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Subbies' Toolbox We provide commercial contract management and debt recovery advice to Subcontractors in the Construction Industry.

We do contract reviews and provide advice and training on Security of Payment.

October inside The Subbies Toolbox focuses on your credit profile, with weekly Q&As, a practical Masterclass and the ful...
30/09/2026

October inside The Subbies Toolbox focuses on your credit profile, with weekly Q&As, a practical Masterclass and the full resource library.

Not a member yet? You can join us anytime.

When I finished law school, the builder I was working for sent me to work for one of the best construction lawyers I kno...
30/09/2026

When I finished law school, the builder I was working for sent me to work for one of the best construction lawyers I know. The idea was that I would learn from the best - and then return to be an in-house lawyer for the builder.

hashtag 😏Little did they know I was a subbie hugger at heart 👷🏼‍♀️

Anyway, I remember going for an interview with this lawyer, and him asking me what my salary expectations were.

I said to him, "To be honest, I don't really care about the salary. Just put me in at the minimum award as a first year. The value of this opportunity for me by far exceeds any salary incentive. I just want to learn."

I thought that was the best answer any prospective employer wanted to hear, and it was true. I'm not at all motivated by money. (Just ask my accountant)

The lawyer said to me, "Ok, please never, never, never lead with the lowest you are willing to take in another negotiation, ever. Let's start that again."

I laughed it off at the time, but that comment still haunts me today, because in the weeks and months that followed, I realised I was being sent in to negotiate REALLY important things for other people.

I knew nothing about negotiation theory at that point in my career - that was 9 years ago almost to the day. I don't remember there even being a subject at university on negotiation when I did my degree.

It was from that moment that I started reading, watching, soaking up as much as I could to become a better negotiator.

The great thing about this negotiation theory is, once you know the fundamentals you can spot strategies while they are playing out in front of you. Once you see these things - you can't un-see them, and you start to apply them in every aspect of your life.

It's not enough to just be a lawyer. It's not enough to just be a business person. Negotiation skills make you street smart.

Here's how you can use the old chestnut "subcontractor agrees to be bound to head contract terms" to your advantage. Ge...
27/09/2026

Here's how you can use the old chestnut "subcontractor agrees to be bound to head contract terms" to your advantage.

Get a copy of the head contract off the builder, and make sure you keep a record of precisely who the builder is contracting with. (That information might come in very handy one day if you need to use a debt recovery method that involves charging your money owed in the Principal.)

Then...work out what the builder can and can't claim under the head contract. You can use this information to give the builder logic-based assurances as to why they might be able to give you better terms for things like margin on variations, qualifying causes of delay, etc, because you can show them how they too can claim those things under the head contract.

That same information will also tip you off about what big risks in the head contract the builder is really worried about. Use this to put your builder's mind at rest and tell them why you have those bases covered for them.

Lastly, understand the builder's risk profile for the job they have signed up for. If the builder has blindly signed what I call a "never, never, never ☠️" contract, you might decide to pass at that point.

Knowledge is power! If you don't ask for the head contract - you will never have this information.

Now, one thing the builder might do when you ask for the head contract is give you a heavily redacted (all the key information blacked out) version of the Head Contract.

If they do, you then have a very good argument that they should be crossing out the "back to back with head contract" clauses, because they're not prepared to transparently show you what you have to do to comply.

The other thing the builder might say is "you can view the contract at our head office". My response to this is, "If you're not prepared to give me a copy so that I can properly administer in accordance with the head contract, it mustn't be a high priority for me to comply with this clause. I can't be expected to commit the head contract to memory, so this needs to be crossed out."

There are always two sides to a coin. Make sure you lick the best bits off both sides. 😝💸

Non-reliance clauses. 😒 "The Subcontractor warrants: (i) it entered into the Subcontract based on its own enquiries, i...
23/09/2026

Non-reliance clauses. 😒

"The Subcontractor warrants:

(i) it entered into the Subcontract based on its own enquiries, investigations, information and knowledge;

(ii) it has not relied on any representation or information provided by the Contractor;

(iii) it has investigated the Site and satisfied itself that all access, services, amenities, egress, levels and dimensions are suitable for the completion of the Subcontract Works, and has allowed for such conditions and variables in the Subcontract Sum."

This garden variety non-reliance clause appears in most builder's subcontracts. My problem with it is, when you sign up to the contract and you provide this "warranty" - unless you are a D&C subbie, you have entirely relied on the drawings and specification provided by the builder in pricing the job. How can you promise you haven't?

Not only that, but the only investigation you can possibly do in a practical sense probably won't identify any access, services, amenities, egress, levels and dimensions - because more often than not the builder's work has not progressed to a point where you can see those levels, dimensions etc.

When we push back on this, Main Contractors love to say "but the subcontractors price this risk in!".

No. They don't.

And neither did the Main Contractor when they tendered for the Project, and got pitted against their competitors to "win" the job at the lowest price.

What really happened is the Main Contractor assumed the subbies would blindly sign up to these clauses, and that they would push the risk down to the subbies rather than "price in the risk" at a head contract level.

If the Principal was wrong for asking the builder to take on "contractor's risk" then why can't the builder's see they are wrong for doing precisely the same thing to the subbies.

Taking "contractor's risk" and turning it into "sub-contractor's risk" just tells the industry builders think subcontractors are disposable.

There are three big things Subcontractors need to look for in their builder's Standing Offer Agreement, Period Subcontra...
20/09/2026

There are three big things Subcontractors need to look for in their builder's Standing Offer Agreement, Period Subcontract, Master Subcontract, Umbrella Agreement or Works Agreement.

