Tender & Appointment Review
Know What You Are Signing
Review of client and developer consultant appointments for architects across Australia, before you commit
On most commissions you are handed someone else's appointment to sign. It is drafted to protect them, and the terms that cost you most are rarely the ones that stand out on a first read.
Christopher Larcos reviews the appointments architects are asked to sign, from a client's short form to a developer's consultant deed. Because he has held those appointments as a registered architect and advises on them as a solicitor, the review is grounded in the work you actually do, not just the words on the page.
The result is a short, prioritised view of what to accept, what to question, and what to negotiate, while you still have the leverage to do it.
What an appointment review covers
Client and developer appointments
Reading the appointment you are offered, whether a client short form, a developer's consultant deed, or a bespoke agreement, against how the project will actually run.
Scope, fees and program
Confirming the scope matches the fee, that payment and suspension terms are workable, and that reporting and program obligations are ones you can meet.
Liability and copyright terms
Checking limitation of liability against the cover you hold, and the copyright licence and moral rights consents, so you are not signing away more than the commission requires.
Novation and what comes next
Spotting where an appointment is to be novated to a builder later, so the terms you sign now still protect you after the switch.
Common questions
What is a tender or appointment review for an architect?
It is a review of the agreement a client or developer asks you to sign for a commission, before you sign it. On many projects you are handed the client's or developer's own consultant appointment rather than proposing your own terms, and those documents are drafted to protect them, not you. A review reads the appointment against the work you will actually do and flags the terms worth negotiating.
Why review a client's or developer's consultant agreement before signing?
Because these appointments routinely shift risk onto the consultant: uncapped liability, obligations that outrun your fee, broad copyright licences, onerous program and reporting duties, and warranties that sit awkwardly with your insurance. Once signed you are bound by them. A review before you commit is the cheapest point at which to understand the exposure and negotiate the handful of terms that matter most.
What does a review of my appointment look at?
The scope you are taking on and whether it matches your fee, the payment and suspension terms, limitation of liability set against your professional indemnity cover, the copyright licence and any moral rights consents, the program and reporting obligations, and whether the appointment is to be novated later. The output is a plain, prioritised list of what to accept, what to question, and what to push back on.
Is this different from reviewing a building contract?
Yes. A tender or appointment review looks at your engagement, the agreement between you and your client, whereas a building contract review looks at the contract between the owner and the builder that you may go on to administer. Both matter, and on a single project they interlock, but they protect different things. If it is the building contract you need looked at, the contract review service is the right starting point.
Keep reading
Lawyer for Architects
Legal advice across the life of an architectural practice, from a solicitor who is also an architect.
ContinueClient Architect Agreements
When you set the terms yourself, the agreement your practice uses with its own clients.
ContinueNovation
What happens to an appointment when it is transferred to the builder on design and construct projects.
ContinueCredentials
- Dual-qualified solicitor and registered architect
- Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects (FRAIA)
- 40+ years in the construction industry
- Advises architects and architecture practices