As we draw to the close of a tumultuous and disrupted year, the directors and I would like to wish all of our members a merry Christmas and happy holidays.
The Society is only as strong as its members and we sincerely appreciate your continued support this year. Thank you to those members who throughout the year have provided the Society with feedback for the weekly round table meetings with Karen Andrews MP. That feedback has assisted the government in managing the pandemic. Your engagement underpins our ability to provide you with ongoing services and is also essential for our longevity.
While it was disappointing that we had to postpone our National Conference which had been scheduled to take place in Hobart in July 2020 and to cease all face to face networking events, the Society is happy to announce that we have now locked in the dates for our 2021 National Conference which will take place in Hobart from 14 to 16 October 2021, vaccine allowing!
However, given the success of our online webinars, we are committed to continuing to provide content via webinars in the coming year which will be supplementing our face to face networking events. Live events will resume in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane in the new year. Perth has already taken that step and we cannot wait to share a drink with you face to face in the rest of the country! In the meantime, thank you to all of our tireless volunteers. Our webinars and podcasts could not have happened without all of your help this year!
In the new year, a long term initiative of our former Chair, Phillip Greenham, will come to fruition with the publication of a Compendium of Construction Contracts. The Compendium is a collection of approximately 40 construction contracts from around the world and is being published by de Gruyter publishers. Members will be able to purchase copies of this work at a discounted price so watch this space!
The Society will also continue to represent the interests of our members by making submissions to government on proposed legislation as well as our continued participation at round table discussions with government and industry, the Australian Construction Industry Forum and Standards Australia. Standards Australia are committed to amending AS 4000 in the coming year and have commenced round table discussions with their stakeholders. The Society is a party to these discussions but is also considering the merits of other methods of procurement. The Society will be preparing a white paper on risk allocation and procurement next year. If any member would like to be involved in this initiative, please contact us at policy@scl.org.au.
The next submission that the Society has been invited to engage with is the New South Wales Design and Building Practitioners Regulations. Submissions are due on 11 January 2021. If you have any input on the proposed regulations, please email me . I look forward to receiving your input.
Please note that the SoCLA office will be unattended from 3:00pm Wednesday 23 December 2020 until 9:00am Monday 11 January 2021. Urgent enquiries during this time should be directed to secretary@scl.org.au
Finally, stay tuned for our weekly emails. We hope to see you rested and rejuvenated next year!
Laina Chan
Chair
Society of Construction Law Australia