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-related 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.

There are a number of anticipated benefits and key changes, including legislative updates, modernised language, practical completion, dispute resolution, inclusion of a formal instrument of agreement and definitions to be fully contained in Clause 1.

Standards Australia technical committee MB-010 member and Jones Day partner-in-charge, Brisbane, John Copper, says the principles are widely accepted in the construction industry as ground rules for a fair and equitable allocation of risks in construction contracts.

Standards Australia chief of engagement, standards and international relations, Kareen Riley-Takos, says that it welcomes feedback outside of the principles during the 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.