Cessation of work on AS 11000: General Conditions of Contract

WHO SHOULD READ THIS

• All construction, engineering, and infrastructure industry participants.

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

• Standards Australia have cancelled the development of the draft AS 11000: General Conditions of Contract as ‘the document was not supported by the full spectrum of interests’.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

• Stay tuned for any further developments on the AS 11000: General Conditions of Contract.

Standards Australia has announced the cessation of all current work on the draft AS 11000: General Conditions of Contract (AS 11000).

Background

In early September 2013, Standards Australia made a commitment to revising AS 2124-1992, AS 4000-1997 and the suite of Australian standards related to those general conditions.

The objective of AS 11000 was to provide general guidance for legal contracts in the construction, engineering, and infrastructure sectors and was intended to replace AS 2124-1992 and AS 4000-1997.

Update on AS 11000

On 4 April 2017, Standards Australia released a statement announcing the cessation of all current work on the draft AS 11000 as ‘the document was not supported by the full spectrum of interests’.

Standards Australia also confirmed that the draft AS 11000 would not be released as an Interim Standard or an Australian Technical Specification.

While Standards Australia noted in its statement that it ‘is committed to engaging in further consultation with all stakeholders to determine the future of AS 11000’, Standards Australia has acknowledged that ‘broaden stakeholder representation’ will be required in any subsequent development and consultation process.

Concluding remarks

Given the cessation of work on AS 11000, and that AS 2124-1992 and AS 4000-1997 do not address a number of key project issues or legislative requirements, parties will need to continue to amend AS 2124-1992 and AS 4000-1997 to address such deficiencies and bring them up to date.

This publication covers legal and technical issues in a general way. It is not designed to express opinions on specific cases. It is intended for information purposes only and should not be regarded as legal advice. Further advice should be obtained before taking action on any issue dealt with in this publication.