GC21 Edition 2

29 May 2023

General

• Formatting corrections carried out.
• Suggestions for improvements and feedback on changes are encouraged.

Conditions of tendering

• Clause 3.1. Guidance reworded for references to investigation reports.
• Clause 8.1. Following legal advice, guidance provided on considering unsigned tenders.
• Clause 8.2. Following legal advice, guidance provided with regard to accepting tenders.

Tender schedules

• Schedule 1 (Tender Form). Following legal advice, option included to allow for execution (signing) of tender by deed poll.
• Schedule 10 (Schedule of Program Information). Schedule amended to require Tenderer to declare that any dates shown in the program are for illustrative purposes only.
• Schedule 10 (Schedule of Program Information). Schedule further amended to include option for program to be for information purposes only.

General conditions of contract

• Formatting of Contract Information items modified for consistency.
• Clause 7.5. Clause amended to include option to sign by electronic means. Also a reference included in Notes to refer to sample ‘Formal Instrument of Agreement’ in Schedule 15.
• Clause 20. Reference included to new Contract Information item 14A dealing with application of long service levy and payment obligation.
• Clause 29.5. New sub-clause added to restrict Contractor from terminating a Preferred Subcontract or a Novated Contract without notice or reasonable cause.
• Clause 40.4. New clause added to clarify process where Contractor requires a change to its design.
• Clause 79. Definition of Principal’s Documents amended to note that novation may affect which documents are included.
• Contract Information Item 14A. New item added to allow selection of  payment obligation for long service levy.
• Contract Information Item 20. Guide note amended to include risk of insurance implications where proportionate liability is excluded.
• Contract Information Item 33A. Note amended to clarify application of Contractor Prequalification and Best Practice Accreditation Scheme.
• Contract Information Item 38. Guide note amended to promote identification of aspects of incomplete design to assist tenderers in pricing tenders.
• Contract Information Item 38. Items 38A.1 and 38A.2 amended to reinforce Contractor’s design obligations under clause 39.1 and reworded to reinforce default where no particular items or components have been selected. Item 38A.3 amended for consistency.
• Schedule 1 (Subcontractor’s Warranty). Options and guidance for electronic signing included. Following legal advice, signature blocks revised and simplified to comply with amendments to the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).
• Schedule 6 (Supporting Statement and Subcontractor’s Statement). Note and link included for a pdf version of the Supporting statement from Fair Trading with fillable form fields.
• Schedule 15 (Contract Deed and Formal Instrument of Agreement). Major revision of notes and guidance following legal advice. Signature blocks revised for Deed of Contract Agreement. Inclusion of option for a Formal Instrument of Agreement.

Preliminaries

• Clause 1.3. Amended guide note and clause to include application of DBP Act to construction of new class 3 and 9c buildings from 3 July 2023.
• Clause 4.2.  The ‘Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations’ added to organisations that recognize aboriginal businesses.
• Clause 4.1. Waste Management Progress Report added to list of Conformance Records.

1 September 2023

General

• Formatting adjustments and minor corrections carried out.
• Suggestions for improvements and feedback on changes are encouraged.

Conditions of tendering

• Clause 2.3. Clause and guidance dealing with Australian Government WHS Accreditation Scheme for Commonwealth Government funded projects updated.
• Clause 4.7. Clause and note dealing with the Commonwealth Building Code deleted due to the repeal of applicable Commonwealth legislation in December 2022.
• Clause 4.8. Guidance reworded following issue of PBD 2023-01 Skills, training and diversity in construction.

Tender schedules

• Schedule 23 (Schedule of Skills, Training, and Diversity in Construction) amended following the issue of PBD 2023-01. Additional reporting required.
• Schedule 27 (Schedule of Compliance with the Code for the Tendering and Performance of Building Work 2016) deleted due to the repeal of applicable Commonwealth legislation.

General conditions of contract

• Clause 13.6. Clause and note dealing with Commonwealth Building Code deleted due to repeal of applicable Commonwealth legislation.
• Clause 16. Reference to contract information item 16A replaced with reference to contract information item 16.
• Clause 17. Clause dealing with Australian Government WHS Accreditation Scheme for Commonwealth Government funded projects updated.
• Contract information item 15E (Skills, Training and Diversity in Construction) amended to include reporting of the number of women employed following the issue of PBD 2023-01.
• Contract information item 16. Contract information item 16A and relevant guidance related to the Commonwealth Building Code deleted. Item 16 rearranged.
• Schedule 12 (Compliance with Building Code 2016 (as amended) (Commonwealth)) deleted.
• Schedules 13 – 17 renumbered due to the deletion of Schedule 12. References to the renumbered Schedules amended to suit.

