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Law of Construction Delay and Disruption (LAWS90208)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5Online
For information about the University’s phased return to campus and in-person activity in Winter and Semester 2, please refer to the on-campus subjects page.
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
November
Lecturers
Mr Robert Gemmell
The Hon. Peter Vickery QC
Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
Please refer to the LMS for up-to-date subject information, including assessment and participation requirements, for subjects being offered in 2020.
Overview
Availability(Quotas apply) | November - Online |
---|---|
Fees | Look up fees |
This subject will be delivered online in 2020 over the scheduled dates.
Delay and disruption are endemic in the construction industry and lead to time and cost overruns. No construction project or construction professional is immune to the effects.
When delay or disruption occurs, the issues of establishing the parties’ respective liabilities and entitlements, quantifying the period of delay, the effects of disruption, and the quantification of the resulting financial loss in accordance with the contract and applicable law is complicated.
This subject is designed to give students an advanced and integrated understanding of the law in relation to delay and disruption in construction and engineering projects in Australia and internationally.
Principal topics will include:
- Delay and disruption – the distinction
- Extensions of time regimes and liquidated damages (including cross-jurisdictional perspectives and reform opportunities)
- Purpose and benefit of an extension of time
- Notices
- Time at large
- The prevention principle
- Float
- Types of delay
- Non excusable
- Excusable non-compensable
- Excusable compensable
- Concurrent delay
- Delay analysis
- What is delay analysis?
- Methods of delay analysis
- Quantification of loss caused by delay
- Direct additional costs
- Preliminaries / site overheads
- Off-site / head office overheads
- Loss of profit
- Inflation
- Finance charges / interest
- Interest
- Quantification of loss caused by disruption
- What is disruption?
- Entitlement to payment for disruption
- Methods to assess loss caused by disruption
- Acceleration
- Record keeping in relation to delay and disruption, including deployment of modern technologies
- Global claims for delay and disruption
- What are global claims
- Are global claims permissible
- Causation based on inference
- Proving a global claim
The subject lecturers are highly experienced and respected. They bring to the classroom extensive experience in the investigation, analysis and resolution of delay and disruption matters. Robert Gemmell acts as an expert witness and expert determiner and is the author of a leading Australian and international textbook on delay and disruption. After many years in practice as a construction law barrister, the Hon Peter Vickery QC served for 10 years as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria, including as the Judge-in-Charge of the Court’s Technology, Engineering and Construction List.
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject will have an advanced and integrated understanding of how the parties’ respective liability is established and how the time and financial impacts of delay and disruption are assessed in accordance with the applicable contracts and other legal principles.
In order to achieve this understanding, students will be familiar with, and able to critically reflect upon related issues including:
- The difference and distinction between delay and disruption
- The contractor's entitlement to extensions of time
- The concept of 'time at large'
- The 'prevention principle'
- 'Float' and 'contingency' in a construction program
- Concurrent delay
- The different methods of delay analysis
- Quantifying loss caused by delay
- Quantifying loss caused by disruption
- Acceleration
- Global claims
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
Successful completion of one of the following:
Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
LAWS70314 | Principles of Construction Law |
July (On Campus - Parkville)
March (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
LAWS70176 | Construction Law | March (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
LAWS90207 | Construction Project Delivery Law | October (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Recommended background knowledge
Applicants without legal qualifications should note that subjects are offered in the discipline of law at an advanced graduate level. While every effort will be made to meet the needs of students trained in other fields, concessions will not be made in the general level of instruction or assessment. Most subjects assume the knowledge usually acquired in a degree in law (LLB, JD or equivalent). Applicants should note that admission to some subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters will be dependent upon the individual applicant’s educational background and professional experience.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Assessment
Due to the impact of COVID-19, assessment may differ from that published in the Handbook. Students are reminded to check the subject assessment requirements published in the subject outline on the LMS
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Option 1: Take-home exam
| 15 - 18 January 2021 | 100% |
Option 2: Research Paper
| 24 February 2021 | 100% |
Attendance Hurdle requirement: A minimum of 75% attendance. Note: the attendance hurdle does not apply when the subject is delivered online. | N/A |
Additional details
Note: Students must choose assessment from the options listed above. If an option contains parts, all parts must be completed if that option is chosen.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
- November - Online
Mode of delivery Online Contact hours Total time commitment 150 hours Pre teaching start date 28 October 2020 Pre teaching requirements Please refer to the Reading Guide on the LMS subject page for confirmation of which resources need to be read and what other preparation is required before the teaching period commences. Teaching period 25 November 2020 to 1 December 2020 Last self-enrol date 2 November 2020 Census date 25 November 2020 Last date to withdraw without fail 15 January 2021 Assessment period ends 24 February 2021 November contact information
Lecturers
Mr Robert Gemmell
The Hon. Peter Vickery QCEmail: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
Additional delivery details
This subject has a quota of 30 students.
Enrolment is on a first come, first served basis. Waitlists are maintained for subjects that are fully subscribed.
Students should note priority of places in subjects will be given as follows:
- To currently enrolled Graduate Diploma and Masters students in the construction law specialisation
- To all other currently enrolled Graduate Diploma and Masters students with a satisfactory record in their degree
- To other students enrolling on a single subject basis, eg Community Access Program (CAP) students, cross-institutional study and cross-faculty study.
Please refer to the Melbourne Law Masters website for further information about the management of subject quotas and waitlists.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Specialist materials will be made available via the LMS in the pre-teaching period.
- Links to additional information
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Additional information for this subject
If required, please contact law-admissions@unimelb.edu.au for subject coordinator approval.
Last updated: 3 November 2022