Put site access terms in writing before work starts

In practice, site access issues often become contentious when the commercial detail has not been written down. People may agree in general terms that a contractor, subcontractor or consultant can enter the site, but the difficult questions are usually about when access is allowed, what induction or safety conditions apply, who is responsible for delays caused by restricted access, and whether payment changes if the work cannot proceed as expected. A written agreement helps capture those points before they turn into arguments on a live project.

These agreements commonly deal with who may enter the site, the purpose and timing of access, any prerequisites before entry, site rules, health and safety responsibilities, insurance or risk allocation points, payment arrangements connected to the access or works, and how changes are approved. Depending on the project, the agreement may also need to address equipment, supervision, damage, security, or what happens if access is suspended or limited. The exact drafting turns on the project structure and the role each party is actually playing on site.

Important details include whether the party getting access is a builder, subcontractor, consultant or supplier, whether access is ongoing or limited to a short window, whether the site is occupied or operational, and how the access ties into the wider contract structure. It also matters whether there are existing head contract obligations, induction requirements, shared site arrangements, or variation procedures that need to line up with the access terms. Those facts shape the wording on responsibility, timing, payment and what happens when site conditions change.

A generic template can miss the practical points that drive disputes on construction sites. For example, a short form may say access is permitted, but say little about restricted hours, coordination with other trades, safety prerequisites, damage responsibility, or whether a party can claim extra time or cost if access is delayed. If the agreement needs to sit alongside other project documents, generic wording can also create inconsistencies. A more considered draft is usually worthwhile where site conditions, timing or responsibility lines are commercially important.

Timing depends on how quickly the project information is provided and how much project-specific tailoring is needed. Once we have the relevant details, we prepare the agreement and work through any included comments needed to finalise it. If the site arrangement is linked to other project documents, it can help to provide those early so the wording can be aligned where needed. After finalisation, the next step is usually arranging execution and making sure the operational team understands the access conditions recorded in the agreement.

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 Site Access 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.