Preliminaries

• Clause 4.3.  Clause and guidance amended following issue of PBD 2023-01. Clarification included the information required in quarterly reports.
• Clause 1.3. Clause and guidance for selection of Designers and Building Practitioners amended for clarity following further legal advice.
• Clause 1.7. Clause and guidance for Certification of Building Works amended for clarity following further legal advice. Due to the length of the clause, the text for option 2 transferred to the new Schedule 8.3.
• Clause 5.6. Clause and guidance dealing with Australian Government WHS Accreditation Scheme for Commonwealth Government funded projects simplified to avoid repetition of General Conditions clause 17.
• Schedule 8.3. New Schedule for application of comprehensive certification of compliance with building and fire regulations created to include option 2 from Clause 1.7

02 January 2024

General

• Formatting adjustments and minor corrections were carried out. 'Shall' is replaced with 'will' for clarity and consistency.
• Suggestions for improvements and feedback on changes are encouraged.

General conditions of contract

• Clause 1.1.1. Reference to 'construct only' in note amended to 'developed design (construct only)' for consistency with buy.nsw site.
• Clause 38. The reference to 'construct only' in the note was changed to 'developed design' for consistency.
• Clause 39.1.2. The term 'preliminary' in 'preliminary design' was deleted for clarity. The term is open to interpretation and not required for the clause.
• Contact information Item 38A. Following review, contract information items A1-A3, notes, and guidance were amended to improve clarity and avoid inadvertent consequences where input is unclear.

Preliminaries

• Clause 1.3. An extra hyperlink for further information on obligations under the DBP Act was added.
• Clause 4.1. Subclause and guidance dealing with certification of compliance with steel and steel work standards introduced to apply requirements of PBD-2016-03: 'Construction standards and conformance'. Applicable conformance record added.
• Clause 7.1. Subclause dealing with compliance with construction standards introduced to apply requirements of PBD-2016-03.
• Clause 7.5. Clause amended to clarify Principal's consideration of alternatives to proprietary items.

Sample letters

• 07 letter of award and attached letter on administrative matters. Administrative matters letter amended to include identification of survey marks and option for deletion of LSL evidence.

8 April 2024

General 

• Formatting adjustments and minor corrections carried out.
• User guidance amended for all sections to correct method to remove all hidden text.
• Suggestions for improvements and feedback on changes are encouraged.

Conditions of Tendering

• Clause 3.1. References to Site information clarified. Clause guidance expanded to remind documenters that reports and investigations included in the RFT should be listed in the Title Page section.
• Clause 4.5. Sub-clause 'Dealing with Modern Slavery' deleted.
• Clause 4.9. New clause; 'Dealing with Modern Slavery' added following release (in Feb. 2024) of Guidance on Reasonable Steps (GRS) by NSW Anti-slavery Commissioner with revised model tendering clauses.
• Clause 7.3. Clause dealing with Tendering amended due to introduction of 'buy.nsw Opportunities Hub' and 'Supplier Hub' for tenderer registration and tender responses.
• Clause 7.3. File format for reading etc. electronic tenders updated to Microsoft Word 2021.
• Clause 8.1. Options included for evaluating tender submissions for 'Dealing with Modern Slavery'.

Tender Schedules

• Schedule 26. 'Schedule of Compliance for Dealing with Modern Slavery' replaced with revised requirements based on the release of GRS by NSW Anti-slavery Commissioner.

General conditions of contract 

• Clause 13.5 and Contract Information item 15B. References to 'Schedule 16 (Modern Slavery)' replaced by ‘Schedule 16 (Dealing with Modern Slavery)’ due to change of name of Schedule 16.
• Clause 36.1. Note reworded to clarify the information concerning the Site that is part of the Contract.
• Clause 71. Following recent court cases and a legal review, revision of some clauses and clarification of conditions under which a party can litigate.
• Clause 79. Definition of 'Contractor's Default' updated to include revised grounds for termination under Schedule 16 - Dealing with Modern Slavery.
• Contract Information Item 36. Guide notes expanded to include an example of a document where only a section of the document forms part of the contract.
• Contract Information Item 38A. Contract Information Items A1 & A2 amended to improve clarity and avoid inadvertent consequences in the absence of elements requiring design being listed by the documenter.
• Schedule 6. Anomaly in Supporting Statement form from Office of Fair Trading referenced in notes and corrected.
• Schedule 16. Schedule; 'Dealing with Modern Slavery' replaced following release of GRS by NSW Anti-slavery Commissioner with revised model contract clauses.

