Maddocks has worked on the tendering and procurement of various prison projects throughout regional NSW (including Cessnock, Silverwater, Dillwynia and Outer Metropolitan Multipurpose correctional centres), which involved the design and construction of the refurbishment of existing buildings and new buildings.

Our involvement included giving advice on:

• the preparation of special conditions appropriate for use with the NSW government’s GC-21 general conditions of contract
• preparing such special conditions for a managing contractor procurement arrangement which allowed the rapid build strategy to be facilitated, under the option of either a single phase approach or two stage approach (appropriate to the relevant project)
• giving advice on the negotiations with each preferred tenderer for the various projects, including with respect to contract departures raised by tenderers
• negotiating with tenderers and preparing final special conditions for inclusion in execution versions of the contracts.

The project required extensive amendment to the GC-21 general conditions of contract, in order to create a managing contractor procurement arrangement. Given the nature of the project involved operating prisons with inmates, the construction cost provisions needed to be split into an estimated construction cost component and a guaranteed construction cost component (which acted as a maximum guaranteed price for that component of the works).

The project was procured across multiple sites and tenderers in very limited time, which required multiples streams of work to be managed so as to ensure the client’s objectives were met.

Lead partner Andrew Chapman was supported by senior associates Matthew Frazer and Sarah Bellingham.