Law of Construction Delay and Disruption (LAWS90208)

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.