Set clear terms for construction consultancy work

You usually need one when a consultant is being engaged to provide project-related expertise, such as design input, advisory services, inspections, coordination or specialist reporting, and the parties want the role recorded clearly from the outset. Without a written agreement, it can be hard to pin down what work was included, when extra work becomes a variation, or who carries responsibility for site-related issues. A proper contract helps set the commercial boundaries before the project moves and before assumptions turn into disagreements.

A construction consultancy agreement commonly covers the consultant's services, deliverables, timing, fees, invoicing, variation steps, confidentiality, liability allocation, and the practical responsibilities that sit around site access or safety. It may also address who can rely on reports or advice, what information the consultant is entitled to receive, and what happens if the project scope changes midstream. The exact drafting depends on the consulting role, because an engineer, project adviser and quantity surveyor may each face different contractual pressure points.

The drafting usually turns on the consultant's actual role, the project structure, and how much responsibility the consultant is expected to carry. For example, the agreement may need a different approach if the consultant is giving strategic advice only, compared with ongoing involvement in site meetings, design coordination or certification-style functions. We will also look at how fees are charged, whether there are staged deliverables, and how changes to the brief are approved. Those factual details often matter more than the label used for the engagement.

You can, but templates often leave important gaps in construction matters because they are written at a high level and do not reflect the real project arrangement. A generic form may not deal properly with variation requests, reliance on consultant advice, site attendance expectations, or the line between advisory work and broader project responsibility. That can create confusion if the consultant is later asked to do more than originally discussed. A tailored agreement is usually more useful where the work has technical deliverables or sits inside a larger construction contract chain.

Timing depends on how complex the consultancy role is, whether you need a fresh draft or a review of an existing document, and how quickly instructions and background material are provided. Once we have the key details, we can assess the likely turnaround and any issues that may need closer attention, such as unusual payment structures or consultant risk allocation. The next step is usually for you to provide the proposed scope of services, party details and any existing draft, quote or project documents that explain the engagement.

Just submit an enquiry via this page or click the 'get started' button on our website to submit an enquiry. After you've submitted an enquiry, one of our legal consultants will review your enquiry within 1 business day and get in touch to get a better idea of exactly what you are looking for.

Then your legal consultant will send through an email with a bit more information about the services you need, along with a fixed fee quote setting out costs, scope of the service and timing. Have a read through it, and if you're happy with the scope, you can accept and sign our engagement letter online - easy!

Once you've formally accepted, we'll connect you with a specialist lawyer and they will work with you to complete your project. They will contact you by email or phone if they need to get in touch.

Sprintlaw works on fixed-fee pricing wherever possible, so you can review the scope and cost before you decide whether to proceed. For the Construction Consultancy Agreement service, pricing starts from $900.00.

After you enquire, a legal consultant will confirm what is included, the expected timing and whether any extra work is needed before you engage us.

We operate completely online, which means we can help you wherever you are in New Zealand. We have office spaces in Sydney, and in Melbourne, but our use of technology allows our team members to work remotely from around the world. Our legal team are mostly based in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. We also have a London office for Sprintlaw UK.

Our legal team is made up of experienced lawyers, who are specialists in various areas of law and hold an Australian legal practising certificate. None of our Sprintlaw lawyers are New Zealand qualified lawyers and they do not currently hold a New Zealand practising certificate.

They provide legal services working remotely from Australia via our 'legal consultancy' model, through which (under section 6 and section 35 of the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006) our Australian legal team are permitted to provide legal services to New Zealand businesses provided they do not provide services in certain 'reserved' areas of law. You can read our FAQ page to learn a bit more about our 'legal consultancy' model.

Given the strong similarities between Australian and New Zealand law, and the areas of law in which we practice (being small business and startup law), we do not view the fact that our lawyers have not qualified in New Zealand as having any substantive impact on the quality of our service. We are committed to ensuring that we provide high quality, affordable legal services to all our New Zealand clients.

Our legal team have all trained at leading firms, but have left the traditional corporate law world to join us on our mission to create a new and better way of delivering legal services. They have specialist expertise in technology law, intellectual property law, contract drafting and review, corporate law and commercial law.