ABIC Contracts
ABIC Contract Specialists
Specialist advice on architect-administered ABIC building contracts across Australia, from the author of the ABIC special conditions
ABIC contracts are unlike the other standard forms used in Australia, because the architect administers them. Getting one right means understanding both the legal framework and the way that administration works in practice.
The suite is published by Australian Building Industry Contracts, a joint venture of the Australian Institute of Architects and Master Builders Australia, and replaced the older JCC series. Its forms share a common design: plain-English drafting, and an architect appointed as contract administrator who assesses progress claims, certifies payment, and decides variations and extensions of time independently of both the owner and the builder.
Christopher Larcos is a dual-qualified solicitor and registered architect who authored the suite of Special Conditions for ABIC contracts. He has administered building contracts as an architect and advised on them as a solicitor, which is why his ABIC work addresses what a clause will do on site as well as what it says on the page.
ABIC contracts share a national framework, but residential building work is regulated state by state. The amendments needed to make the same form lawful and workable in New South Wales differ materially from those needed in Victoria, Queensland, or Western Australia, whether the project is in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart, Canberra, or Darwin.
ABIC Contract Services
Specialist ABIC work across the life of a contract, from choosing the form through to administering it and resolving what goes wrong, for projects in every Australian state and territory.
Choosing the Right ABIC Form
Advice on which form the project actually needs: how much contractual machinery is warranted (Major Works, Simple Works, or Basic Works), and which variant applies, the Commercial form or the Housing form required for residential building work.
ABIC Contract Review & Amendment
Review of an ABIC contract and any special conditions proposed for it, before signing: whether the amendments work with the standard form, whether the payment and time machinery is workable, and where the schedule has been filled out incorrectly.
Contract Administration Support
Support for architects acting as contract administrator: assessing progress claims, certifying payment, pricing and directing variations, and deciding extensions of time within the independent role the ABIC form assigns.
Residential Compliance by Jurisdiction
Bringing an ABIC contract into compliance with the residential building legislation of the state where the work is carried out: the Home Building Act 1989 (NSW), Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic), Home Building Contracts Act 1991 (WA), Queensland's QBCC Act, and the equivalent Acts in SA, Tasmania, the ACT and the NT.
Cost-Plus Under an ABIC Contract
Structuring cost-plus building work under ABIC CP-2014 C, a commercial form that requires specific amendments before it can lawfully be used on residential projects in New South Wales, Western Australia, and other regulated jurisdictions.
ABIC Disputes & Payment Claims
Advice where an ABIC contract has gone wrong: disputed certificates and progress claims, variation and extension of time disagreements, and the interaction between the ABIC payment regime and the applicable security of payment Act.
How the ABIC Suite Is Organised
Every ABIC form sits at the intersection of two choices. Get both right and the contract fits the project; get either wrong and the problems show up later.
Axis one — How much contractual machinery
Major Works
The fullest form. Detailed notice regimes, and time and variation machinery suited to long, staged, multi-trade projects where significant delay and variation claims are realistic.
Simple Works
A streamlined version for shorter, more contained work: renovations, extensions, alterations, and smaller fitouts with a manageable number of expected variations.
Basic Works
Shorter again, for minor building work where even the Simple Works machinery is more than the job warrants. Same architect-administered model, least overhead.
Axis two — The type of work, which is not discretionary
Housing variant
Required for residential building work, because it carries the terms the residential building legislation of each state obliges the contract to contain.
Commercial variant
For commercial building work, which is not subject to the residential regime and so does not carry those mandatory statutory terms.
Cost plus (CP-2014 C)
A commercial cost-plus contract sitting alongside the lump-sum forms. Needs specific amendments before it can lawfully be used on residential projects.
Where the choice goes wrong
A commercial form used on residential work
The contract is left missing statutory terms it is required to contain, which can affect enforceability. This is the more serious of the two, because it is a compliance failure rather than an inconvenience.
Choosing the form on contract value alone
Dollar bands circulate in the industry and are indicative at best. They say nothing about the two things that decide the question: how much administration the project needs, and how much risk detail the parties want settled in advance.
Choosing the lighter form and adding only the machinery the project needs is often a better answer than adopting the heavier form wholesale. The guide comparing ABIC Simple Works and Major Works sets out the practical test in detail.
Why ABIC Contracts Need a Specialist
Four things about the ABIC framework reward knowing it well, and each one is a place where generic amendments tend to come unstuck.
The architect's independent role is what amendments break
Conditions written for a contract the owner administers, which is the norm for HIA and Master Builders forms and for generic online templates, can quietly alter the certification regime or the administrator's discretion. The inconsistency stays invisible until a claim is disputed.
Amendments belong in one place
Every ABIC contract carries a Special Conditions schedule, referenced in the contract information schedule and taking effect through the order-of-precedence provision. Amendments made there interact predictably with the standard form. Clauses struck through the body of the contract, or bolted on as a side letter, frequently do not.
