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QLD GUIDE

How to write a variation notice that gets paid: a Queensland subcontractor's guide

A variation is only worth what you can prove. This guide walks through what a Queensland subcontractor's variation notice and quote should contain, in the order an assessor reads it, with examples from HV/LV and industrial electrical work.

Built by Tender Ready Tools, a Queensland-based engineer working in HV/LV project delivery. Published 31 October 2026 · 6 min read

Items marked verify refer to legislation or regulator guidance that changes over time. Check the linked official source before relying on them.

Most rejected variations aren't rejected because the work wasn't extra. They're rejected because the paperwork didn't show three things: who directed the work, why it's outside the subcontract scope, and how the price was built. Our guide to time bars and notices covers when notices are due. This one covers what goes in them, so the notice you send on time is also one the head contractor's commercial team can assess and approve.

Every subcontract is different. Clause numbers below use AS 4000-style references as examples only verify. Use the clause numbers, forms and defined terms in your executed subcontract.

Start with the direction

A variation usually needs a direction from someone with authority to give it. Under many subcontracts that is only the person named as the head contractor's representative, and only in writing. A site supervisor's verbal request, a marked-up drawing handed over at a toolbox meeting or an RFI response that quietly adds scope may not count as a direction on its own.

Show why it's outside scope

The assessor's first question is "isn't this already in your price?". Answer it before they ask. Point to the documents your price was based on and show the difference.

In HV/LV work, the frequent sources of genuine variations are revised protection settings that need extra wiring, additional feeders or MCC tiers, SCADA tag list revisions that force re-termination, changed cable routes after a clash, and extra switching or outage attendance when an outage is rescheduled.

Give the time effect as well as the cost

A variation that changes the critical path is also a delay event. Many subcontracts require a separate notice for the delay, sometimes within a shorter period than the variation notice verify. Don't assume the variation price covers time. Say whether the variation affects the programme, which activities it affects, and that an extension of time claim will follow or is attached. If you price the work as "no time effect", you may find it hard to claim time for the same change later.

Build the price so it can be checked

A lump sum with no breakdown invites a counter-offer. A transparent build-up is easier to approve and easier to defend if the item ends up in a payment claim or adjudication.

Keep the build-up in the same structure every time. The assessor learns your format, and approvals get faster.

Attach the evidence

Attach what proves the direction, the scope difference and the cost: the instruction, the before-and-after drawings, marked-up extracts of the specification, supplier quotes, and photos where the site condition matters. For daywork or "cost-plus" variations, attach daily dockets signed by the head contractor's supervisor. Unsigned dockets are one of the most common reasons daywork is cut.

Give each event one reference number and use it everywhere: the notice, the quote, the site diary, photos and the payment claim line. When an item is disputed six months later, a single reference makes it easy to pull the full record together.

Serve it properly and track the reply

Variations in your payment claims

Under the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 verify, a payment claim can include the value of construction work carried out, which can include varied work. It's common to claim approved variations and also claim submitted, unapproved variations as separate lines. If the head contractor disagrees, it must say so in a payment schedule with its reasons, and those reasons matter later if you go to adjudication verify. Our BIF Act payment claims checklist covers the claim itself, and our new short-paid response plan covers what to do when variations are scheduled at nil.

Keep the variation numbering in your payment claim identical to your variation register so each line can be traced back to its notice and quote.

Common mistakes that get variations cut

  1. Starting work on a verbal request and asking for the direction after the work is done.
  2. Missing the notice period because the team was waiting to know the full cost. Send the notice on time with an estimate; send the price later if the clause allows.
  3. No scope comparison. "Additional works as directed" isn't a reason.
  4. Bundling unrelated items into one variation, so one disputed item holds up the rest.
  5. Ignoring time and losing the EOT that should have come with the change.
  6. Unsigned dockets for daywork.
  7. Inconsistent numbers between the quote, the register and the payment claim.

A one-page checklist before you hit send

The QBCC publishes general guidance on commercial contracts and subcontracts verify. It isn't a substitute for reading your own subcontract, but it's a useful check on the basics.

This guide is general information only, not legal advice. Contract terms vary and the law changes. Check every item marked verify against the current official source, and get advice on large or disputed variations.