Construction Consultancy Agreement NZ: What To Include

Small construction projects can move quickly. You might be asked to cost a renovation, coordinate trades, review contractor claims or manage a build where everyone assumes the paperwork can wait.

That can feel practical at the start, but it gets messy when the client asks for extra site visits, relies on old drawings, delays payment or expects you to be responsible for things outside your control.

A clear construction consultancy agreement in NZ helps you set the rules early, so you can get on with the job without having awkward conversations later.

Do You Need A Construction Consultancy Agreement For A Small Project?

Yes, you should use a written agreement even for a small project, because small jobs often have the least room for misunderstandings.

If you're a quantity surveyor, construction consultant, project manager, contract administrator or similar adviser, your work can affect budgets, timing, contractor decisions and client expectations. A one-page quote or consultant appointment letter may confirm the fee, but it usually won't deal properly with scope, site information, variations, liability or payment rights.

Your agreement doesn't need to be long or intimidating. It just needs to be clear about:

• What you're doing: For example, cost planning, tender review, progress claim review or site coordination.
• What you aren't doing: For example, design certification, engineering advice, building work, consenting or health and safety management, unless you have agreed to those roles.
• How changes are approved: So extra meetings, revised budgets and urgent site attendances don't become unpaid work.
• When you get paid: Including deposits, milestones, invoices and payment claims under the Construction Contracts Act 2002 where it applies.
• What happens if the client gives you poor information: For example, old plans, missing geotech reports or incorrect measurements.

For residential work, you also need to be careful with consumer law. The Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 can apply where you're providing services to a homeowner, and the Fair Trading Act 1986 applies to misleading or deceptive conduct in trade. Your contract should match what you're actually promising.

What Should Your Scope Of Services Say?

Your scope should say exactly what services you're providing, what deliverables the client will receive and what assumptions you're relying on.

This is the most practical part of your construction consultant contract. If your scope is vague, your client may assume you're responsible for the whole project rather than a defined advisory role.

A Strong Scope Usually Covers

• Project details: The address or project name, type of works and any known limitations.
• Services: For example, initial budget estimate, tender comparison, programme review, monthly site meetings or progress payment assessment.
• Deliverables: For example, a cost plan, meeting minutes, variation register, project report or completion summary.
• Timing: When each deliverable is due, and what needs to happen first.
• Exclusions: Tasks you aren't responsible for, such as consenting, structural design, contractor supervision, on-site safety control or legal advice.
• Client inputs: The plans, reports, site access, decisions and approvals the client must provide.

Say Mina runs a small project management consultancy in Wellington. A homeowner asks her to manage a bathroom and laundry renovation. Mina's proposal says she will attend site weekly, coordinate the builder's programme and review contractor invoices. It doesn't say she is responsible for design compliance, waterproofing certification or building consent approval.

That distinction matters. If the waterproofing later fails, Mina's agreement helps show that she was coordinating the project, not guaranteeing the builder's workmanship or certifying specialist work.

Templates often miss these project-specific boundaries. A lawyer should tailor your agreement before you use it, especially if your services change between projects.

How Should Variations And Extra Work Be Approved?

Variations should be approved in writing before you do the extra work, unless there's a genuine urgent situation and your agreement explains how urgent work is handled.

Small projects are famous for scope creep. One extra meeting becomes three. A budget update becomes a full re-costing. A client asks you to speak with a new contractor, review amended plans and attend site at short notice, all while expecting the original fee to stay the same.

Your agreement should make variations simple, not bureaucratic. You can allow approval by email, text or project management software, as long as there's a clear record of:

• what extra work is being requested
• your additional fee or hourly rate
• any change to the programme
• whether the variation affects earlier advice or deliverables
• who has authority to approve it

Worked Example

Josh is a quantity surveyor on a small retail fitout in Christchurch. His fixed fee is $6,000 plus GST, split into three milestones: $2,000 for the cost plan, $2,000 for tender review and $2,000 for progress claim review during the works.

After tender review, the client asks Josh to assess three new contractor variations and attend two extra site meetings. Josh's agreement says additional services are charged at $180 plus GST per hour, with approval by email.

Josh sends a short email saying the extra work is likely to take 5 hours, so the additional fee will be $900 plus GST. The client replies with approval. Josh now has a clear basis to invoice the extra work, rather than arguing later about whether it was included.

This kind of clause protects both sides. The client gets visibility before costs increase, and you don't absorb unpaid work just because everyone is trying to keep the project moving.

How Do Payment Milestones Work Under New Zealand Construction Law?

Payment milestones work best when your agreement ties each invoice to a clear deliverable, date or project stage.

For construction consultancy services, the Construction Contracts Act 2002 may be relevant. The Act may apply to some construction consultancy services, particularly design or engineering work and quantity surveying work carried out in New Zealand in relation to construction work. Don't assume it applies to every project management or advisory role. Check whether your services fall within the Act before using the payment claim process.

If the Act applies, it gives a process for payment claims and payment schedules. A payment claim generally needs to be in writing, identify the construction contract and the work, state the claimed amount and due date, and say it's made under the Construction Contracts Act 2002. It should also include the prescribed information about the payment process.

