On 24 February Probuild's owners, WHBO, released a
statement which provided some context around the decision the
previous day to appoint administrators to Probuild. Amongst other
matters, WHBO pointed to repeated and lengthy lockdowns and ongoing
business uncertainty in Australia. Many may have found this
surprising, given the construction industry was largely exempt from
restrictions in the states with the longest lockdowns, Victoria and
New South Wales.
At Corrs, we have advised on many projects where extensive COVID
relief has been granted to contractors, generally on the basis of
force majeure or change in law.
But in many instances, COVID relief is not enough.
As pointed out by James Thomson in the AFR, there are a number of other factors
contributing to the challenges faced in the construction industry
including rises in professional indemnity premiums and a reluctance
by owners and developers to take on any risk. Challenges faced by
contractors in
