Electronic signatures on building contracts and variations: a record that holds up
Signing a variation on a phone takes minutes. Proving later who signed, what they were looking at and when is the part that decides a dispute.
12 min read
Topic
Variations
Articles and news about Variations for Australian builders.
Electronic signatures on building contracts and variations: a record that holds up
Signing a variation on a phone takes minutes. Proving later who signed, what they were looking at and when is the part that decides a dispute.
12 min read
Managing client selections: the process that quietly eats your margin
Selections are not paperwork that follows the build. They are the schedule that determines whether the build can proceed and whether the price you signed still holds. A controlled selections process is a margin control, not an administrative nicety.
11 min read
Scope creep: spotting the small unbilled favours before they eat the margin
Scope creep rarely arrives as a written instruction. It arrives as a small favour — and by the time you notice, the margin is gone.
11 min read
Product substitution: what builders must check before swapping a specified product
Lead times and prices push builders to swap specified products every week. Most swaps are fine. The ones that are not become defects, failed inspections and disputes. Here is what to check before you substitute.
7 min read
NSW home building contracts: the $5,000 and $20,000 thresholds, deposits and must-have clauses
NSW sets out exactly what a residential building contract must contain, and the rules change at $5,000 and $20,000. Here is what builders must include, the payment rules, and the mistakes that make contracts unenforceable.
8 min read
How to write a building variation that gets signed and paid (NSW rules included)
Variations are where good jobs go bad. A clear, signed, priced variation before the work starts is the single best protection a builder has. Here is how to write one, and what NSW requires.
9 min read
Why building costs jumped in 2026: fuel, plastic pipe, bitumen and what comes next
The 2026 Middle East conflict pushed diesel, plastic pipe and bitumen prices up sharply. Here is what it did to building costs, what the cost indices show, and how builders on fixed-price contracts can protect themselves.
9 min read