Expert building evidence, from first advice to the witness box.
Engagements are accepted from solicitors, barristers, insurers and owners corporations, and are scoped to the questions the forum has to decide.
Expert witness reports
Code-compliant expert reports for NCAT and the NSW courts, including the expert's acknowledgment of the applicable code of conduct, a clear statement of instructions, assumptions, facts observed, reasoning and opinion, and the qualifications relied on.
- Reports in the form required by NCAT Procedural Direction 3
- Reports in the form required by UCPR Schedule 7, rule 31.23
- Supplementary and reply reports
- Expert determination and arbitration reports
Forensic defect investigation
Root-cause investigation of building defects and failures. Investigation begins non-destructively; where cause cannot be established without it, invasive investigation or testing is recommended and scoped in writing before it is carried out.
- Water ingress, waterproofing and drainage failure
- Structural movement, cracking and foundation performance
- Concrete, façade and cladding defects
- Workmanship, compliance and non-conforming building products
- Storm and impact damage, and its separation from pre-existing defect
Rectification quantum and schedules
Independent costing of rectification works, built from a defined scope of works rather than a lump-sum allowance, so each item can be traced to the defect it answers and tested line by line.
- Scope of works and rectification methodology
- Bills of quantities and rectification cost estimates
- Scott Schedules
- Loulach Schedules for statutory duty of care claims
Conclaves, joint reports and hearings
Participation in expert conclaves and preparation of joint reports, and oral evidence at hearing. The expert who inspected the building attends, so the reasoning in the report is defended by the person who formed it.
- Expert conclaves and joint reports
- Concurrent evidence, including hot-tub sessions
- Evidence in chief and cross-examination
- Technical input to mediation and settlement conferences
Preliminary and merits advice
Early, unpublished technical advice on whether a defect case is worth running, what evidence would be needed, and where the technical weaknesses sit, before the cost of a full report is committed.
- Review of another expert's report and schedule
- Identification of the evidence a matter is missing
- Realistic assessment of the technical case
Specialist assessments
Assessments in the areas the principal's standards and committee work draw on directly, including waterproofing, concrete, swimming pools and foundation movement.
- Waterproofing and wet area compliance
- Concrete durability and defects
- Swimming pool construction and barriers
- Foundation and footing performance
Four stages, each with something you can hold the office to.
Conflict check and scope
Parties and site address first. Independence is confirmed before any brief is opened. The issues requiring expert opinion, the documents to be reviewed, site access and the deliverables are then defined in writing, with an hours estimate and a delivery date.
Site inspection and investigation
The building is inspected methodically and conditions are recorded through photographs, measurements and, where required, moisture, level or other instrument readings. Non-destructive first; invasive investigation only where it is needed and only with instructions.
Analysis and report
Findings are analysed against the contract documents, the National Construction Code, the relevant Australian Standards, manufacturers' requirements and accepted construction practice. The report separates what was observed from what is inferred, and states the reasoning for each opinion.
Conclave, joint report and evidence
Where the matter continues, the same expert attends the conclave, signs the joint report and gives oral evidence. Areas of agreement and disagreement with the other expert are recorded with reasons, not just recorded.
What is delivered
In the report
- Acknowledgment of the applicable expert code of conduct
- The instructions and questions asked, reproduced in full
- Facts observed, separated from assumed facts and from opinion
- The standards, codes and documents relied on, cited specifically
- Reasoning for each opinion, and the limits of each opinion
- A disclosure of any generative AI use, and the annexed record of it
With the report
- Photographic annexure, indexed and referenced from the body
- Defect schedule in the form the forum uses
- Rectification scope and costing where quantum is in issue
- Curriculum vitae and list of documents provided
- A statement of any matter that materially qualifies the opinion