Construction contracts
What do AS 4000, AS 4902 and GC21 make you notify?
A construction contract decides which claims survive through its notice clauses. AS 4000 wants a variation claim's particulars within 28 days (cl 41.1-41.3). AS 2124 bars a claim not notified within 28 days (cl 46.1). GC21 bars any claim left out of the Final Payment Claim, due 91 days after Completion (cl 61.1).
Three notices, form by form
Read across: each row is a published Australian form, each column a notice the form starts on its own clock. Each cell is the window, the duty, the clause and what missing it costs. Where the library has not read that clause, the cell says so: GC21 Ed 2 (ACT), TfNSW C2-GC21, Main Roads WA Major Works and Main Roads WA Minor Works hold no variation row, and AS 2124-1992, AS 4000-1997, TfNSW C2-GC21, TfNSW C41, TMR TIC, Main Roads WA Major Works and Main Roads WA Minor Works hold no final claim row.
| Contract | Variation notice or claim | Latent condition notice | Final claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| AS 2124-1992 | 28 daysGive written notice of a claim within 28 dayscl 46.1If missed: the claim is barred | none setNotify a latent condition as soon as it is foundcl 12.2, 12.4If missed: the costs cannot be recovered | not held in the library |
| AS 4000-1997 | 28 daysClaim a variation in writing within 28 days of the directioncl 41.1-41.3If missed: damages only | none setNotify a latent condition as soon as it is foundcl 25.2, 25.3If missed: the costs cannot be recovered | not held in the library |
| AS 4902-2000 | 28 daysNotify a claim as soon as practicable and give its particulars within 28 days of the noticecl 41.1-41.3If missed: damages only | none setNotify a latent condition promptly, and before disturbing it where possiblecl 25.2, 25.3If missed: the costs cannot be recovered | 28 daysGive the Final Payment Claim within 28 days after the last defects liability period expirescl 37.4If missed: the claim is barred |
| GC21 Ed 2 (ACT) | not held in the library | not held in the library | 91 daysLodge the final claim within 91 days of practical completioncll 33.3, 61, 67.1 (read in ACT v1.8)If missed: the claim is barred |
| GC21 Ed 2 (NSW) | 28 daysClaim a variation in writing within 28 days of the directioncl 68.1-68.3If missed: damages only7 daysNotify a change in Statutory Requirements that changes the work within 7 days of becoming aware of itcl 49.1, 49.4If missed: the claim is barred7 daysNotify an unordered variation within 7 dayscl 48.7If missed: the claim is barred | 7 daysNotify a latent condition as soon as it is foundcl 37.3, 37.8If missed: the costs cannot be recovered | 91 daysSubmit the Final Payment Claim, with every unpaid Claim, within 13 weeks after Completioncl 61.1If missed: the claim is barred |
| TfNSW C2-GC21 | not held in the library | not held in the library | not held in the library |
| TfNSW C41 | 7 daysWrite to the RMS Representative, before complying where possible and within 7 days of the direction, setting out why a direction that is not stated to be a variation direction is onecl 9.2If missed: the claim is barred | not held in the library | not held in the library |
| TMR TIC | 20 business daysGive the prescribed notice for a variation claim within 20 business dayscl 46.1If missed: the costs cannot be recovered | 1 business dayNotify a latent condition as soon as it is foundcl 12.2, 12.4If missed: the costs cannot be recovered | not held in the library |
| Main Roads WA Major Works | not held in the library | 28 daysNotify a latent condition as soon as it is foundSCC 10 (replaces cl 12)If missed: the costs cannot be recovered | not held in the library |
| Main Roads WA Minor Works | not held in the library | not held in the library | not held in the library |
What a late notice costs
The 49 duties the library holds across these forms, counted by what missing one costs:
- The claim is barred: 15
- The costs cannot be recovered: 7
- Reduced for each day late: 2
- Damages only: 3
- A breach of contract: 18
- No penalty stated: 4
Every one of them, clause by clause, worst first: time bars.
Delay has its own clause
The delay notice and the extension of time claim are the forms' best-known clocks, and they have a guide of their own: AS 2124-1992, AS 4000-1997, AS 4902-2000, GC21 Ed 2 (NSW), TfNSW C41, TMR TIC and Main Roads WA Minor Works each hold a delay row, on extension of time.
In this guide
- Variation claimsHow long to claim a variation: 28 days under AS 4000, AS 4902 and GC21, 20 business days under the TMR TIC, 7 days under TfNSW C41. Which forms bar a late one.
- Time barsWhich notices in AS 4000, AS 4902, AS 2124 and GC21 bar a late claim, which cost you damages only, and which carry no penalty: 15 time bars, by clause.
- Final payment claimThe final payment claim is the last chance to claim: 91 days after Completion under GC21, 28 days after the last defects period under AS 4902. Late is barred.
Related
A claim lost to a late notice is one of the signs of missed claims, the disease Demiton watches for on every job. New Zealand's form is on NZS 3910. Each contract's own page lists every duty the library holds for it: contracts and standards.
What this page is, and is not
It is the clause, window and consequence this library holds for each published contract form. It is not legal advice, and it is not your contract: a principal's special conditions can change any window and any consequence here, so read the contract you signed.
No library of law is complete, and Demiton never says this one is. An obligation the library does not hold, and you did not add, is not protected. You can add your own to any job.
Clauses read from the obligation library, release v19, last checked against the source on .