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Consulting Matters
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State & Territory Updates With varying market conditions around the country Consult Australia’s state and territory managers share their insights on key challenges and opportunities for our members.
NSW Alison Kirk Firstly, hello from me as the new NSW Manager and thank you to the team and the NSW Committee for the warm welcome. I look forward to meeting more of our members working in NSW as time goes on. With the pause on construction as a part of the latest lockdown in NSW, pipeline and people issues have obviously been front of mind. The NSW government was very receptive to our advice on what site works by consultants could be allowed (with appropriate restrictions) prior to the full re-opening of construction sites. The government also understands the potential impacts on the timetable of projects, and we continue to advocate for a ramp-up that considers the wellbeing of our people. If members are having an issue relating to time extensions or payments due to the construction pause, please contact me. Design practitioners and engineers working on Class 2 buildings should now be very aware of the start of the registration and compliance requirements of the Design and Building Practitioners Scheme on 1 July. We have received several member queries which we’ve been able to resolve with the government, contact us if you also need this assistance. Hopefully you have already seen our Guide for Design Practitioners and Engineers which we released in conjunction with Engineers Australia and the Australian Institute of Architects. This guide is a practical resource to help your business tackle the practice issues of contracting, insurance exposure and the requirements under the scheme. This guide has been endorsed by the Office of the Building Commissioner and is available on our website as well as the NSW government website. As we prepare for the review in early 2022, we need to hear from members on what have been the main hurdles to implementing the reforms in your business. In terms of procurement, members that work on large and complex NSW government projects should be aware of the Premier’s Memorandum which establishes an ‘if not, why not’ application of the 10-point commitment from 2018 to projects of more than $0.5billion value. The Memorandum outlines measures to streamline the way the government procures, increases participation, competition, and efficiency in infrastructure delivery, and ultimately increasing value for money for the people of NSW. The NSW government has also put into action its commitment to shorten payment times by requiring large businesses which contract with government agencies on contracts valued at more than $7.5 million to pay small business subcontractors within 20 business days. This is in addition the government’s own commitment to pay small businesses directly engaged within five days.
VIC Cindy Laird As the new Vic Manager, thank you to the members I have already had contact with and of course the Vic Committee for welcoming me and getting me up to speed on everything that is going on in Victoria. I hope to meet more members, especially those working in Vic over the rest of the year. With the most recent lockdown here in Victoria, we were lucky to keep construction sites open which meant minimal impact on that on-site advisory work members do and therefore the pipeline. However, like other areas of Australia we are advising government of the industry constraints (including access to enough people) which will make achieving the ambitious program of projects in Victoria. Every lockdown is challenging, especially in terms of impacts on our people so please make use of the mental health information hub on Consult Australia’s website to help you and your staff get through the challenges of remote working.
