- About Subcontractor Legal

We are a law firm that provides legal services for construction subcontractors. 

We recognise subcontractors need legal services that cater to their whole of business needs: contracts, licensing, debt recovery, insurance matters and security of payment compliance. 

Our ideal clients are subcontractors working for Tier 1 or 2 Main Contractors. 

We don't act for builders

Unlike other construction law firms, we aren’t afraid to pick a side.

We recognise that Aussie subbies want a law firm that aligns with their business values, and a lawyer who intimately understands the operational and commercial complexities of their business. 

We won’t act for builders, because we devote all of our time and expertise serving the little guy at the bottom of the food chain, who is literally at the work face, building the buildings. 

Lawyers chasing big shiny builder clients do so because builders often need help repeatedly for the same problems.

But at Subcontractor Legal, it is our number one goal to keep you out of dispute and help you enjoy quality of project life. We do this by providing subcontractors with front end support so that you go into every job with commercial street smarts and your legal ducks in a row. 

Some of our clients hold a builder’s licence, but typically subcontract to other larger builders. For example, if you are in the fit-out space and you hold a builder’s licence so that you can subcontract portions of your scope to other trades, you are still our ideal client. 

However, if you are a builder who would perform the head contractor function for most of your clients, we’re not the law firm for you.

Testimonials

What our clients are saying

"I met Michelle in 2015 on a construction site, now she is my lawyer!"

"It makes a big difference that Michelle has spent bulk time on building sites and understands how commercial projects are run. When I come to her with a problem, she doesn't jump into a letter war between lawyers. Most of the time my builders don't even know she's in the background helping me work out what to do and say. On the very rare occasion we have had to use Court, Michelle was able to keep my fees to a minimum and get me paid before we even had to have a hearing."

Tiling Subcontractor - Queensland

"My builder was going broke, and Michelle helped me negotiate a deal where I got paid by the Developer."

"I was stuck in a contract with a builder that kept defaulting on payment. It was having a major influence on my cashflow and my ability to forecast resources to jobs. One day I had work for my crew, the next I had to suspend for non payment and I was losing wages while they were standing around waiting for the next job.

Eventually the Developer asked us to sign a Deed where we would be paid directly, but the document didn't seem right. Michelle helped me negotiate the Deed so that we had a right to claim all future payments from the Developer, and it was written in that the Developer would indemnify us for preference payments. I got paid and I didn't even have to make a claim on my Trade Credit Insurance Policy, saving me thousands in possible increased premiums the next year."

Passive Fire Subcontractor - New South Wales

 "My insurance policy was in the wrong name!!!"

"I sent Michelle my insurance documents along with a contract she was reviewing for me, and it turns out my insurance policy was in the name of an old trust I once had, that we don't trade in anymore. None of the builders I have been contracting with even noticed!"

Fit-out subcontractor - Queensland

"The Adjudication process was a joke, we would have lost without help."

"What should have been a really simple Adjudication turned into a nightmare because the online submission form on the MyQBCC portal wasn't the same as the hardcopy application form. The Adjudication Registry didn't give us the proper form for almost two weeks and then sent us an email talking about a court case. We had no idea what it meant.

We couldn't believe things went so pear shaped. The builder didn't even give us a Payment Schedule and we still got tipped into having to provide a raft of submissions. 

Michelle kept us calm and explained everything in plain English as it happened. She gave us all the options, but we stayed the course and the Adjudicator found in our favour. 

No wonder subbies say the system is stacked against them. 

Plastering Subcontractor - Queensland

"My builder's contract was a nightmare. We got them to agree to use an Australian Standard with three special conditions. It cost me less than a contract review!"

"My builder sent me through a contract that was so unfair towards us, it would have taken weeks to negotiate it back to some level of fairness. Michelle helped me write an email to the builder, and after reading it they agreed that the shoe didn't fit and we needed something different.

We suggested the same Australian Standard contract the builder's contract was based on, but with three very short special conditions. 

The builder wanted some peace of mind we wouldn't be claiming delay costs, and we wanted peace of mind we could register our formwork gear on the Personal Property Securities Register. 

Whole thing was sorted out faster than a contract review and it even cost me less.

Formwork Subcontractor - Queensland