If the payer disagrees, they must usually give a payment schedule within the timeframe in the contract. If the contract doesn't set a timeframe, the default is 20 working days after the payment claim is served.

Your agreement should still do the practical work. Include:

• Deposit: Whether you require an upfront amount before starting.
• Milestones: The event that triggers each invoice, such as issuing the cost plan or completing tender review.
• Due date: For example, payment within 7, 10 or 20 working days of invoice, depending on what suits your business.
• Disbursements: Travel, printing, software, specialist reports or other expenses.
• Suspension rights: Whether you can pause services if invoices are overdue, subject to any legal process that applies.
• GST: Whether fees are GST inclusive or plus GST.

Without written payment terms, you may struggle to recover unpaid invoices or justify pausing work when the client is already relying on you.

What Liability Clauses Should A Consultant Use?

Your liability clauses should limit your responsibility to the services you have actually agreed to provide, while staying fair and legally workable.

A consultant liability clause in NZ shouldn't try to remove all responsibility. That can be unrealistic, and it may not hold up, especially if you're dealing with consumers or using a standard form contract with a small business client.

Instead, focus on sensible boundaries.

Useful Liability Settings

• Cap on liability: This may be a fixed amount, the fees paid for the project or an amount linked to your professional indemnity insurance. The right cap depends on the project risk and your insurance.
• No responsibility for third-party work: Make it clear you aren't liable for the builder's workmanship, engineer's design, architect's drawings or council decisions unless you expressly take on that role.
• Reliance on client information: Say you can rely on information, reports, drawings and instructions provided by the client or their other consultants unless you know they're wrong.
• No guaranteed outcome: For example, don't guarantee a consent, budget, tender price, programme or sale value unless that's genuinely part of your service.
• Exclusion of indirect loss: Consider excluding loss of profit, loss of opportunity or other indirect losses where appropriate.
• Time limits for claims: Set a reasonable period for the client to notify you of a claim, while making sure it works with the project and your insurance.

You also can't contract out of every legal duty. The Fair Trading Act 1986 may affect what you can say in marketing, proposals and negotiations. If both parties are in trade, some Fair Trading Act and Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 protections can be contracted out of, but only if the contract is in writing and the wording is fair and reasonable. You generally can't use those exclusions against a residential consumer in the same way.

Health and safety also needs care. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, a business that's a PCBU can have duties that can't simply be passed away by contract. If your role includes design, coordination or site attendance, your agreement should line up with what you'll actually do on safety matters.

What Clauses Should You Include Before You Send It?

You should include clauses that deal with the full working relationship, not just the fee and the scope.

Here is a fill-in outline you can use to plan your construction services agreement. This isn't a finished legal document. It should be tailored before you use it, because a small residential renovation and a commercial fitout can carry very different risks.

1. Parties: Write the correct legal names, NZBN if relevant and contact details for notices.
2. Project: Identify the project, site and any known project documents.
3. Services: Set out the tasks you'll perform and the deliverables you'll provide.
4. Exclusions: List what you aren't responsible for, such as design certification, consenting or contractor supervision.
5. Client Responsibilities: State what information, access, approvals and decisions the client must provide.
6. Site Information: Explain how you'll rely on drawings, measurements, reports, asbestos information, ground conditions and other site data.
7. Fees And Payment: Include fixed fees, hourly rates, milestones, GST, expenses, payment claims and due dates.
8. Variations: Set out how extra work is requested, approved and charged, including under any project management agreement.
9. Timeframes: Include target dates, dependencies and what happens if the client or another contractor causes delay.
10. Intellectual Property: Say who owns templates, reports and working documents, and what licence the client gets after payment.
11. Confidentiality And Privacy: Cover business information, project records and any personal information handled under the Privacy Act 2020.
12. Insurance And Liability: Include professional indemnity, liability caps, exclusions and claim notification requirements.
13. Subconsultants And Contractors: Say whether you can engage subconsultants or subcontractors and who is responsible for them.
14. Termination: Set out when either side can end the agreement and what fees remain payable.

If you engage individual contractors to help with reports, admin or site coordination, use a separate subcontractor agreement for them. From 2026, changes to the Employment Relations Act 2000 include a contractor gateway test that may affect whether a working relationship is treated as contracting or employment. The practical point is simple: the written agreement and the real working arrangement need to match.

Key Takeaways

• A construction consultancy agreement in NZ is useful even for small projects because it sets expectations before the work gets busy.
• Your scope should clearly say what you're doing, what you aren't doing and what information you're relying on.
• Variation clauses help you charge for extra meetings, re-costing and urgent site work without awkward surprises.
• Payment milestones should line up with deliverables, and the Construction Contracts Act 2002 may give you a formal payment claim process where it applies.
• Liability clauses should be realistic, fair and aligned with your insurance, consumer law and health and safety duties.
• A tailored agreement works better than a generic template, especially where your role changes from project to project.

If you'd like help with your construction consultancy agreement, scope and variation clauses, payment terms and liability settings, you can reach us at 0800 002 184 or team@sprintlaw.co.nz for a free, no-obligations chat.