Unit Synopsis
In Construction Contract Administration you will be introduced to the principles of law, contract administration, and dispute resolution in the construction industry. In this unit, you will investigate a range of issues and claims arising in the construction process. In particular, you will develop an understanding of certain general conditions and legal concepts relevant to contracts such as unjust enrichment, frustration, waiver, estoppel, and specific performance. You will also gain knowledge of alternative dispute resolution methods and become familiar with the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act.
Details
| Level | Postgraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 8 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 2 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
There are no pre-requisites for the unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework). |
| Class Timetable | View Unit Timetable |
| Residential School | No Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2026
Term 2 - 2026 Profile
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Presentation | 30% |
| 2. Group Work | 50% |
| 3. Online Test | 20% |
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Source: SUTE
Well-organized course content on Moodle site
We will continue to maintain and enhance the high level of organisation of the content on the Moodle site. This will include regular reviews and updates to ensure that the unit content remains user-friendly and easy to navigate.
We reviewed and updated the Moodle site content to ensure it remains user-friendly and easy to navigate.
Source: Self-reflection
Invite an industry guest lecturer to speak on a unit topic
We will explore the option of inviting a guest lecturer with relevant industry experience to provide insights and practical knowledge on a selected topic. We will coordinate with the guest lecturer to ensure their presentation aligns with the unit's learning objectives. This will enhance students' learning by providing real-world insights, networking opportunities, and practical knowledge relevant to their future careers.
We remain committed to further strengthening the integration of experiential learning in future deliveries of this unit to enhance curriculum relevance and student outcomes. The inclusion of an industry guest lecturer is a key component of this strategy, and we will ensure its effective implementation in upcoming offerings.
Source: Student Unit and Teaching Evaluation (SUTE) in T2, 2025
Students found the unit to provide an excellent learning experience.
We will maintain the current teaching strategies that have contributed to an excellent learning experience and continue to build on these strengths by exploring additional innovative approaches to further enhance student engagement and satisfaction.
In Progress
Source: Student Unit and Teaching Evaluation (SUTE) in T2, 2025
Students identified the teaching approach as effective, noting the inclusion of frequent and clear communication with students.
We will continue to use the current teaching approach and maintain frequent communication with students, as these practices are proving effective. Additionally, we will consider exploring further strategies to enhance engagement and sustain this positive impact.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Critically analyse and reflect using cognitive and creative skills on legal concepts and their application for the construction industry
- Identify optimum contractual solutions using Australian Standards general conditions of contract
- Evaluate and interpret commonly used contract price and project delivery options to enable the procurement of complex construction projects
- Formulate and apply available remedies to construction contract disputes
- Evaluate and interpret the complexity of issues associated with identifying and selecting the different types of insurances used for construction projects.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Presentation | • | • | |||
| 2 - Group Work | • | • | • | ||
| 3 - Online Test | • | • | • | • | • |
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | • | • | |||
| 2 - Communication | • | • | |||
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | • | • | • | • | |
| 4 - Research | • | • | • | ||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | • | • | |||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | |