CASE STUDIES

Project Case
Studies.

GREENLAND CENTRE, SYDNEY CBD.

Getting a CBD residential tower's defects closed out after its builder went into administration.

Client: Greenland (Sydney) Bathurst Street Development · Service: defects and DLP management · 2022–2023

THE PROBLEM

When Probuild entered administration in 2022, Greenland Centre was in its defects liability period with more than a thousand defects open across its apartments and common areas. The trades who could fix them had been engaged by Probuild, many were owed money, and their security was held by the administrators. Owners were waiting, and nobody had a contractual reason to come back to site.

OUR PROCESS

Negotiated a tripartite Defect Rectification and Undertaking Release Deed between the developer, the bond insurer and the builder's administrators.
Structured a proposal to the administrators covering 29 subcontractors: up to $1m in direct payments for work done, in exchange for a return to site and the transfer of their security to the developer.
Prepared and executed new subcontract deeds directly with the priority trades, including tiling, plasterboard, façade, painting, cleaning and access.
Completed the remaining incomplete works and resolved the outstanding defect.
Daily coordination with residents, building management, administrators, unions, the developer, insurer and lawyers from all sides
The process had two primary stages:
The resolution of the project commercials - upstream and downstream agreements, costs to date, costs to complete, subcontractor payments and finalisation of over 30 scopes of work to ensure the building was taken to PC
Day to day management and coordination of the construction process - both on site supervision and detailed contract administration, including a single defects register with weekly status reporting by subcontractor, cost-to-rectify estimates and an unsecured-exposure view, and coordinated trade access with residents and building management.

THE OUTCOME

29 key subcontractors re-engaged under direct deeds in October 2022.
Open deed defects fell from 1470 (June 2022) to 13 (Aug 2023). Remaining defects were agreed resolved due to access constraints.
Over 7,100 defect records tracked in total, each with an auditable close-out trail.
Works completed for the developer and residents
Costs minimised for the administrators, insurer and developer.
Release of over $9m in security back to the insurers.

Defect inspection, review & management

Project Tendering

Disaster recovery and insurance claims

Completion methodology & co-ordination

SHOPPING CENTRE HAIL CLAIM, SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND.

An independent, defensible reinstatement value for a $57.5 million roof claim.

Client: Sedgwick, on behalf of the insurance market · Service: insurance claim assessment · 2022–2024

THE PROBLEM

A hail event damaged the roofs of a large, fully trading regional shopping centre. The owner claimed for complete roof replacement across seven zones, with a total project end cost of $57.5 million. The insurers needed to know what it would genuinely cost to reinstate the roofs under the policy, without shutting the centre down.

OUR PROCESS

Provided the commercial and construction advice within a five-discipline team (cost, roofing, mechanical services, structural and commercial)..
Tested multiple methodologies zone by zone, and showed that an alternate roof-on-roof system could be installed in normal hours over live tenancies, with localised strengthening in three zones.
Rebuilt the programme (20 months), access, craneage, night works and preliminaries from first principles, and benchmarked rates with roofing suppliers and installers.
Wrote the Roof Damage Assessment Report, then reviewed the owner's expert evidence and the draft settlement position line by line.

THE OUTCOME

Reinstatement assessed at $22.4 million plus GST, against the $57.5 million claimed: a gap of about $35 million.
Preliminaries reset from 49% to 34% of gross construction cost once they were properly allocated.
A methodology that keeps the centre trading, giving the owner a fully rectified roof and the insurers a value they could stand behind in negotiation.
The parties reached settlement to enable the completion of the works without closing the centre, enabling uninterrupted trading.
Our client (the insurers) achived a saving of in excess of $30m

Contract Negotiation

Contract Management

Claims Management

Security of payment matters

NATIONAL WAR MEMORIAL REDEVELOPMENT, CANBERRA.

Turning a stalled payment dispute into a negotiated settlement in ten days.

Client: Hydraulic services subcontractor · Service: variations, payment claims and dispute resolution · 2024–2025

THE PROBLEM

Our client was delivering the hydraulic services package at the War Memorial redevelopment in Canberra. Rock excavation, provisional sum adjustments and a series of backcharges had built up unresolved. When our client issued its December 2024 payment claim, the head contractor scheduled only a fraction of the amount claimed.

OUR PROCESS

Reviewed the subcontract and rebuilt each disputed item (the rock excavation variation, the provisional sum and each backcharge) into a substantiated, clause-referenced position.
Drafted our client's responses to the head contractor's variation assessments and backcharge notices.
Prepared a compliant payment claim under the Security of Payment Act and supported the adjudication application lodged in January 2025.
Used the strength of that position to bring the head contractor to the table, and reviewed the settlement deed before signing.

THE OUTCOME

The dispute settled on 24 January 2025, ten days after the adjudication application was lodged.
The subcontract sum was increased and the additional payment fell due within days, rather than after a determination.
All claims on the subcontract were closed out in a single deed, saving both parties the cost of adjudication.

