Document the project manager's role before work begins

In construction, people often have a general understanding of the project manager's role, but the legal and commercial detail is where problems tend to arise. A written agreement can clarify whether the project manager is coordinating trades, approving variations, reporting to the owner, arranging procurement steps, or simply monitoring progress. It also helps define the limits of that authority. If those boundaries are vague, disputes can emerge about missed deliverables, payment triggers, or whether the project manager was expected to take on responsibilities that were never properly agreed.

These agreements often cover the services to be provided, project stages, reporting obligations, fees, payment timing, variation procedures, confidentiality, termination rights, and the extent of the project manager's authority. They may also deal with who gives instructions, what decisions require owner approval, and how site coordination or safety-related responsibilities are described in the contract. The exact content depends on the project setup, because a manager engaged from pre-construction through completion will usually need a different document from someone appointed for a narrower phase.

The right drafting depends on the project structure, the parties involved, and what the project manager is actually expected to do day to day. For example, a residential build with a single owner and a straightforward reporting line may call for a simpler agreement than a commercial project with multiple consultants, staged deliverables and layered approval processes. We also look at whether the manager has authority to commit costs, instruct contractors, or only make recommendations. Those details shape the risk allocation and the wording of the core obligations.

Sometimes a template can help you spot the headings you need, but it often does not deal well with the real operating model on a live construction project. Project management roles vary widely, and a generic form may not explain decision-making authority, reporting expectations, variation approval steps, or how responsibilities interact with other project contracts. That can leave room for arguments later, especially where the manager is heavily involved in coordination but not intended to carry broader contractor obligations. Tailored drafting is usually more useful where the role sits at the centre of project delivery.

The process usually starts with the key project details, the identity of the parties, and a practical outline of what the project manager will and will not do. If you already have a draft, proposal, scope document or related contract, that can be helpful context for the legal drafting. From there, we prepare or review the agreement and flag any areas where the wording should better match the commercial arrangement. This service covers the agreement itself. Ongoing representation after signing and tax advice are outside the fixed-fee.

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 Project Management 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.