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Contract variations as a share of project cost, Queensland public infrastructure (QAO audit)
9% of construction cost: Contract variations as a share of project cost, Queensland public infrastructure (QAO audit) (Queensland Audit Office, 2022; QLD; moderate confidence).
What it is. 9% of the cost of the projects examined: over A$127 million in contract variations.
Sample. The Queensland Government infrastructure projects (mostly schools and public buildings) examined in QAO Report 16: 2021-22. One project, Fortitude Valley State Secondary College, reached 21.5% of its original contract value.
What it is not. A handful of audited building projects, not a sample of Queensland civil work. The denominator is total project cost, not the original contract value. Variations are money the client agreed to pay, the size of the pot, not a contractor loss. Corroborates the 10.6% change-order figure (67 Australian projects) from a Queensland regulator.
Where it came from
- Queensland Audit Office (2022), Contract management for new infrastructure (Report 16: 2021-22) · free copy'Audit conclusions'; definition of contract variation under 'Are contract variations effectively managed?' · source record