Extension of time
What is an extension of time in construction?
An extension of time (EOT) is more time to reach practical completion, granted when a delay the contract recognises holds up the work. You get it by notice and claim, inside the contract's window: 28 days from the delay starting under AS 4000 (cl 34.2, 34.3, 34.5) and GC21 (cl 50.3), 20 business days under the TMR TIC. Late can mean barred.
Two clocks: the notice and the claim
Read left to right (top to bottom on a phone): the delay starts, a notice is due, the claim is due, the decision follows. Each line is one contract's window.
- 1The delay starts
- Most forms count from here.
- AS 4902 counts from when the delay's cause should reasonably have been known.
- 2Notice is due
- GC21: 7 days (cl 50.1, 50.9)
- TMR TIC: 10 business days, for a possible delay (cl 35.5(a))
- NZS 3910:2013: 20 working days (cl 10.3.2)
- AS 4000 and AS 4902: promptly, no number stated
- 3The claim is due
- AS 4000, AS 2124 and GC21: 28 days
- AS 4902: 28 days, from when the cause should have been known
- TMR TIC: 20 business days (cl 35.5(c), (h), (l))
- Main Roads WA Minor Works: 14 days (GCC 9.6)
- 4The decision
- AS 4000: the Superintendent has 28 days to decide or the EOT is deemed granted
- NZS 3910:2013: the Engineer, within 20 working days (cl 10.3.5)
The notice and the claim are two duties. Under GC21 the notice is due in 7 days and the claim in 28 days; miss either and the extension is reduced. The notice windows are on notice of delay, the claim windows on EOT claims.
The windows, contract by contract
Every published form the library holds, Australian Standards first, then the state forms, then New Zealand. Where the library has not read a form's delay clause, the cell says so: GC21 Ed 2 (ACT), TfNSW C2-GC21, Main Roads WA Major Works and Auckland Transport special conditions hold no notice or claim row yet.
| Contract | Notice of the delay | Extension of time claim |
|---|---|---|
| AS 2124-1992 | not held in the library | 28 daysClaim an extension of time within 28 days of the delay startingcl 35.5If missed: the claim is barred |
| AS 4000-1997 | not held in the library | 28 daysClaim an extension of time within 28 days of the delay startingcl 34.2, 34.3, 34.5If missed: the claim is barred |
| AS 4902-2000 | not held in the library | 28 daysClaim an extension of time within 28 days of when the delay's cause should reasonably have been knowncl 34.2, 34.3, 34.5If missed: the claim is barred |
| GC21 Ed 2 (ACT) | not held in the library | not held in the library |
| GC21 Ed 2 (NSW) | 7 daysNotify a delay within 7 dayscl 50.1, 50.9If missed: reduced for each day late | 28 daysClaim an extension of time within 28 days of the delay startingcl 50.3If missed: reduced for each day late |
| TfNSW C2-GC21 | not held in the library | not held in the library |
| TfNSW C41 | none setNotify RMS in writing, promptly, of anything that may delay the progress of the Contracted Work, with details of the possible delay and its causecl 5.3If missed: a breach of contract | 28 daysGive RMS written notice of a delay, with its details, causes and the extra time claimed, within 28 days of the start of the delaycl 5.4.2If missed: the claim is barred |
| TMR TIC | 10 business daysNotify a possible delay within 10 business dayscl 35.5(a)If missed: the claim is barred | 20 business daysClaim an extension of time within 20 business days of the delay startingcl 35.5(c), (h), (l)If missed: the claim is barred |
| Main Roads WA Major Works | not held in the library | not held in the library |
| Main Roads WA Minor Works | not held in the library | 14 daysClaim an extension of time within 14 days of the delay startingGCC 9.6If missed: the claim is barred |
| New Zealand | ||
| NZS 3910:2013 | 20 working daysGive notice of an extension of time claim within 20 working dayscl 10.3.2If missed: no penalty stated | not held in the library |
| NZS 3910:2023 (draft) | none setGive an early warning of an event likely to affect time or costDZ cl 6.10If missed: no penalty stated20 working daysGive notice of an extension of time claim within 20 working dayscl 10.3.2 (2023); DZ 10.3.6(c)If missed: no penalty stated | not held in the library |
| Auckland Transport special conditions | not held in the library | not held in the library |
What a late claim costs
- The claim is barred: AS 2124-1992 (cl 35.5), AS 4000-1997 (cl 34.2, 34.3, 34.5), AS 4902-2000 (cl 34.2, 34.3, 34.5), TfNSW C41 (cl 5.4.2), TMR TIC (cl 35.5(c), (h), (l)) and Main Roads WA Minor Works (GCC 9.6).
- Reduced for each day late: GC21 Ed 2 (NSW) (cl 50.3).
- No penalty stated: NZS 3910:2013 (cl 10.3.2) and NZS 3910:2023 (draft) (cl 10.3.2 (2023); DZ 10.3.6(c)).
Why, and the one form where the bar is contested: late claims.
The record behind the claim
A claim is only as good as the programme it is measured against. The Contract Program is what every later extension-of-time claim is measured against (cl 50.1), and GC21 wants it within 14 days of the Date of Contract (cl 22.1). The programme, wet weather and daily record duties are on EOT claims.
In this guide
- EOT claimsWhen the EOT clock starts and how long it runs: 28 days under AS 4000, AS 2124 and GC21, 20 business days under the TMR TIC, 14 days under Main Roads WA.
- Notice of delayA notice of delay comes before the EOT claim. 7 days under GC21, 10 business days for a possible delay under the TMR TIC, promptly under AS 4000 and AS 4902.
- Late claimsA late EOT claim is barred under AS 4000, AS 2124, the TMR TIC and Main Roads WA Minor Works. GC21 cuts a day per day late. NZS 3910 states no bar.
Related
An extension of time claimed outside its window is one of the signs of missed claims, the disease Demiton watches for on every job. 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.