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A person who is appointed to resolve a dispute in an Arbitration. The arbitrator may be appointed as an expert in the area of dispute. An arbitrator effectively takes on a similar role of judge in court proceedings, and must make an arbitration 'award' which is binding on the parties. In more complex arbitration, a number of arbitrators may be appointed, usually not more than three. Arbitrators may have duties and obligations under the uniform arbitration legislation of each state.

An agent is the representative of a Principal where it acts within the actual or apparent scope of his or her authority and will bind the Principal by its action. An agent does not act independently and must prefer the Principal's interests to its own. An agent's authority may be limited (such as in the case of a real estate agent) to finding business but not creating legal relations.

A suitably qualified person normally engaged by a Principal (the architect's client) to provide design and documentation services. An architect may also be engaged as an agent for a Principal during the course of a Contract to act in the capacity of Superintendent.

These clauses quantify (or 'liquidate') damages payable in the event of a party breaching the Contract. Enforcement of agreed damages clauses turns on whether the clause is a Liquidated Damages clause or Penalty. Briefly, the test is to examine whether the clause constitutes a genuine pre-estimate of the losses suffered as a result of the breach.

An agreement to enter into a Lease at a future time constituting an equitable interest in land as distinct from a legal interest which can be registered under the Torrens Title system. As it is not possible to create a legal lease over premises which do not presently exist a developer may enter into an agreement for lease for a building to be constructed or which is under construction.

The column of air extending vertically above the surface of land and buildings on a property and within its boundaries. An intrusion into airspace may raise an action in trespass or nuisance but the success of that action will depend on the extent to which the intrusion interferes with the ordinary use and enjoyment of the land.

Case law in Australia has concluded that the term 'all reasonable endeavours' imposes a standard that lies somewhere between using Reasonable Endeavours and Best Endeavours.

A method of project implementation in which two or more participants (usually the owner, the constructor and the lead design consultant) agree to work cooperatively by freely sharing resources, risks and knowledge during the course of the project. The object of an alliance is to achieve the project's goals more efficiently and effectively. Some of the characteristics which are said to distinguish alliancing from more traditional contracting are: collective performance obligations of owner and non-owner participants; open book reimbursement of non-owners costs; joint, unanimous decision making by an 'alliance board'; commitment to resolution of issues without resort to litigation; sharing of risk between participants.

Dispute resolution processes which attempt to avoid the perceived disadvantages of the traditional adversarial approach of the courts. They commonly include Mediation, Conciliation, Neutral Evaluation and Expert Determination. Generally, they involve the appointment of a neutral third party to assist the parties resolve a dispute within a more informal and conciliatory framework. ADR processes are often confidential and may have cost and time benefits to participants as the strict procedural requirements relating to pleadings, discovery of documents and preparation of evidence are often dispensed with.

An Alternative Tender is a tender: (a) which does not comply in every respect with the requirements of the tender documents, including the conditions of tender; or (b) contains provisions not required or not allowed by the tender documents.