group. Donna has been a member of the Housing Industry Association (HIA) IR & Legal Committee from 2013 and was appointed as the Deputy Chair in 2020. Donna completed her Diploma in Construction Law in 2013. Spectrum Lawyers & Consultants specialises in building and construction advice and dispute, and represents owners and/or builders in Courts, VCAT and before the Building Appeals Board.
St John Frawley, Partner, Thomson Geer Lawyers
St John has over 30 years' experience as a construction, engineering and infrastructure lawyer. He acts for a range of institutional and private commercial clients advising on tenders, project delivery models, project contractual documentation, insurance policy and indemnity issues, project administration and risk management. St John also acts extensively in relation to the strategic management and resolution of complex technical and legal disputes. He regularly presents at industry forums and conducts regular in-house training and education workshops for clients. He is also a regular guest lecturer in the faculties of Law and Architecture, Building & Planning for the University of Melbourne.
Fabian Brimfield, Barrister, Owen Dixon Chambers West
Fabian is a barrister practicing in Victoria (Svenson Barristers) and Tasmania (Old Mercury Chambers) who specialises in building and construction disputes, commercial disputes, property and leasing disputes and insurance disputes, particularly in trial work involving expert evidence. Fabian has appeared unled in a number of significant decisions in the building and construction space Fabian sits as a sessional member of the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (TASCAT) and hears building and planning disputes.
Dr Donald Charrett, Barrister, Arbitrator, Mediator and Dispute Board Member, Foley’s List
Donald Charrett is a Barrister, Arbitrator, Mediator and Dispute Board Member practising in building and engineering disputes, arbitration/mediation/expert determination, construction law, commercial law, contract law and professional negligence. He was named as Best Construction Law Practitioner, Australia - 2016 by Business Worldwide magazine and a Who's Who Legal Thought Leader - Construction 2019-21, 23, 24. His prior experience as a consulting engineer for over 20 years included 12 years as a director of a highly respected consulting practice. In addition to managing engineering projects, he had management roles in contract negotiation and administration, professional indemnity insurance, international joint ventures, overseas projects, and corporate restructuring. He has acted as an expert witness because of his specialised knowledge of structural engineering. Since admission to the Supreme Court of Victoria, Donald has been engaged in a range of complex construction disputes including Supreme and County Court litigation, mediation, expert determination and arbitration, as well as domestic building disputes in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. These disputes involved contractual issues, professional negligence, defects, variations, time and programming issues, quantum of claims, security of payment and professional indemnity and contract works insurance.
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Ethics, Professional Skills & Practice Management for Construction Lawyers
Tuesday, 11 March 2025
This program, offering 3 CPD units, will provide valuable insights into several critical areas. You will learn how to manage contractor relationships effectively, with a focus on contract administration and dispute resolution strategies. Gain essential professional skills in drafting and negotiating key clauses in construction contracts, with an emphasis on risk management and contract administration.
Description
Attend and earn 3 CPD units including:
1 unit in Ethics & Professional Responsibility
1 unit in Practice Management & Business Skills
1 unit in Professional Skills
This program is applicable to practitioners from all States & Territories
Practice Management & Business Skills
2.00pm to 3.00pm Mastering Contractor Relationships: A Practice Management Guide for Construction Lawyers
- Construction as a Relationship Business: explore key players in construction projects, their roles, and how building strong relationships is essential for success
- Effective Contract Administration: Learn how to be an effective Superintendent as an addition to your practice to ensure smooth project execution and prevent issues before they arise
- When Projects Go Off Track: discover practical strategies to resolve disputes and work with contractors to get troubled projects back on track, minimising legal and financial risks
Presented by Matthew Taylor, Partner, Gadens
4.00pm to 4.15pm Afternoon Tea
Chair
Carlos Mobellan, Barrister and Mediator, Third Floor St James Hall Chambers
Professional Skills
3.00pm to 4.00pm Drafting and Negotiating Key Clauses in Your Construction Contracts
- Learn how to identify and articulate your client's role and objectives in the construction process to inform contract negotiations
- Pre-construction risk management: develop skills in drafting key risk clauses, including payment terms, warranties, indemnities, defects liability, and set-off provisions to mitigate potential disputes
- Effective contract administration: gain insights into timely contract administration practices, including accessing security and managing variations related to increases in labour and materials during the construction phase
- Navigating financial crises: understand strategies for ensuring client payments, addressing project takeovers (novation), and handling default and termination scenarios
- Relevant legislation: proportionate liability; security of payments; personal property security interests; work health & safety requirements
Presented by Anthony Herron, Special Counsel, PCL Lawyers
Ethics & Professional Responsibility
4.15pm to 5.15pm Professional Ethics and Responsibility in the Engagement Of The Court’s Coercive Powers
- Obtaining ex parte injunctions and the duty of candour
- Ethical obligations when enforcing judgments by garnishee
- Ethical obligations when using the online court
- Practical and ethical aspects of prosecution of contempt
Presented by David Hughes, Barrister, 7 Wentworth Selborne Chambers; Recommended Construction & Infrastructure Junior Counsel, Doyle’s Guide 2024, 2023
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