Fire services subcontracts: the risks and what to negotiate
Fire services packages, both active and passive, sit on the critical path to occupancy, which makes them a magnet for completion pressure and for back-charges when other trades penetrate rated elements after you have finished. Certification and sign-off sit partly outside your control.
AI risk report, not legal advice. The scanner gives general information about the risks in a document. It is not a lawyer, does not know your circumstances, and can be wrong. For decisions with legal consequences, get advice from a construction lawyer.
Where fire protection subcontractors lose money
Penetrations made by other trades
Passive fire work is routinely damaged or bypassed by later trades. Without a clear rule that remediation of others' damage is a variation, you end up re-sealing for free.
Certification and sign-off timing
Final inspection and certification depend on the authority and the whole building being ready. If your completion or payment is tied to occupancy certification, you carry the building's delay.
Indemnities for consequential loss
A failure in fire systems can have serious consequences, so builders push broad indemnities. Check the indemnity excludes consequential loss and is proportionate to your contribution.
Short notice windows for variations
Fire services scope changes with every layout change. An absolute bar on late variation notice turns a redesign into free work.
Three things to push for in your departures schedule
- Remediation of damage by other trades paid as a variation
- Indemnity excluding consequential loss and reduced to the extent others contributed
- Payment and retention release not tied to occupancy certification
The free scanner finds these clauses in your actual contract in about two minutes and writes the departures schedule for you.
What the Index says
Live figures from the Australian Subcontract Index, 90 real subcontracts. The Index holds only 1 fire services contract so far, under the 10-contract threshold, so these are national figures across all trades. Nothing under 10 contracts is ever shown.
Fire services subcontracts by state
Fire services subcontracts: common questions
Who pays when another trade damages passive fire work?
Whoever the contract says. Without a clause making re-work caused by others a variation, builders often treat it as part of your scope. Photograph your completed areas before handing over and write the rule into the departures schedule.
Do fire protection subcontractors have payment rights that override the contract?
Yes. Every state and territory has a Security of Payment Act that lets you make a payment claim and get to adjudication quickly, and several states cap how long payment terms can be. The state pages below set out each one.
Is the scanner free?
Yes. No account, no card. Upload the subcontract and the full report appears in about two minutes. General information, not legal advice.