Contract Negotiation

Contract Management

Claims Management

Security of payment matters

CBD FAÇADE REPLACEMENT, SYDNEY.

Recovering the cost of a failed façade coating without going to court.

Client: Façade subcontractor · Service: subcontract review, defects and supplier claims · 2023–2024

THE PROBLEM

Our client was replacing façade panels on a Sydney CBD office tower under a subcontract we had reviewed and negotiated for them. In June 2024 the specialist coating on 2,500 m² of fibre cement panels turned milky white after its first rain. The supplier said it would weather off; a recoat failed the same way. The panels had to come off the building, and our client faced delay and replacement costs under its subcontract.

OUR PROCESS

Built the chronology from site records, RFIs and the competing coatings experts' opinions, showing the supplier's own expert had conceded the finish needed modifying.
Tied the failure to the supplier's express fitness-for-purpose and make-good warranties.
Quantified our client's loss at $200,000 plus GST (removal, replacement panels, an alternative product, advice and delay costs) and issued a formal letter of demand.
Negotiated a deed of release and termination with the supplier, with instalment payments and mutual releases.

THE OUTCOME

Settlement of $168,000 plus GST, 84% of the amount claimed, recovered without proceedings.
The supply agreement was terminated cleanly, leaving our client free to procure an alternative coating.
Our client's position with the head contractor was protected, with the supplier on notice of joinder if orders followed.

Contract Negotiation

Contract Management

Claims Management

Security of payment matters

SAMUEL TERRY ASSET MANAGEMENT, 151 MACQUARIE ST, SYDNEY.

An office fitout delivered to practical completion ahead of the contract date, with every dollar certified on evidence.

Client: Samuel Terry Asset Management · Service: contract negotiation and superintendent · 2024–2025

THE PROBLEM

Samuel Terry Asset Management was fitting out Level 6 at 151 Macquarie St on a design-and-construct basis. As a fund manager rather than a developer, it needed someone independent to hold the contractor to the contract: fair terms going in, accurate payments along the way and a properly certified handover.

OUR PROCESS

Reviewed and negotiated the design-and-construct agreement through several rounds before it was signed on 20 December 2024.
Acted as Superintendent, assessing each notice, variation and progress claim line by line and issuing payment schedules that met Security of Payment requirements.
Coordinated the pre-completion defects inspection and tracked every item, warranty and design certificate to close-out.
Confirmed the occupation certificate, fire safety schedule and warranties against the practical completion criteria before certifying.

THE OUTCOME

Practical completion certified ahead of the contract date and about 14 weeks after contract signing.
Delivery of a high end office fitout for a discerning client in the centre of Sydney.
Project delivery was within budget and handed over defect free.

Contract Negotiation

Contract Management

Claims Management

Security of payment matters

CHARLESTOWN CHILDCARE FACILITY, NSW.

Steering a contested design-and-construct project through to completion and liquidated damages recovery.

Client: Dickinson St Charlestown Pty Ltd · Service: Principal's Representative and contract administration · 2024–2026

THE PROBLEM

A developer engaged a builder under an amended AS4902 design-and-construct contract to deliver a childcare centre at 31 Dickinson St, Charlestown. The job soon turned adversarial: latent ground condition claims, more than 40 extension of time notices, disputed progress claims and an adjudication application. The owner needed a firm, fair representative who could keep the project moving and protect its position.

OUR PROCESS

Acted as Principal's Representative from contract award, issuing compliant monthly payment schedules and PCG reports.
Kept a live notice and EOT register and assessed every delay claim against the contract, the programme and the notice provisions.
Tested the latent condition claims with geotechnical and structural peer review, and prepared the owner's adjudication response.
Negotiated a deed of release in February 2026 to reset the relationship and get the builder to finish.

THE OUTCOME

Resolution of a broad range of heavily contensted claims and implementation of a settlement deed to ensure timely delivery within the budget constaints of the project.
Delivery of an essential service facility with PC awared with a single inspection and minimal post completion defects.
Facilitation of early access for the lease holder to enable centre operation in line with AFL requirements,
Settlement of a claim at excess of 25% of the project value for $0.
Contract variations of certified at 66% of amounts claimed.

Contract Negotiation

Contract Management

Claims Management

Security of payment matters

DOVER RD, ROSE BAY.

Turning nearly 500 contested defect items into a binding developer undertaking under Project Intervene.

Client: NSW Building Commission (Department of Customer Service) and the developer, jointly · Service: Undertaking Manager · 2025–2026

THE PROBLEM

Owners in a four-storey mixed-use building in Rose Bay had lived with waterproofing, fire safety and structural problems for years. Defects had been reported by several different consultants, owners and the regulator, often overlapping and often disputed by the developer. Without an agreed list, nothing could be fixed and the owners' only path was litigation.

