Clifford Chance

In the first of our Construction law conversation series, Sean Marriott (Counsel, Clifford Chance, Perth) talks to Spencer Flay (Partner, Clifford Chance, Perth) about the impending changes to the security of payment and adjudication law in Western Australia.

The changes will have significant implications for stakeholders in the delivery of major construction projects, and are intended to significantly rebalance construction project risk in favour of contractors and subcontractors, and on to owners. This is a watershed moment in the contracting environment in Western Australia, and comes in the midst of an unprecedented string of insolvencies in the Australian construction sector, which have been largely driven by severe COVID-driven increases in the costs of materials and labour resulting in major losses on fixed price contracts entered into before the effects of COVID struck.