Preliminaries 

• Clause 1.3.  Guidance updated for application of the DBP Act as start dates have now been superseded.
• Clause 3.2.  Guidance expanded with an additional example - for a tendered rate for extra-over for rock excavation.
• Clause 5.2.  Guidance expanded with the inclusion of activities on Site that may affect access to, and use of, the Site.

12 August 2024

General

• Formatting adjustments and minor corrections carried out.
• Suggestions for improvements and feedback on changes are encouraged.

Conditions of tendering

• Note published version dated 17 July 2024 refers.
• Clause 7.3. Clause heading changed to ‘Tenders submitted electronically’.
• Clause 7.3. Guidance and text updated to conform with ‘buy.nsw Opportunities Hub’ and ‘Supplier Hub’ for tenderer registration and tender responses.
• Clause 7.3. Reference to PBD 2024-1 included in guidance mandating use of buy.nsw Opportunities Hub by NSW Government agencies from 31 December 2024.
• Clause 7.3. Application of NSW Government ‘Global terms and conditions’ to RFT explained and terms clarified.

Preliminaries

• Clause 2.3. Option added to require work as executed information for underground services to meet AS 5488.1:2022- classification of subsurface utility information (quality level A). This includes a survey reference to an independent spatial coordinate system.
• Clause 3.1. Guidance expanded to include methods of measurement.
• Clause 5.4. Option added to subclause ‘locating existing services’ requiring information for underground services to meet Quality Level A of AS 5488.1:2022- classification of subsurface utility Information where possible.
• Clause 5.4. Before you dig Australia (BYDA) site link inserted. Note BYDA replaces ‘dial before you dig’ service.

1 October 2024

General

• Formatting adjustments and corrections carried out.
• Suggestions for improvements and feedback on changes are encouraged.

General conditions of contract

• Clause 42.3. Clause rewritten to clarify responsibilities for dealing with errors in level, dimensions or alignment of the Works.
• Clause 58.7. New clause 58.7.5 added requiring the Principal’s security interest in unincorporated materials to be registered on the Personal Property Securities Register.
• Clause 61.5. Clause dealing with Final Payment Schedule amended to exclude any Claim not barred.
• Clause 62. Clause dealing with interest on late payments amended to allow the Contractor a discretion in making a claim for interest but requiring any such claim to be made in a Payments Claim.
• Clause 71.10. Clause dealing with right to litigate after Expert Determination amended to avoid inadvertent opportunity arising due to SoPA overpayments.
• Clause 74.3. Clause dealing with Contractor’ removal of materials from site amended to clarify that it cannot remove any materials (including materials referenced in clause 74.4.2) for which payment is due and is required to leave temporary work that the Principal requires.
• Clause 74.4.4. Clause dealing with compensation for termination amended to remove potential ambiguity in calculation of the unpaid portion of the Contract Price.
• Clause 74.6. Clause dealing with Termination Notices amended to ensure receipt of delivery can be obtained and to remove a potential timing issue with emailing a copy of the notice. Also a note added linking the clause with clause 11 which deals with notices generally and also the relevant contract information items.
• Contract Information Item 53.  Address details updated.
• Schedule 7. Hyperlink for ABS website updated and formatting of formula for ‘adjustment factor’ improved.
• Schedules 1, 4, 5, 8 & 12. Number formatting amended and corrected for consistency and to remove anomalies.

25 February 2025

General

• Suggestions for improvements and feedback on changes are encouraged.

GC21 Clause Commentary

• Commentary for Clause 1.3. Commentary amended to suit revised Sample letter 01 – General Instruction.
• Commentary for Clause 37.3. Commentary amended to correct and clarify application of term ‘materially differs’ where Rate items apply to an adverse Site Condition.

GC21 Sample Letters

• Sample letter 01.  Sample letter corrected and amended to manage the circumstances where Contractor considers the instruction may result in entitlements for the Contractor.
• Sample letter 07.  Minor amendments to improve clarity.
• Sample letter 69B.  Correction of title wording

16 June 2025

General

• Formatting adjustments and corrections carried out.
• Suggestions for improvements and feedback on changes are encouraged.

GC21 Sample Letters

• Sample letters 47A, 47B, 47C, 47D and 47E.  
  • Sample letters for Clause 47 amended and updated. An extra option is provided for sample letter 47E.
  • The numbering of the letters has been changed to follow the steps in applying the clause:
    • Sl 47A replaces Sl 47d
    • Sl 47B replaces Sl 47e
    • Sl 47C replaces Sl 47a
    • Sl 47D replaces Sl 47b
    • Sl 47E replaces Sl 47c
    • The Clause commentary has not yet been updated.
• Sample letters 48A, 48B, 48C, 48D, 48E and 48F.
  • Sample letters for Clause 48 amended and updated. Extra options included for sample letters 48B, 48E and 48F.