Deed of release
A deed of release is a document that surrenders your claims. Builders ask for one before final payment or retention release, and signed unread it extinguishes live claims for variations, delays and damages.
The standard sequence: final claim submitted, builder offers payment conditional on a release "in the attached form", and the attached form releases everything: known and unknown claims alike. Builder-template contracts overwhelmingly condition final payment on one.
A deed differs from an ordinary agreement in that it binds without anything being paid for it, which is why releases are drafted as deeds. The operative words to look for are "releases and discharges", "all claims whatsoever", "known or unknown" and "arising out of or in connection with the project". Read together they end every claim you have not already been paid for: unapproved variations, delay costs, disputed back charges and sometimes retention.
Some contracts skip the signature altogether with a deemed release: a clause saying that once the date for the final claim passes, anything not claimed is released automatically. It does the same work as a deed and gives you no moment to read it, so find it at tender.
The practical answer is rarely to refuse. It is to narrow: sign a release limited to the amounts being paid, with a schedule of excluded claims attached, or settle the open items first and then sign.
Why it matters to subbies
Read the release at contract signing, not at final claim when you need the money. Carve out: unresolved claims (listed), retention not yet released, statutory rights that cannot be released, and defects obligations running both ways.
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General information for Australian subcontractors, not legal advice. Contract drafting and state legislation vary and change; your document and your state's Act govern. Written by Mat Kennedy at The Construction Contracts Co.