Are Australian standard forms of construction contract capable of dealing with the issue of extensions of time efficiently and effectively?

The efficient and effective management of time on complex construction projects (especially when concerned with the development and resolution of extension of time claims) has long been considered a major issue in construction contracts. Recent research has culminated in the production of a new standard form of contract drafted specifically as an attempt to overcome these issues. This research identifies the perceived critical success factors that are recommended to be included in, and addressed by the new standard form of construction contract in an attempt to alleviate these issues, and reviews a selection of Australian standard forms of construction contract for the presence of the perceived critical success factors. A review of current literature was carried out to identify the perceived critical success factors for the effective and efficient management of time with respect to extension of time claims, together with a qualitative analysis of the new standard form of construction contract as verification of the identified critical success factors and their management and application.A comparative analysis was undertaken of the extension of time provisions of a selection of Australian standard forms of construction contract as a means of determining their efficiency and effectiveness for resolving extension of time claims in a modern construction industry.The research identified 69 critical success factors that should be present in the clauses of standard forms of construction contracts to efficiently and effectively enable the resolution of extension of time claims for the benefit of all parties involved.The selected Australian standard forms of construction contract were found to be vague with respect to the content and inclusion of the perceived critical success factors, providing a greater opportunity for an extension of time claim to evolve into a dispute between the contracting parties.