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ARTICLE · 24 DECEMBER 2020

Climate change: are major infrastructure contracts fit for purpose?

Corrs Chambers Westgarth
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Given the risks of climate change, express language should clarify liability under the fit for purpose warranty.

AustraliaReal Estate and Construction
David Warren
David Warren
Chris Campbell
Chris Campbell
Airlie Fox
Airlie Fox
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As of late 2020, we continue to work through the dislocation of COVID-19 across all sectors of the economy, including the major projects sector. Despite regulating complex billion dollar infrastructure with design lives of up to 100 years, in most part the contracts for these projects were negotiated with little consideration of the possibility of a global pandemic.

As a consequence, the parties bound by these contracts are left to ponder, argue and dispute over where the disruption, delay and cost consequences of COVID-19 should fall, bound by the terms they have agreed, however inadequate or unintended.

Unsatisfactory as that all may be, at least the parties come to the issue plausibly protesting that they could not have anticipated COVID-19 and so they are not at fault in failing to provide for it.

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