Best Socla Podcasts (2026)

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Reforming construction law for consistency, with Sean Kelly 56:24

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8d ago56:24

56:24

Sean Kelly is a Partner at Clayton Utz. Sean focuses on major projects and construction, and he has extensive experience in project delivery and dispute resolution. In this episode, Sean takes us through significant changes in construction law. He discusses the rationale for the changes, the nationwide discrepancies in adjudication, and how the exc…

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How lawyers and engineers can work together better, with Dr. Paul Tracey 45:02

22d ago45:02

45:02

Dr Paul Tracey is a Senior Fellow at the University of Melbourne Law School. Paul teaches at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels in construction law, as well as leading the Construction Law and Practice programme at the University of Salford. In this episode, Dr Tracey explores Cross-cultural collaboration. He breaks down how a power station…

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Conference collection: The rest is… liquidated damages, with Matthew Bell and Trevor Thomas 15:26

1M ago15:26

15:26

Earlier this year at the annual Society of Construction Law Australia conference in Brisbane, we caught up with panellists and moderators from around Australia to discuss the biggest issues in the industry today. Matthew Bell is an Associate Professor and Co-director for Studies for Construction Law at Melbourne Law School, and Trevor Thomas is a P…

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AI and the future of construction law, with James Macdonald 24:27

2M ago24:27

24:27

James Macdonald is a Senior Associate for Dispute Resolution at Ashurst. Ashurst is a global law firm built and run on the primary motivation of staying ahead and driving innovation. In this episode, James talks about his paper, From Blueprints to Bytes: The Legal Implications of AI in Construction. You’ll hear him discuss the current state of AI w…

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Building the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, with Jane Hider, Nicole Whitby, and Colin Fraser 28:19

2M ago28:19

28:19

Jane Hider is a Partner at King & Wood Mallesons, specialising in construction law and infrastructure project delivery. Nicole Whitby is a construction and engineering lawyer and a Partner at Pinsent Masons. She specialises in minimising risk within public-private partnership projects. Colin Fraser is a lawyer and a Partner at Pinsent Masons, with …

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Does the culture of the construction industry need to change? 41:29

3M ago41:29

41:29

Kevin Porter is an Anthropologist and Culture Change Consultant who has extensively studied the Australian construction industry. Kevin has spent his career studying human behaviour and providing leaders with the information they need to make choices, grow their businesses, and improve workplace culture. In this episode, Kevin explains the concept …

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Why dispute resolution is becoming more complex 33:36

3M ago33:36

33:36

Dado Hrustanpasic is a Partner at Holding Redlich and an Honorary Senior Fellow at the University of Melbourne Law School, where he lectures in construction dispute resolution. Dado has over a decade of experience in major projects and infrastructure disputes and is dual-qualified in law and civil engineering. In this episode, Dado explains the evo…

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Conference collection: Michael Bleby, Harris Ashton, and Mia Timpano 27:40

3M ago27:40

27:40

Earlier this year at the annual Society of Construction Law Australia conference in Brisbane, we caught up with panellists and moderators from around Australia to discuss the biggest issues in the industry today. Mia Timpano is a former journalist and final-year law student who describes herself as a “construction law enthusiast”. Harris Ashton is …

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2024 Stynes Address – Gabrielle Trainor AO 37:14

11M ago37:14

37:14

The Stynes Address is the Society of Construction Law Australia’s annual high-profile lecture related to the practice of law and the construction industry. In 2024 the Stynes Address was given by Gabrielle Trainor AO. Gabrielle Trainor has had a diverse career across the construction industry, but one of her most important roles has been as chair o…

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2023 Stynes Address – Justice Katie Stynes 32:53

11M ago32:53

32:53

The Stynes Address is the Society of Construction Law Australia’s annual high-profile lecture related to the practice of law and the construction industry. This is the inaugural address given in 2023 by SoCLA’s patron, Justice Katie Stynes, after whom the address has been named. In 2023 Justice Stynes talked to us about the procedural reforms she i…

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A Case Study: Superintendent's Duties, Delay Methodologies, Acceleration and more 41:08

2+ y ago41:08

41:08

Based on the V601 v Probuild case decided in the Victorian Supreme Court in December 2021, Ben McLeod presented this talk in Melbourne in February 2023. Ben was part of the team who acted successfully for Probuild in this matter and outlines a range of complex issues, including how Principals and Superintendents should ensure that a contractor’s cl…

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Complexity Theory - How It Can Help Us Think About Risk In Construction 30:26

3y ago30:26

30:26

Stepping back from a process to see the complex interactions happening between all of the parties can lead to insights that could prevent potentially catastrophic consequences. The failure of a pedestrian bridge at Florida International University led to 6 fatalities. In this talk, Sean explore the failures in the design, peer review and constructi…

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Is NEC4 the Answer to Australia’s Broken Standard form ? 28:31

