Standards Australia updates AS 4000:2025 General Conditions of Contract

Standards Australia has published the revised AS 4000:2025 General Conditions of Contract, reflecting legislative and industry changes over the past 28 years.

This comprehensive contract standard is widely used in the construction industry, designed to facilitate a clear framework for risk and responsibility allocation among principals, contractors, project managers, and legal professionals in construction projects.

The update to AS 4000 has been conducted by industry experts, represented on Standards Australia’s Technical Committee MB-010 General Conditions of Contract.

Anticipated benefits and key changes:

• Legislative updates: Reflects developments in legislation and case law, such as Goods and Services Tax (GST), Personal Property Securities Act (PPSA), and work health and safety (WHS) regulations
• Modernised language: Simplified and consolidated terminology for easier use
• Practical completion: Clarified definitions and procedures
• Dispute resolution: Updated clauses allowing parties flexibility when forming the contract
• Inclusion of a Formal Instrument of Agreement: Parties can now use the included agreement, eliminating the need to find or draft one
• Definitions are now all fully contained in Clause 1: All defined terms are now in one place, aiming to make the document easier to read and understand

John Cooper, a member of Standards Australia technical committee MB-010 and Partner-in-Charge Brisbane at law firm Jones Day, highlights that “these updates aim to make the document easier to use and comply with legislative requirements.”

The risk allocation remains consistent with the 1997 edition, based on the Abrahamson Principles. “The principles are widely accepted in the construction industry as ground rules for a fair and equitable allocation of risks in construction contracts”, explains John.

Kareen Riley-Takos, Chief of Engagement, Standards & International Relations at Standards Australia, says “We also welcomed feedback outside of these principles during the public consultation period. This feedback was critical to the committee in the development of this edition and will inform future AS 4000 revisions.”

For construction industry professionals and their advisors implementing the updated AS 4000, John recommends paying close attention to every detail in the document and taking particular care when making any changes or amendments to maintain consistency, clarity and certainty.

Following this update, related documents like HB 140-2000 Administration manual and AS 4902-2000 General conditions of contract for design and construct will also be revised to align with the latest edition of AS 4000.

AS 4000 is available for license in a fully editable Microsoft Word format. 🔗 For more information, visit the License Content page.