Independence and impartiality of contract administrators in the New Zealand construction sector

Contract administrators play essential roles in the construction sector, as they administrate the execution of construction contracts. A contract administrator acts as a representative of clients and an independent certifier to contractors. This dual role can bring conflicts within the contract administrator’s duty. Therefore, concerns have been raised whether contract administrators can perform their duties fairly and impartially when serving clients and contractors. This study examines the independence and impartiality of contract administrators in the construction sector. This study also reviews the current New Zealand standard construction contract forms to understand the role and position of contract administrators. A questionnaire survey was conducted in New Zealand to obtain views from 42 construction practitioners. The survey results suggest that independence and impartiality of contract administrators may exist in the New Zealand construction sector, manifesting that most survey respondents experienced a reasonable and fair performance from contract administrators when carrying out their duties. This study contributes to the existing knowledge of contract administration by revealing the existence of independence and impartiality of contract administrators in the New Zealand construction sector. Also, this study contributes to industrial practices by putting forward concerns and recommendations to improve the legal obligations of contract administrators in construction contract forms.