No published national figure for the cost of variation disputes in Australia

What it is. None - no Australian national source found gives an amount, a share of contract value or a share of a claim for disputes about whether work was a variation or what it is worth.

Sample. Search terms: variation dispute Australia; disputed variations share of disputes; scope change disputes Australian contractors survey; change orders claims value Australia; variation claims adjudication; Arcadis, HKA CRUX, Murray review. A frequency exists: variations were a factor in 23 of 78 Australian court cases from 1966 to 2012 (Campos Gutierrez 2013), and variation is 3% of 230 NSW cases, but neither is a cost.

What it is not. Recorded as `none` on purpose. Ten sources were opened (listed above); none states an Australian national amount or share of a claim for variation disputes. The 11% change-order figure measures change, not dispute, and comes from one contractor's projects. This is the next place to look for research, not a zero.

Where it came from

• Griffith University (Campos Gutierrez, Panuwatwanich and Walker) (2013), Learning from the Past: Analysis of Factors Contributing to Construction Project Disputes in Australia
  Section 4.1 and Figure 2; Table 1 (variation row) · source record

Considered and set aside

• J Murray AM, for the Australian Government (Department of Jobs and Small Business): Describes how the Acts treat disputed variations (Victoria caps some at 10% of the contract sum, p.119) and calls them too complex for rapid adjudication (p.123); legal text with no amounts or shares.
• Western Sydney University and Griffith University (Rahnamayiezekavat and others): Variation is 3% and scope 2% of 230 NSW cases (Table 3, p.9); one state, case counts, no amounts.
• Love, Irani, Smith, Regan & Liu: Australian civil: change orders were 11% of work value on 67 public infrastructure projects of one contractor. That is the size of variations, not of disputes about them, and is one contractor's own projects.
• Productivity Commission: Cites second-hand that 60 to 90 per cent of variations come from poor design documentation; a share of variations, not of disputes, with no amounts.
• HKA: Scope change was blamed on 33.4% of projects worldwide; global, a frequency, and not an Australian figure.
• Arcadis: Global cause ranking led by contract administration; its Australia section gives no variation figures.
• Arcadis: Owner-directed changes tied third among global causes; a rank with no amount and no Australian split.
• Curtin University of Technology and University of Newcastle (Love, Davis, London and Jasper; CRC for Construction Innovation): Reports a 2006 Australian law firm ranking with variations to scope first, second-hand and without percentages.
• Special Joint Taskforce (Byrne; Queensland Police Service, QBCC and ODPP): Queensland only; subcontractors report contention over what counts as a variation but give no amounts by cause.
• Liu (DGA Australia): NSW, Queensland and Victorian adjudication totals for all payment claims; no split for variations and not a national series.

disputes/variation_dispute_none_au · AU · F ·the record ·link to this figure ·dispute this figure(or email support@demiton.io)