Fuel Cost Recovery Just Changed – And Construction Should Be Paying Attention The Fair Work Commission has just made a significant move in response to fuel volatility — and its implications go well beyond the transport sector. Under the Road Transport Contractual Chain Order – Fuel Cost Recovery – 2026, parties across the road transport...
Third-Party Cyber Risk: The Governance Issue Hiding in Plain Sight A recent Queensland Audit Office (QAO) report is a timely warning for councils, government-owned entities and public sector agencies: one of the most significant cyber risks may not sit inside your organisation at all, it may sit with your suppliers, vendors, consultants and service providers....
Cost Escalation is Back – Are your contracts Ready? Cost Escalation is Back — Are Your Contracts Ready? The recent escalation of conflict in the Middle East is already having tangible, real-time impacts on Australia’s construction sector. Fuel prices are rising. Oil markets are volatile. Transport and logistics costs are increasing rapidly. As always, these...
The Role of Legal and Probity Advisors in Strategic Procurement From Compliance Checkpoint to Strategic Partner Legal and probity advisors are often engaged at the final stage of a procurement — just before release, or when something has gone wrong. In both cases, their role is typically reactive — reviewing documents for compliance or resolving...
Procurement in Infrastructure Delivery: Managing Risk Across the Lifecycle Infrastructure delivery is one of the most complex and high-risk areas of procurement for councils. Major projects – whether roads, waste facilities, water infrastructure, community assets or urban revitalisation programs – involve significant capital investment, technical complexity and long asset lifecycles. Yet procurement risk is often...
Embedding Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and Circular Economy Principles in Procurement Turning Policy Intent into Measurable Outcomes Councils are under increasing pressure to demonstrate leadership in sustainability, climate resilience, social inclusion and responsible governance. Community expectations are rising.State policy settings are evolving.Infrastructure investment is accelerating. Procurement sits at the centre of this shift. As...
Building Procurement Capability: From Policy to Practice Across NSW local government, procurement frameworks have matured. Policies align with the Local Government Act, the Local Government (General) Regulation, and the IP&R Framework. Sustainability, local participation and governance principles are embedded on paper. But many councils are asking the same question: Why does strategic procurement still feel...
Logan to Gold Coast Faster Rail: What Property Owners Need to Know The Queensland Government’s Logan to Gold Coast Faster Rail project is a major piece of transport infrastructure aimed at easing congestion and improving rail reliability between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. While the project promises long-term benefits for the region, it may also...
Outcome-Based Procurement: Paying for Results, Not Inputs Many local government contracts still focus on inputs: hours worked, activities completed, materials supplied. While familiar, this approach does not always deliver the outcomes councils and communities actually care about. Outcome-based procurement offers a different approach. Rather than paying solely for effort, councils link performance and payment to...
Beyond the Bench: How 2025 Court Decisions Are Reshaping Development in 2026 Throughout 2025 the Planning and Environment Court delivered a series of decisions that will influence the approach of developers, consultants and local governments in the year ahead. The judgments cover a wide range of issues from minor change assessments to infrastructure charging, subdivision...
Queensland Planning Reforms: What the Planning Amendment Regulation 2025 Means The Queensland Government has recently introduced the Planning Amendment Regulation 2025, which updates the Planning Regulation 2017 (Qld). These changes aim to improve housing supply, streamline approvals for essential education infrastructure and strengthen safety and design standards. The amendments focus on four key areas: shared...
Early Market Engagement: Getting Ahead of the Tender For many councils, procurement still begins at the point the tender is released. By that stage, scope, risk allocation, evaluation criteria and contract structure are often already locked in — leaving little room to respond to market capability, pricing realities or innovation. Early market engagement (EME) challenges...