OUR PROCESS

Appointed jointly by the Building Commissioner and the developer as Undertaking Manager under the Residential Apartment Buildings Act.
Consolidated 471 items from five sources into one register, classified by system (waterproofing, essential services, fire, structure) and as isolated or systemic.
Inspected apartments and common areas, tested each item against the NCC to confirm whether it was a serious defect, and worked through the developer's responses item by item.
Kept residents and the strata insurer informed in plain language throughout.

THE OUTCOME

A final serious defects list of about 140 items agreed by November 2025.
A RAB Act Undertaking executed by the developer, the Department and the owners corporation, requiring rectification within 12 months, backed by security and $20 million public liability cover.
Owners keep their rights for any defect outside the Undertaking, and rectification is overseen under a compliant design and certification process.

Contract Negotiation

Contract Management

Claims Management

Security of payment matters

SUMMERSET GROUP, VICTORIA.

A clear construction delivery strategy for a retirement operator's Australian growth plan.

Client: Summerset Management Group (Australia) · Service: strategic advisory · 2024

THE PROBLEM

Summerset is New Zealand's largest retirement village and aged care operator, and builds its NZ villages in-house. In Australia it relied on third-party builders, and early costs on its Victorian villages pointed to overruns and thinner margins. With an ambition of 25 or more villages by 2033, the board needed to know whether to replicate the NZ self-performance model, buy a builder, or keep contracting out.

OUR PROCESS

Worked from Summerset's brief and reviewed its NZ and Australian delivery models, annual reports and existing builder contracts.
Analysed the Victorian and Queensland construction markets: size, builder margins, risk allocation, licensing, regulatory reform and union presence.
Compared five delivery models, from complete self-performance to complete contracting, plus acquiring a builder or a fixed-term, fixed-price partnership.
Presented findings to the leadership team in December 2024 with a written Self-Performance Analysis Report.

THE OUTCOME

A recommended two-stage path: secure fixed-term, fixed-price agreements with incumbent builders now, while building the in-house capability to self-deliver.
A phased 5–8 year roadmap with actions for each stage, from due diligence and licensing to pilot projects and scale-up into Queensland.
A decision framework the business can use to weigh acquisition against organic build-up as the pipeline grows.

Contract Negotiation

Contract Management

Claims Management

Security of payment matters

RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPER AND BUILDER, NSW.

One consistent way of running the commercial side of every project.

Client: Integrated residential developer and builder · Service: commercial systems, contracts and training · 2025–2026

THE PROBLEM

Our client develops and builds its own residential projects, with several jobs live across Sydney and the Central Coast. Each project team reported cost, time and risk its own way, contract templates had grown piecemeal, and the business had no shared playbook for variations, extensions of time or a contractor in distress. Leadership could not compare projects on a like-for-like basis.

OUR PROCESS

Reviewed the existing subcontracts, consultant agreements and purchase orders, and updated the head contract precedent.
Wrote a Commercial Operations Manual setting out the procedures for variations, EOTs, security of payment, liquidated damages, procurement, security and insolvency, including a step-by-step contractor replacement strategy.
Built standard tools: PCG report, cost comparison and forecast report, procurement schedule, cashflow, cost centre and staff and labour forecast templates.
Ran training for the construction team on PCG reporting (February 2026) and for the development team on forecasting (March 2026), using live project data.

THE OUTCOME

A single commercial manual and template set in use across the client's construction and development teams.
Monthly reporting that lets leadership compare forecasts, contingency and movement across projects on the same basis.
Staff trained on the system, with a documented plan ready if a contractor fails mid-project.

Contract Negotiation

Contract Management

Claims Management

Security of payment matters

MIXED-USE TOWER, SYDNEY CBD.

Clearing a backlog of delay claims on a major CBD mixed-use tower with assessments that hold up.

Client: Project Manager acting for an institutional developer · Service: EOT assessment and contract administration support · 2023–2024

THE PROBLEM

A retail, commercial and residential tower in the Sydney CBD was running late, with milestones slipping into 2024 and 2025. By late 2023 the contractor had lodged around 30 extension of time claims across several separable portions, many still unassessed, and the programme they relied on was out of date. With liquidated damages in play, the Project Manager needed each claim decided properly and on time.

OUR PROCESS

Set up a single EOT register tracking every claim against each separable portion, milestone and early access date, on a working-day calendar.
Assessed each claim against the contract's notice and claim requirements, and against the approved contractor's programme.
Commissioned independent critical path analysis where the contractor's programming was contested.
Drafted the Project Manager's determinations and reported positions to the client's PCG.

THE OUTCOME

The register brought all 30 claims into one view; 11 were withdrawn by the contractor once tested.
The largest claim, for 240 days on the commercial portion, was assessed at zero days of critical delay.
Days were granted only where a claim was proven, giving the client a documented, defensible time position.