Our German Desk
Public consultation on the draft DZ 3916 Conditions of contract for building and civil engineering – Design and construct and DZ 3917 Conditions of contract for building and civil engineering – Fixed term is closing soon (3 March).
The new editions are intended to carry through key changes introduced in NZS 3910:2023, including:
- Replacing the Engineer role with the Contract Administrator and Independent Certifier, and encouraging agreement, with the Independent Certifier able to issue Decisions as needed;
- Introducing the contractual Advisers role;
- Providing for a Target Contract Price mechanism, and allowing for the Contract Price to be made up of multiple components (e.g. a mix of Lump Sum and Cost reimbursable);
- Amending the Contractor’s indemnity to fault-based, and adding a Contractor liability cap;
- Simplifying health & safety clauses in line with the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, and updating retentions provisions in line with the Construction Contracts Act 2002; and
- Streamlining the dispute resolution clauses.
DZ 3916 also carries through the Final Account procedure, allows for design development stages to be clearly set out, and introduces two separate forms of producer statement (the drafters have indicated the design producer statement which will sit in Schedule 6a is still in development).
Both DZ 3916 and DZ 3917 provide for “Principal’s Requirements” intended to be listed, for ready reference, in a new Annexure 1 to the Contract Agreement.
On our review, the drafters have corrected the few clause cross-reference errors that appear in NZS 3910:2023 when carrying through clauses into DZ 3916 and DZ 3917. We have, however, a number of editorial and technical corrections and suggestions on the drafts, which we are feeding back to Standards NZ.
We encourage others in the industry to also have their say. The draft 2025 editions can be found here along with the feedback forms.
If you have any questions about DZ 3916 or DZ 3917, please get in touch with our Construction Team or your usual contact at Hesketh Henry.
An earlier version of this article noted the closing date for submissions as 17 February; this has been extended by Standards NZ.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is current at the date of publishing and is of a general nature. It should be used as a guide only and not as a substitute for obtaining legal advice. Specific legal advice should be sought where required.
