Unit Synopsis
This unit covers the administration of construction contracts including: control of extensions of time, variation, site instructions; chain of responsibilities; reporting and quality assurance; management of sub contractors and suppliers; head contract management. It also develops an understanding of contract management including: specification and the preparation of building contracts; the assessment of tenderers and tender negotiation; project planning; worker induction; documentation control and records management; progress reporting; contract inspections; management of variations, extensions of time, breaches of contract; liquidation damages and reporting; project commissioning and defects liability period activities and responsibilities improvement mechanisms and processes.
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 3 |
| 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 1 - 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 Undergraduate 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. Written Assessment | 30% |
| 2. Written Assessment | 35% |
| 3. Written Assessment | 35% |
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: Student Evaluation
Students suggested that assessment criteria and expectations need to be a lot clearer
UC will work with the lecturer to develop a rubric for all assessments. The lecturer is advised to make a video of the assessment criteria so students who miss the tutorial can watch it later.
The Unit Coordinator collaborated with the lecturer to develop detailed rubrics for all assessments. Additionally, recordings of all tutorial sessions explaining the assessments were uploaded to the Moodle site.
Source: Student Evaluation
Students suggested making unit slides more engaging
The Unit Coordinator will work with the lecturer to make slides visually engaging by using minimal text, strong visuals, and interactive elements like polls or questions. Embed more real-world examples to keep students interested and involved.
The Unit Coordinator worked closely with the lecturer to redesign the slides to ensure they are visually engaging, with minimal text and interactive elements. Also, real-world examples were embedded throughout the content to enhance relevance and maintain student interest.
Source: Student Unit and Teaching Evaluation (SUTE) in T2, 2025
Students suggested that more detailed feedback on assignments should be provided.
Develop a structured feedback approach that provides detailed, actionable comments on assignments. This will include using clear rubrics, highlighting strengths and areas for improvement, and offering specific guidance on how students can enhance their work.
In Progress
Source: Student Unit and Teaching Evaluation (SUTE) in T2, 2025
Students noted that communication was clear, and assignment requirements were thoroughly explained.
Maintain and further strengthen the practice of clear communication and thorough explanation of assignment requirements. This will be operationalised through scheduled assessment briefing sessions, the provision of detailed marking rubrics in advance, and the use of exemplars to illustrate expected standards. In addition, ongoing opportunities for clarification will be provided through structured Q&A sessions and regular communication via the Moodle site to ensure students are well-supported throughout the assessment process.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Describe the role as building professional for clients towards the successful completion of the project.
- Compare the different types of building contract arrangements.
- Apply systems and management procedures for the control of contract documentation and cost control.
- Formulate a tendering process for collecting and analysing tenders.
- Explain quality management and quality control with regard to contract administration.
- Explain variation administration, contract scope changes and contract review and evaluate their implications.
- Conduct a site meeting and site inspection.
- Explain the administration requirements and procedures of project completion and hand-over.
- Use effectively a range of appropriate communication modes.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | • | |||||
| 2 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | ||||||
| 3 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - Problem Solving | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
| 3 - Critical Thinking | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
| 4 - Information Literacy | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
| 5 - Team Work | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
| 8 - Ethical practice | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||
| 2 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||
| 3 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||