ABIC special conditionsResidential compliance changes with the state
The Home Building Act 1989 governs residential work in New South Wales, the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 applies in Victoria, and Western Australia's Home Building Contracts Act 1991 and Queensland's QBCC Act each impose their own obligations. It matters most with the cost-plus form.
Cost-plus contractsAdministration and security of payment interact
Once the contract is running, the payment regime, the assessment of progress claims, and the certification timetable all sit alongside the security of payment Act in the relevant state. The two need to be read together rather than in isolation.
Security of paymentWho We Help With ABIC Contracts
Architects preparing and administering ABIC contracts across Australia
Residential builders using ABIC contracts in NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA, TAS, ACT, and NT
Owners entering an ABIC contract for a new home or major renovation
Builders and owners moving from stage payments to monthly progress claims
Parties using ABIC CP-2014 C on residential cost-plus work
Project managers structuring ABIC procurement for multi-state projects
International architecture practices running projects in Australia
Legal practitioners seeking specialist ABIC input on jurisdiction-specific compliance
Anyone facing a dispute over an ABIC certificate, variation, or extension of time
Common questions
What is an ABIC contract specialist?
An ABIC contract specialist is a practitioner whose contract work is centred on the ABIC suite, the building contracts published by Australian Building Industry Contracts, a joint venture of the Australian Institute of Architects and Master Builders. Because ABIC contracts are built around an architect acting as an independent contract administrator, the specialist knowledge required is as much about how the form is administered on site as about what it says. Christopher Larcos is a solicitor and registered architect who authored the suite of Special Conditions for ABIC contracts, and who has administered building contracts as an architect.
Do I need an ABIC contract lawyer or an ABIC contract specialist?
They are not alternatives. Only a solicitor can advise you on what an ABIC contract means legally, or act for you in a dispute about it, so the legal qualification is the floor rather than the differentiator. The specialist part is knowledge of the suite itself: the architect-administered model, how the Special Conditions schedule interacts with the standard form, and what each state's residential building legislation requires. Christopher Larcos is a practising solicitor and a registered architect who authored the ABIC special conditions, so a single engagement covers both.
How is an ABIC contract different from other building contracts?
The defining difference is who administers it. Under an ABIC contract the architect acts as an independent contract administrator, assessing progress claims, certifying payment, and deciding variations and extensions of time, rather than acting as the owner's agent. HIA and Master Builders contracts are generally written for projects where the owner and builder deal with each other directly. That difference affects how the contract should be amended: conditions drafted for an owner-administered contract often conflict with the ABIC certification regime.
Which ABIC contract should I use for my project?
The suite is organised on two axes. The first is how much contractual machinery the project needs: Major Works (MW) is the fullest form, Simple Works (SW) is streamlined, and Basic Works (BW) is shorter again for minor work. The second is the type of work: each form has a Commercial variant (suffix C) and a Housing variant (suffix H), and residential building work needs the Housing variant so it carries the statutory terms the legislation requires. Contract value alone is a poor guide; complexity and the amount of administration are what matter.
Do ABIC contracts need special conditions?
Usually, yes. Every ABIC contract carries a Special Conditions schedule that is referenced in the contract information schedule and takes effect through the order-of-precedence provision, which is where targeted amendments belong. Common amendments convert a housing contract from stage payments to monthly progress claims, add a force majeure regime the standard form does not contain, address supply-chain cost movement, or bring a commercial form into compliance for residential work.
Can an ABIC contract be reviewed before it is signed?
Yes, and it is the point at which specialist input is worth the most. A review checks that the correct form and variant have been used, that the contract information schedule has been completed consistently, that any proposed special conditions work with the standard form rather than against it, and that the contract satisfies the residential building legislation of the state where the work will be carried out.
Do you advise on ABIC contracts outside New South Wales?
Yes. ABIC contracts share a national framework, but each state and territory regulates residential building work differently, so the amendments needed to make the same form compliant differ from one jurisdiction to the next. Advice is provided remotely from a New South Wales base for projects anywhere in Australia, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart, Canberra, and Darwin.
Keep reading
ABIC special conditions
The amendments themselves: progress payments, force majeure, supply chain, and cost-plus compliance.
ContinueABIC Simple Works vs Major Works
A plain-English comparison of the two most-used forms, and the practical test for choosing between them.
ContinueContract administration
Progress claims, payment certification, variations and extensions of time for architect-administered contracts.
ContinueNeed an ABIC Contract Specialist?
Whether you are choosing a form, reviewing one before signing, administering a contract already under way, or dealing with a disputed certificate, get in touch to discuss it.
Working on a contract outside the ABIC suite? See construction contract review and drafting, or read about contract administration for architects.
Specialist Credentials
- Author of the Special Conditions for ABIC contracts
- Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects (FRAIA)
- Dual-qualified solicitor and registered architect
- Bachelor of Laws with First Class Honours (LLB, Hons I)
- Bachelor of Architecture (BArch)
- 40+ years in the construction industry
- Adjudicator across five Australian jurisdictions