Building Contract Special Conditions
ABIC Special Conditions
Specialist drafting of special conditions for ABIC building contracts across Australia: tailored to each state’s residential building legislation
Standard-form ABIC contracts are rarely ready to sign without special conditions. Residential building projects frequently require amendments tailored to the jurisdiction, the payment structure, and the commercial arrangements between the parties.
Christopher Larcos specialises in drafting special conditions for ABIC contracts, the suite of architect-administered building contracts published by the Australian Institute of Architects and Master Builders Australia. His special conditions address the gaps that the standard form leaves open: progress payment structures, force majeure protections, supply chain cost provisions, and compliance with state residential building legislation.
Each Australian jurisdiction imposes distinct requirements on residential building contracts. In New South Wales, the Home Building Act 1989 mandates specific contract inclusions. Victoria’s Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 imposes its own regime. Western Australia’s Home Building Contracts Act 1991, Queensland’s QBCC Act, and the equivalent legislation in South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT, and the Northern Territory may require different special conditions to address the requirements applying to a project.
Whether the project is in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart, Canberra, or Darwin, the special conditions should be drafted with the local legislation and the ABIC contractual framework in view.
Special Conditions We Draft
Pre-drafted special conditions available for immediate licence, plus bespoke drafting for project-specific requirements across all Australian jurisdictions.
Monthly Progress Payment Conditions
Special conditions converting the ABIC SW 2018 H milestone payment structure to monthly progress payments, the most common amendment requested by builders and owners in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, and Western Australia.
Force Majeure & Supply Chain Provisions
Special conditions addressing force majeure events and supply chain cost fluctuations, essential protections absent from the standard ABIC form that became critical during and after the pandemic across all Australian states.
Residential Building Compliance Conditions
Jurisdiction-specific special conditions designed to address identified requirements of the Home Building Act 1989 (NSW), Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic), Home Building Contracts Act 1991 (WA), and equivalent legislation in Queensland, South Australia, and Tasmania.
Cost-Plus Compliance Conditions
Special conditions adapting the ABIC CP-2014 C commercial cost-plus contract for lawful use on residential building work, required in New South Wales, Western Australia, and other jurisdictions with residential building legislation.
What Makes ABIC Special Conditions Different?
ABIC is an architect-administered contract system. Amendments need to work through that system, not merely add a commercial term beside it.
Preserve the contract administrator’s role
ABIC assigns the architect contract-administration functions that include assessing claims, certifying payments and dealing with variations. Special conditions should change the intended risk without inadvertently confusing those functions.
Integrate payment and variation machinery
A revised payment structure or variation rule must connect with the clauses, schedules, notices and certification steps already in the form. Treating one clause in isolation can create competing procedures.
Draft for ABIC, not another form
Conditions written for an owner-administered contract or a generic template may assume a different decision-maker and process. ABIC amendments should use the concepts and structure of the ABIC edition they modify.
Christopher drafts from the dual perspective of a practising solicitor and registered architect who has administered ABIC contracts, bringing the legal wording and the contract-administration consequences into the same exercise.
Who Needs ABIC Special Conditions?
Builders entering ABIC contracts for residential work in NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA, TAS, ACT, or NT
Architects preparing ABIC contracts for administration
Owners who want monthly progress payments rather than milestone payments
Parties requiring force majeure or supply chain protections
Builders using ABIC CP-2014 C on residential projects requiring compliance conditions
Legal practitioners advising on ABIC contract amendments
Need Special Conditions for Your ABIC Contract?
Browse pre-drafted special conditions available for immediate licence, or get in touch to discuss bespoke drafting for your project’s specific requirements.
Common questions
Why does an ABIC contract need special conditions?
The standard form may not address the project's payment structure, commercial arrangements, risk allocation or jurisdiction-specific residential building requirements, so carefully drafted amendments may be needed before signing.
What can ABIC special conditions cover?
They can address monthly progress payments, force majeure, supply chain cost changes and the compliance requirements that apply to residential or cost-plus work.
Do special conditions differ between Australian states?
Yes. Residential building legislation differs across each state and territory, so special conditions must be matched to the governing jurisdiction without undermining the ABIC framework.
When are bespoke special conditions needed?
Pre-drafted conditions can suit common scenarios in their stated jurisdiction, while project-specific commercial terms, unusual risks or other jurisdictions may require bespoke drafting.
More on amending an ABIC building contract
ABIC Simple Works vs Major Works
Which ABIC form the project needs, before deciding what to amend in it.
Which ABIC contract to useProgress Payments
The most commonly requested amendment: moving stage payments onto monthly progress claims.
Progress payment adviceForce Majeure & Supply Chain
The delay and cost-escalation provisions the standard ABIC form does not contain.
Force majeure clause adviceSpecialist Credentials
- Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects (FRAIA)
- Dual-qualified solicitor and registered architect
- 40+ years in the construction industry
- Adjudicator across five Australian jurisdictions
- Former NSW & Queensland Editor, Building & Construction Law Journal