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Cost Fluctuations Under NZS 3910:2023 — Can You Claim Material and Labour Price Rises? (NZ)
The 2013 edition made cost fluctuations opt-in, and most contracts left them switched off. NZS 3910:2023 reverses that: a fluctuation adjustment applies unless the parties exclude it in Schedule 1. Here is how the mechanism works, how the adjustment is calculated off Stats NZ indices, and why it changes what you should be doing at tender.
Steve Parker
3 days ago6 min read
How to Price a Construction Tender in NZ Without the Hidden 25%
How to price a construction tender in NZ from first principles, surface the hidden ~25% risk loading most subbies bury in their rates, and win on a defensible price.
Steve Parker
4 days ago9 min read
NZS 3915 vs 3910: When the Client Is Also the Certifier (NZ)
NZS 3915 vs 3910 explained: 3910 has an independent certifier, 3915 has none — the principal certifies its own job. What that means for NZ contractors.
Steve Parker
4 days ago9 min read
CCA Form 1 and Payment Claim Templates NZ — What a Valid Payment Claim Must Contain (2026)
Form 1 of the Construction Contracts Regulations must accompany every payment claim on post-2015 contracts. Here is what section 20 of the CCA requires a valid payment claim to contain, and how the responding payment schedule works.
Steve Parker
5 days ago9 min read
Construction Tenders in Auckland — Where to Find Them and How to Win Them (2026)
Where construction tenders in Auckland are actually published — GETS, Auckland Council and its CCOs, Kāinga Ora and the private main-contractor pipeline — and how to win them in NZ's most crowded tender market.
Steve Parker
5 days ago9 min read
Construction Tenders in Christchurch — Where to Find Them and How to Win Them (2026)
Where Christchurch and Canterbury construction tenders are actually published — GETS, council portals, head-contractor lists — and how to win them with prequalification and pricing discipline.
Steve Parker
5 days ago9 min read
What Is a QS Report? Types, Cost and What's Inside One (NZ Guide 2026)
A QS report is a written, itemised assessment of construction cost that a bank, insurer, tribunal or client can rely on. This NZ guide covers the six types of QS report, who is allowed to prepare them, what a good one contains, and realistic 2026 cost ranges.
Steve Parker
5 days ago9 min read
Subcontractor Not Getting Paid in NZ — The Recovery Ladder From Unpaid Invoice to Adjudication (2026)
Owed money on a NZ construction job? The Construction Contracts Act gives subcontractors and contractors a recovery ladder — valid payment claims, debt due when no payment schedule arrives, suspension rights, retentions on trust, and fast, binding adjudication. Here is each rung in order.
Steve Parker
5 days ago10 min read
Is My Progress Claim Fair? Spotting Over-Claiming in NZ
Worried your builder's progress claim is too high? Here is how to spot over-claiming in NZ, what a fair claim looks like, and how to respond on time.
Steve Parker
5 days ago8 min read
Retention Money Not Released? Your Rights Under NZ Law (CCA)
Retentions not released on a commercial NZ job? Since 5 Oct 2023 retention money is held on trust in a separate account — the head contractor cannot use it as working capital. Here is how to get yours back.
Steve Parker
5 days ago9 min read
Unforeseen Ground Conditions: Who Pays in NZ? (Auckland Guide)
Unforeseen ground conditions who pays in NZ depends on how the risk was allocated at tender. Here is how rock, soft ground and extra piling costs are decided.
Steve Parker
Jul 248 min read
Subcontract Scope Gap & Back-Charges: An NZ Subbie's Guide
Getting back-charged for work you never priced? Here is how the subcontract scope gap in NZ creates back-charges, and the pre-tender checks that stop it.
Steve Parker
Jul 239 min read
Special Conditions in a Building Contract NZ: What to Watch
Special conditions quietly rewrite an NZS 3910 building contract and shift risk onto you. Here are the clauses to watch in NZ and how to read the schedule.
Steve Parker
Jul 229 min read
Time at Large Under NZS 3910:2023 — When Liquidated Damages Become Unenforceable (NZ)
If the Principal causes the delay and the completion date is never validly extended to cover it, the fixed date can fall away entirely — time goes 'at large.' Here is how the prevention principle works under NZS 3910:2023, why it can wipe out a liquidated damages claim, and what protects each side.
Steve Parker
Jul 206 min read
Taking over a liquidated builder's job: how to price the risk before you sign
Picking up another company's half-built job looks like easy work at a good price. It rarely is. Here's the independent analysis that reprices the remaining scope and puts numbers on the inherited risk before you commit.
Steve Parker
Jul 1610 min read


BuildNZ 2026: what the CEOs of Naylor Love, Hawkins and Dominion said about where construction goes next
Notes from the Hubexo Construction League panel at BuildNZ 2026, Auckland Showgrounds: the heads of Naylor Love, Hawkins and Dominion Constructors on why building got slower, where the pipeline actually is, and the one warning about risk every subcontractor should have heard.
Steve Parker
Jul 155 min read
Prolongation Costs Under NZS 3910:2023 — Can You Claim Delay Costs? (NZ)
You won the extension of time, but who pays for the extra weeks on site? Under NZS 3910:2023 an extension of time protects you from liquidated damages — it does not automatically pay your prolongation costs. Here is when the time-related cost is recoverable, and how it is valued.
Steve Parker
Jul 145 min read
Unforeseen Physical Conditions Under NZS 3910:2023 — Is It a Variation? (NZ)
You hit rock, contaminated fill or a buried obstruction the drawings never showed. Under NZS 3910:2023 clause 9.5.4 that is treated as a Variation — but only if it passes the experienced-contractor test and you notified in time. Here is how the entitlement actually works.
Steve Parker
Jul 135 min read
Where to Find Construction Tenders NZ — Every Site (2026)
Every legitimate place to find construction tenders in NZ — government sites, private platforms, council channels, and subcontractor registers.
Steve Parker
Jul 77 min read
Construction Estimating Services NZ: Costs and Turnaround
NZ estimating services cost low-hundreds to low-thousands per tender — against a six-figure in-house estimator salary. What to buy, and when.
Steve Parker
Jul 76 min read
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