Entering into a contract and variations
Once the homeowner’s funding application is conditionally approved, they will receive a Certificate of Conditional Approval and can enter into a building construction contract with their chosen licensed contractor.
It is the licensed contractor’s responsibility to draft the contract, which should comply with the requirements set out in the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) Act 1991.
The QBCC website provides useful guides and templates for writing and entering into contracts for building work.
The intent of the program, and the resilient mitigation options, is to minimise damage from a flood to improve recovery, however, these works will not flood proof a property.
Licensed contractors may wish to consider including a Special Condition in their building contract with the homeowner, to the effect that the homeowner acknowledges that the builder does not warrant that flood resilience works will prevent damage to the home from any future flood.
Before the works can commence, the homeowner will provide the contract to QRIDA for review. The homeowner will then be provided a Letter of Offer. At this point, the works can commence.
Variations to approved work
If there are any variations to the approved works under the Letter of Offer, homeowners will be required to submit a Variation Request form to QRIDA, together with any supporting information such as a revised quote, scope of works and relevant photos.
Variations should be approved prior to commencing with the variation work. Variation requests will be processed as quickly as possible, upon receipt of all the relevant information.
There will be some variations where it is impractical to obtain prior approval, for example where there is an immediate ‘make safe’ obligation. In these cases, the contractor will still be required to provide the necessary supporting information to the homeowner to enable them to seek funding approval.
Payments incorporating variations will not be authorised without a Value for Money assessment. The new Value for Money assessments ensure the revised scope of works still meets eligibility requirements and represents value for money.