Consult Australia has released a new report outlining how government and industry can protect cost certainty and deliver value across infrastructure projects.
The report, ‘Protecting Cost Certainty: Taking action to deliver value across the project lifecycle’, was developed in collaboration with WT and draws on our expertise in cost management and quantity surveying across major Australian infrastructure projects.
The report finds that cost pressures often arise when projects go to market with incomplete scope, poorly understood risk and unrealistic assumptions about time and budget.
To address these challenges, ‘Protecting Cost Certainty’ identifies five actions to protect cost certainty across planning, design and delivery:
- Put risk first
- Scope for success
- Communicate clear roles and responsibilities
- Value variations
- Strengthen cost management
Together, these actions provide a practical pathway to reduce disputes, improve transparency and deliver better value for communities and taxpayers.
“Contingency is not a direct substitute for scope clarity, and pricing risk late is not the same as managing it early. If we want cost certainty, we have to stop treating these as delivery problems, when they are planning problems,” says Sam Mendoza, WT National Director and National Infrastructure Sector Lead.
Read Consult Australia’s report: