Kreisson

17/06/2026

At Kreisson, we offer tailored legal solutions based on a clear understanding of the construction and engineering environment that aim to be practical and cost-effective.

Our advice is aligned with the unique requirements of each project, aiming to support contractual compliance and preserve commercial entitlements.

Learn more | kreisson.com.au

15/06/2026

Contemporaneous documentation - records made at or near the time of the relevant event - carries significantly greater evidential weight than retrospective reconstruction. The longer the gap between the event and the record, the more the account is degraded by hindsight, gaps in memory and bias, making it less reliable in a dispute.

Contemporaneous records are harder to challenge and more persuasive, and the absence of corroborating contemporaneous evidence is frequently fatal to a claim.

Adjudication applications built on comprehensive, contemporaneous records should be supported by:

✅ Site diaries and daily site reports
✅ Variation registers and variation documents
✅ Photographic records (time- and date-stamped)
✅ Correspondence
✅ Timesheets and labour records
✅ Delivery dockets and ITPs
✅ Meeting minutes and file notes of conversations,
✅ instructions and incidents

Each record should document what was seen, done or heard, by the person who saw, did or heard it, and capture who was present, what was directed or advised, what decisions were made, and the date.

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12/06/2026

The Waiver and Estoppel Defence - a last resort, not a strategy.

Miss a time bar and your fallback may be a waiver or estoppel argument.

These are real arguments - but they are escape hatches, not entitlements. Each one asks a court or tribunal to relieve you from a bargain you struck, and tribunals start from the position that time bars are to be strictly enforced.

A "no waiver" clause does not automatically shield the other side. Australian courts accept that parties can waive a non-waiver clause and that such clauses do not necessarily extinguish an estoppel. But it is far from a free pass - a well-drafted no-waiver clause is a serious obstacle, and whether you get over it turns entirely on the facts and the conduct you can prove.

That is the whole problem. Every one of these arguments is expensive, evidence-hungry and uncertain. You are litigating your way out of a hole instead of standing on a clear contractual right.

So treat them as the last resort they are. Build the system so you won't need to rely on them.

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12/06/2026

NSW reform shifted from announcement to operation this week. Operation Broadwater delivered 35 fines across the North Coast, the Building (Approvals and Practitioners) Bill 2026 landed alongside Landcom's first modular build at Schofields, and IPART opened its developer water charges review.

Energy and Western Sydney kept the same tempo. EnergyConnect was fully energised at 3.6 billion, Muswellbrook broke ground, Western Sydney International confirmed a 25 October opening, and the Port Macquarie 18-storey SSD survived its proponent's receivership.

The Pulse | 11 June 2026
https://ap1.hubs.ly/y0Zc8j0

This week's reporting frames the NSW construction reform agenda as moving from announcement to operational practice.

10/06/2026

One of the most frequently amended and disputed categories of provision is extensions of time.

An extension of time clause adjusts the date for when the contractor is delayed by qualifying clauses.

Management of EOTs is critical during project delivery as a failure to comply with contractual terms can extinguish entitlement and create an exposure to liquidated damages.

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08/06/2026

Getting Paid - Why SOPA exists.

Before Security of Payment legislation was enacted in Australia, the construction industry had an entrenched payment problem.

Pay-when-paid clauses were standard: a head contractor could legally refuse to pay a subcontractor until the principal had paid the head contractor.

Every state and territory has since enacted equivalent legislation, though the detailed procedures differ.

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05/06/2026

Energy infrastructure and housing supply dominated the week's developments across NSW, with new warnings over the cost of powering the data centre boom and the national housing target slipping further behind.

The week also brought renewed scrutiny of how major government programs are being delivered, from flood recovery to Snowy 2.0, alongside growing pushback from communities and councils on planning reform.

The Pulse | 4 June 2026
https://ap1.hubs.ly/y0Ydmb0

This week's reporting frames the NSW energy transition increasingly as a load-side problem rather than a generation-side one.

05/06/2026

Why Projects Fail - The Data.

Arcadis research, conducted across multiple years of its Global Construction Dispute Report series, consistently identified two recurrent causes of disputes:

✅ Poor contract administration
✅ Failure to understand contractual obligations or terms

These are not legal problems. They are operational ones.

Almost every trigger on this list can be managed through the construction contract when properly drafted.

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01/06/2026

Construction is a high-risk industry. But the risks are structural, well-documented, and predictable - and the statutory rights that protect cash flow exist and are enforceable.

Knowing that is not enough. Rights have to be exercised, and exercising them requires process.

What separates contractors and subcontractors who manage projects well from those who don't is operational discipline underpinned by strong contract administration.

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