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Building and Construction

With TNS Lawyers, you can keep your building and construction projects on track. Development projects are always complex and more often involve a large number of contracts with multiple parties and endless terms and conditions.

With a clear understanding of commercial decision drivers and various project delivery structures, our building and construction lawyers are able to deliver start to finish legal advice and services that are built around you and your circumstances.

As a full-service commercial law firm, we practice collaboration in order to provide support to our clients in related practices such as real estate law, corporate law, commercial law, and insolvency law. With combined individual knowledge, we are able to tackle complex construction law problems and deliver high-value outcomes.

Who we represent

Our clients include builders, contractors, and developers involved in construction projects ranging from small-scale residential developments to major commercial infrastructure. We also work with independent parties such as property owners (including homeowners), subcontractors, consultants, suppliers, engineers, architects, and surveyors.

As much as we are proud of our law firm’s extensive experience and diverse client portfolio, we also understand that they present unique circumstances most of the time. In order for us to make a difference, we personalise our services to match what a client needs.

What our building and construction lawyers can do for you

Our Melbourne-based lawyers can assist you with:

  • Pre-commencement issues

    We can help you create and enforce a strategic plan for your project. We can help you deal with issues concerning your project managers–budget, progress timeline, permits or licences, labour management, resource acquisition, etc.

  • Standard building contracts

    Our building lawyers can advise you on standard building contracts carried out by the Housing Industry Association (HIA) and Master Builders' Association (MBA). We can also help you draft and negotiate terms and conditions such as guarantees, payment schedules, liquidated damages, etc.

  • Terms of engagement

    As a proactive and protective measure against financing or scope of work issues, we work with subcontractors and trade contractors to review terms of engagement clauses such as those relating to performance of services, relationship between the parties, confidentiality, termination, waiver, disputes, liquidated damages, timeline to complete the project, etc.

  • Sub-contracts and design and construction contracts

    Our construction lawyers assist in drafting project-specific contracts that will meet your unique needs and help mitigate potential construction-related disputes.

  • Advising on construction law issues, including the Building Code of Australia

  • Payment claims

    We can assist you in making or defending quantum meruit claims against your project and also assist you in either arbitration, litigation, mediation, or even the DBDRV.

  • Debt recovery

    It's not enough to think about debt recovery only when it's past due; it's important to consider such a possibility even before you enter into a building project. Let our construction lawyers ensure that you get paid in a legal and commercially sound way.

TNS Lawyers also helps settle building and construction disputes as quickly as possible, no matter where you are in Victoria.

Dealing with building disputes and disputes-turned-litigation doesn’t have to be time-consuming and expensive for any individual or business. Make sure to seek legal advice as soon as possible from a dispute solicitor about: 

  • Commercial construction disputes

  • Defective building work claims

  • Multi-unit development construction claims

  • Domestic building disputes (including resolution through the Domestic Building Dispute Resolution Victoria)

  • Security for payment claims

  • Personal Property Security Register (PPSR) claims

Our team can help resolve your building and construction issues, whether your matter is a commercial or domestic one. Engage us for expert assistance in:

  • Making a claim

  • Applying for adjudication

  • Defending a claim

  • Applying to set aside an adjudication determination

  • Enforcing an adjudication determination or judgment

If you need legal advice on a building or construction issue, please call us on 03 9052 3214 or email us at info@tnslawyers.com.au

Frequently asked questions about building and construction law

The National Construction Code (NCC) defines the minimum requirements for design and construction of building work (both new and existing buildings), safety, health, amenity, accessibility, and sustainability of certain buildings.

State and territory governments are responsible for regulating the construction industry in their respective jurisdictions. For example, in Victoria, the relevant agencies include the Victorian Building Authority.

Why Choose TNS Lawyers

We are rated 4.8 stars on Trustpilot and 5 stars on Google Business Profile.

We specialise

We only do what we do best. We don’t dabble in areas that we don’t practice in every day.

We care about results

We are results-driven. People say you should focus on the journey but we disagree. We focus on the results we get for our clients.

We personalise

Ever wonder what it’s like being able to “phone a friend” and that friend happens to be your lawyer? We make sure you have a good experience with us every step of the way.

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Our Services

We provide specialist legal services in a range of areas

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