Publications

For construction directors expanding into Queensland, the QBCC Act presents a minefield of unique compliance traps. This guide breaks down the five most critical areas—from personal liability and strict financial requirements to expansive disciplinary powers—that differ significantly from NSW and VIC, helping you avoid the common "compliance shock."

Standard construction contracts offer zero protection against AI-specific liabilities. With Australian AI regulations in flux, a proactive "contractual firewall" is your primary legal defence. This guide provides a library of ready-to-adapt clauses to manage emerging legal challenges in data ownership, IP rights, and liability for automated decisions before they become costly disputes.

For Queensland developers, viewing legal counsel as a strategic risk management tool rather than a cost is key to protecting profitability. This guide outlines how to address the five most significant construction risks—from ambiguous contracts and BIF Act claims to QBCC directives and subcontractor insolvency—through proactive legal strategies.

Discover how Queensland property developers who qualify as excluded corporations can secure aggravated damages awarded separately from the $500,000 statutory cap on general defamation damages. This guide explains how demonstrating aggravating conduct—such as republication after notice or refusal to apologize—enables courts to award additional compensation, along with the new 2025 court powers for content removal.

When a builder's company goes bust, the corporate veil can seem impenetrable. Learn about the tort of deceit, a powerful legal strategy that allows property developers to bypass the insolvent company and sue directors personally for fraudulent pre-contractual statements, holding them accountable for your losses.

The Christmas break poses a hidden threat to Queensland developers, head contractors, and principals. Learn how the BIF Act's unique "business day" definition creates legal deadlines that ignore your office shutdown, and discover the strategic plan you need to avoid catastrophic default liability from an ambush payment claim.

Discover how a leasing agent can bind you to a deal you never approved through the legal doctrine of ostensible authority. This guide provides developers with a defensive playbook to dismantle these claims by attacking the three pillars of representation, reliance, and detriment, ensuring you maintain control over your commercial projects.

A procedural error on a payment claim cost one company $1.3 million. This guide deconstructs the Iris v Descon case and provides a concrete playbook for Queensland developers to manage BIF Act compliance, mitigate risk, and protect project profitability through robust internal processes.

Learn how a JV partner's failure to use QBCC-compliant building contracts can be framed as a material breach of your development agreement, providing a powerful and legally defensible trigger to enforce default provisions, take control of a project, or terminate the partnership.

Discover how Queensland's proposed 2025 defamation law reforms would provide a powerful 'corporate shield' for property developers. Learn how to prepare for the ability to unmask anonymous online attackers, hold digital platforms accountable, and integrate these proposed new legal tools into your risk management strategy to protect your company's reputation and bottom line.

 In Queensland's construction industry, winning a lawsuit against an insolvent builder can be a hollow victory, leaving you with a massive legal bill. A security for costs order is a powerful legal shield that forces a plaintiff to prove they can cover your costs if they lose. This guide explains how developers can use this tool to protect their projects and avoid financially ruinous litigation.

A statutory demand can trigger the liquidation of your development company. Learn the three most common and fatal flaws developers make when using an offsetting claim as a defence, from weak evidence and miscalculations to procedural errors, and discover the strategy needed to protect your business.

A statutory demand is a legal ambush that can put your company out of business in 21 days. Learn how to fight back using a genuine offsetting claim for defects, delays, and other back-charges. This emergency guide for Queensland subcontractors explains the critical steps you must take to gather evidence, file a court application, and defeat the demand before the unforgiving deadline expires.

A head contractor has filed a QCAT application against you. Before you start defending your work, learn about the "jurisdictional knockout"—a powerful legal strategy to get the case dismissed on a technicality, saving you time and money. This guide covers the fatal errors head contractors make and how you can use them to your advantage.

For Queensland property developers, a QCAT building dispute can be a significant threat. This guide outlines a proactive strategy, the "Contractual Shield," showing how to use your project's contractual framework to defend against claims and legally transfer liability to the responsible parties, protecting your finances and reputation.

Ditch the risky, one-off preliminary agreements. This guide shows Queensland property developers how to build a scalable PWA system to standardise builder engagement, manage risk across their project pipeline, and ensure compliance with QBCC and BIF Act regulations from day one.

A notice from the QBCC demands a rapid, calculated response. This guide is your legal triage plan—a set of non-negotiable actions to take within the first 48 hours to assess the claim, mitigate exposure, and establish a strong defensive position.

When a principal contractor hits you with a lowball payment schedule, your first 24 hours are critical. This playbook provides a time-critical guide for Queensland subcontractors to fight back using the BIF Act adjudication process, from gathering evidence to filing a claim and enforcing a decision.

In the rush to secure work, it's easy to sign a subcontractor agreement that looks standard but is loaded with "hidden costs"—clauses that can decimate your profit margin, delay payments, and expose your business to catastrophic risk. This guide dissects these contractual traps and explains your rights under Queensland law.

A comprehensive guide for Queensland subcontractors on how to strategically use their subcontract, insurance policies, and the BIF Act to challenge and defeat unfair back-charges and set-off claims from head contractors. Learn the step-by-step defensive playbook to protect your payments and your business.