About a decade ago, the University of Melbourne conducted a comprehensive study aimed at identifying the most common types of contracts used in Australian construction projects.
From my review of this study, my key takeaways were the following:
- 75% of head contracts utilise a standard form contract, whereas only 33% of sub-contracts do the same.
- The majority of head contractors are opting for Australian Standard form contracts, making substantial amendments to suit their specific requirements.
- Standard forms are predominantly employed in contracts valued at less than $100,000; however, this usage diminishes as the contract value escalates, with standard form contracts being utilised in only 28% of contracts exceeding $500 million.
- Queensland (QLD), Western Australia (WA), and the Northern Territory (NT) utilise fewer standard form contracts, a trend attributed to the prevalence of major mining projects in these regions.
The four main forms of contracts used were: AS4300 , AS4000, AS2124 and AS4902. These represent close to 70% of the standard forms that are used by the construction industry. Other forms of contracts such as FIDIC, GC21 and ABIC are used as well, but only in a fraction of cases.
It would be interesting to see whether the results of this survey would remain consistent if it were conducted today.