These fancy names are what lawyers use for a contract which is an overarching contract set of terms the parties agree to work under, for a period of time or a particular type of engagement.

Resi builders often use these because they might use the same trades over and over, but on different houses and they don't want to give them a contract to sign for every house.

But more and more I'm seeing them cross my desk for very big commercial projects that have multiple sites (like train stations upgrades).

Subbies that sign up to these without realising, they are finding themselves stuck under contract for 5+ years, with no way out and no way to increase their rates.

Here's what to look for:

1. You can't just read the overarching document, without also reading the Work Order/Purchase Order/Work Direction document the builder will send you when they want to deploy you to a site.

Those documents often have scarier and harder to achieve terms and conditions than the overarching contract itself.

Chase down the Order of Precedence and work out which one would override the other document - and cross out anything you can't do.

2. You need the right to decline a Work Order/Purchase Order/Work Direction. If you have no right to say, "Sorry Mate, I'm already at capacity resource wise", you could end up in a situation where you're in breach for not performing, and the builder could engage others and back charge you the cost of doing so.

3. You need the ability to put your labour/schedule of rates up over time or have a price review trigger. Many of these contracts will have a price review clause.

We recently had a carpenter who signed a contract for a very well-known project in Sydney, and the Main Contractor made them return to site for more work on 2019 rates.

You can identify them in the wild because they will normally set out a procedure where you are engaged when the builder gives you a Work Order, Purchase Order or Work Direction.

If there’s one phrase I wish the construction industry would bin for good, it’s this one: “Win the job.” This phrase i...
16/09/2026

If there’s one phrase I wish the construction industry would bin for good, it’s this one:

“Win the job.”

This phrase is the epitome of lipstick on a pig, to me.

You’re not “winning” anything at all - you’re making an educated and concerted decision to enter a contract with a big shiny builder.

Which means you take on obligations — and in return, you get paid. (Well, here’s hoping, right? 🙄)

There is a Grand Canyon size gap between the opportunity, and the win.
In all honesty, when a builder’s CA offers you a contract, you have no way of knowing if it is a gift or a poison chalice.

One thing I know for sure - they’re offering it to you, because you’re their best option. And yet subcontractors have been conditioned over centuries to believe being offered a contract is something to be blindly grateful for.

When I was a builder’s CA, we used to have a bell in the office we would ring when we “won” a job. So, I get where this tradition came from. It’s a way to motivate your team, and celebrate a successful tender.

But the contract stage is not the time to turn your blinkers off. That’s when you flick on the fog lights and read the fine print.

In an ideal world, our industry should stop glorifying taking on risk by calling it a “win”...

Instead, negotiate deals worth doing and celebrate the profits once the money is actually in the bank.

In order to do that, you need to know what to ask for, and how to ask for it.

"Industry Standard" is normally just what builders get away with because subbies don't rock the boat. But the Australian...
15/09/2026

"Industry Standard" is normally just what builders get away with because subbies don't rock the boat. But the Australian State & Territory Governments have gone to the effort to create laws to set the industry standard for due dates for payment of subbie claims.

If you're a subcontractor working in every State & Territory, or in Victoria or ACT where the laws have very recently changed, you will be familiar with admin chaos that comes with something as simple as when you're invoice is due.

Tune into this episode of my podcast, where I summarise the rules in each State/Territory - and what happens if the builder doesn't align their contract to the maximum due dates allowed.

I've even done up a guide you can download in the podcast show notes (you're welcome) 😉

🎧️Tune in everywhere you can listen to podcasts, or use this link to stream it from our podcast platform: https://www.subbiestoolbox.com.au/podcasts/the-subbies-toolbox-podcast/episodes/2149254036

14/09/2026

Wondering how to break the news to your builder that the new "industry standard" payment terms render the builder's contract clause illegal?

If you're worried about losing the job because you point out your builder's payrun schedule doesn't comply with maximum due date laws, you might have more than one roadblock.

We have seen good bloke builders who genuinely want to do the right thing, but may just be unaware of the recent changes in laws in some States and Territories, receive the subbie's feedback on their due dates clause on a positive note, and quickly agree to the mark up.

Builders who get upset with subcontractors who know their rights might just be playing the 80/20 rule to trade with the 80% of subcontractors who aren't aware of the laws themselves - or are too scared to rock the boat.

Either way, if you stay quiet, you're part of the silent majority that are slowing down the adoption of the new "Industry Standard" payment terms.

Tune into the full podcast for a run down on how we are approaching it, and details on how to get my free summary of the due date laws in every State & Territory: https://www.subbiestoolbox.com.au/podcasts/the-subbies-toolbox-podcast/episodes/2149254036

Did you know there are laws in every State/Territory in Australia that stipulate due dates for payment if the builder's ...
14/09/2026

Did you know there are laws in every State/Territory in Australia that stipulate due dates for payment if the builder's contract doesn't give you one, or if their clause is void.

We hear from a lot of subbies who know this exists, but don't know how to bring up the topic with the builder.

We find the best way to get the builder to align their contract is to point out how their clause could backfire on them if they don't update their due date clause.

For details on what the rules are in every State & Territory, and what to consider when raising this with your builders, tune into Episode 20 of the Subbies Toolbox Podcast.

There is a downloadable guide on this topic in my show notes.

https://www.subbiestoolbox.com.au/podcasts/the-subbies-toolbox-podcast/episodes/2149254036

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