Serving with independent advocacy

Strategic advisory during times of schedule and commercial dispute

AUS$2bn University Hospital Development

QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA

Providing expert witness and forensic quantum evaluation on Australia's first new teaching hospital to open in 20 years.

As a Public Private Partnership (PPP), the Queensland Government appointed the Exemplar Health consortium to deliver the new complex, where digital innovation would be key to delivering against an already demanding schedule.

With construction works commencing in early 2012, this state-of-the-art university hospital was designed to provide exceptional care in a community where the population is anticipated to grow by 30% over the next ten years.

Despite turbulence in programme, practical completion was achieved in 2017 with its doors opening to patients at the start of March. Initially launching with 450 patient beds, work is scheduled to increase this to 738 by the end of 2021.

The 140,000m2 scheme experienced various cost impact and time delay issues, where our commercial acumen towards project management and contract administration were vital to concluding an amicable dispute resolution.

Context

Gleeds were engaged by Lendlease to provide a range of expert witness reports to support the respondent’s position in relation to a number of adjudication proceedings across various disputes within critical and complex MEP building systems. The claims differed in values, with some in excess of AUS$10m.

Resolution

Each comprising upwards of 20 various sub-matters in dispute, Gleeds addressed all claims through a range of detailed MEP remeasurement, market testing, dataset benchmarking, analysis of existing programme costs, contract reviews and assessment of entitlement. The disputes were successfully concluded with minimal damage to relationships.

“This is one of the largest and technologically challenging projects ever delivered in Australia. I'm extremely proud of the complex work that our team undertook within the exceptionally tight timeframes set out within the Security of Payments legislation.”