News and Articles

15/02/2024 – Practice Guides updates for 2024

Our suite of Practice Guides are a handy resource to help identify risk management solutions for some common risk areas in the industry. They cover over 50 topics, from Novation to Unfair Contract Terms, and we use the quieter month of January to update a selection of them each year. In 2024, we have made […]

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20/12/2023 – 2023: A Year in Review

With lockdown and COVID visible in our rearview mirror, 2023 was a year of contradictions with both increased spending and cost control, personally and professionally. We started the year off with our popular Webinar, The Claims Experience, by our experienced Claim Managers from Focus Underwriting, Adele Monaco and Hayley Davani, who discussed their recent claims […]

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15/12/2023 – Save $$ by purchasing our 2024 Annual Webinar Pass

For the last 7 years, informed by Planned Cover’s webinar program has been keeping you up to date on the current issues affecting the construction industry, and in turn, assisting you to meet your professional CPD obligations. In 2024, we’re continuing to provide our specialised services by offering a program of nine webinars – including 8 […]

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01/11/2023 – Amended Unfair Contracts Legislation – What’s in it for you?

Unfair contracts legislation (“UCL”) is not new. However, new provisions that commence operation from 9 November 2023 expand the reach of UCL in ways that benefit consultants who work in the parts of the construction industry where long and one-sided consultancy agreements are the norm. The amendments to UCL (“Amendments”) apply to contracts entered into […]

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25/10/2023 – K.I.S.S. the Clever Consultant

School children were once taught to ‘Keep It Simple Silly’ – a principle which means that most things work best if they are kept simple and straightforward, rather than made overly complicated. The K.I.S.S principle is particularly relevant when it comes to limitation of liability clauses, especially when you consider their potentially dire consequences. What […]

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11/08/2023 – “Keeping it Sweet”: The importance of maintaining good Architect – Client relations in domestic projects

Case Note: Khan v Filardo Ercan Architects Pty Ltd (Civil Dispute) [2023] ACAT 35 (19 June 2023) The recent ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT) case of Khan v Filardo Ercan Architects Pty Ltd has highlighted the importance of maintaining good relations between the architect and client on domestic projects, including maintaining clear communication between […]

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22/06/2023 – What to do before you craft your design

When you are initially engaged by a client to work on a new design/build, you are no doubt keen and itching to get started on crafting your design. But before you do, there is something vital you need to consider – has your client signed the agreement you initially sent to them, together with your […]

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24/05/2023 – Collaborative working: Nice in theory, but realistic in the construction industry reality?

At its core, collaboration requires teams to work together towards one project goal. Ideally, everyone would be collaborating towards the same project goal with access to the main plans, information and relevant documents without having to rely on others. Although it is advantageous to make collaboration central across projects, the reality of the traditionally fragmented […]

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