3y ago28:31

28:31

Is the Australian industry’s Standard Form broken? If so, why and can it be fixed? The training and learning involved to build confidence in a new industry contract should be considered when making changes. Scott Alden presents his talk “When opportunity knocks: Is NEC4 the Answer to Australia’s Broken Standard form ?” This talk was voted by attend…

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Collaborative Contracting - where are we now, and why ? 21:21

3y ago21:21

21:21

The past, present and future of collaborative contracting models. One of the audience-selected highlights of our national conference “Getting Risk Right”, held in Hobart, Tasmania in May 2022. Sean Kelly and Yazmin Judd focus on the results of an anonymous industry survey which was completed by public and private sector employees, lawyers, engineer…

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The role of the Legal System in Failures - The UK Post Office Scandal (Part 3) 29:42

3+ y ago29:42

29:42

An exercise in highly paid lawyers dancing on the head of a pin. We deep dive into the roles the law, the lawyers and the courts played in this scandal. This wasn’t a case of a few bad apples, the whole system was stacked against the Subpostmasters. The system silenced, suppressed and hid information and nothing like justice was achieved. At some p…

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Learning from IT Failures: Horizon, Bugs, and Chinooks - The UK Post Office Scandal (Part 2) 30:13

3+ y ago30:13

30:13

In the opening I introduced that the Horizon software was the main deliverable of a billion pound PFI project let by the Post Office. The contract was awarded in May 1996 to Fujitsu who won the job because of their winning offer to bear the software development costs in exchange for 8 years guaranteed transaction fee every time a customer of the De…

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The Witch Trial of our Times - UK Post Office Scandal (Part 1) 29:54

3+ y ago29:54

29:54

The UK Post Office Scandal – Megaprojects, IT Systems and the Law This story is about the most widespread miscarriage of justice in English history. The scale of this story exceeds the witch trials of the 16th and 17th century. This story is relevant to every construction lawyer in Australia because it is a story rooted in how we deliver major proj…

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Tackling Human Rights Risks in the Australian Construction Sector. 2022 Conference Keynote by Dr. Natalie Galea 38:10

3+ y ago38:10

38:10

Valuable insights into the health and wellbeing of those working in the Australian construction industry and what legal practitioners can do to improve the status quo. Dr. Natalie Galea presents the keynote for our 2022 national conference “ Getting Risk Right”, held in Hobart, Tasmania in May 2022. Fully titled “I would like to see my son more tha…

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FIDIC - Where the bloody hell are you? 37:22

4+ y ago37:22

37:22

For those who missed it, this podcast is a recording of our recent webinar featuring Kiri Parr, Tony Barry and Rob Nelson-Williams. In it, they discuss the internationally renowned and widely used FIDIC suite of Contracts and their potential for wider adoption in Australia. This podcast is for reference purposes only. It does not constitute legal a…

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Has the construction industry finally got a burning platform for change? 31:48

4+ y ago31:48

31:48

Jon Davies, CEO of the Australian Constructors Association, discusses the significant challenges facing the construction industry and ACA's plan to help fix them. --- This podcast is for reference purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. You should always obtain legal advice about your specific circu…

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BYO Coffee Cup. Seriously. 28:49

5y ago28:49

28:49

Lucy Greenwood, international arbitrator, diversity champion and green arbitration advocate shares her insights on the impact of arbitration on the environment and how we can drive sustainable change. In this episode, Melissa Yeo, Chair of the Society's Communications Sub-committee, sits down with Lucy Greenwood to discuss arbitration, its impact o…

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Stage management and other things you didn't know you needed to think about 28:18

5y ago28:18

28:18

This episode is Part 2 of Melissa Yeo's discussion with Petrina Macpherson and Matthew Hickey on eHearings and eMediations and why they have given us all #onemorethingtothinkabout This podcast is for reference purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. You should always obtain legal advice about your s…

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Remember to wear pants – and other useful tips for navigating online hearings 30:52

5y ago30:52

30:52

In this podcast, Melissa Yeo sits down with Petrina Macpherson of Minter Ellison and Matthew Hickey of Level Twenty Seven Chambers to discuss eHearings and eMediations and why they have given us all #onemorethingtothinkabout This podcast is for reference purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. You s…

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Mind the Gap - the new duty of care 48:59

5+ y ago48:59

48:59

In this podcast, Aiden Davey, Dr Matthew Bell and Kiri Parr sit down with Melissa Yeo to discuss the new duty of care introduced in the NSW Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 and the significant consequences it might have on the construction industry. This podcast is for reference purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and shoul…

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Cyber Hygiene In the Era Of COVID-19 36:42

5+ y ago36:42

36:42

They say if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. In the current landscape that means putting your valuable data in the hands of criminals. In this podcast, Brendan Read and Vishka Peiris of Korda Mentha discuss Cyber Hygiene during Covid-19. Brendan is a former detective from the Queensland Police High Tech Crime Investigation Unit. He is highly exp…