Is Your Project in Crisis?

Development and construction projects rarely fail suddenly. Warning signs emerge weeks or months before formal acknowledgment. An estimated 35-50% of projects face significant distress whilst up to 90% experience some form of difficulty. This manifests itself in over 2,636 construction company insolvencies between April 2024 and March 2025, and 3,000-5,000 distressed projects annually in Sydney and NSW alone. Early intervention has become critical to project survival.

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Confidential 24-hour response | 40+ years project management & engineering expertise

Is Your Project in Distress? Critical Warning Signs

Early identification enables more effective intervention and improved recovery outcomes. Projects experiencing these indicators require immediate professional assessment.

FINANCIAL INDICATORS

SCHEDULE INDICATORS

MANAGEMENT INDICATORS

TECHNICAL INDICATORS

CONTRACTUAL INDICATORS

Experiencing any of these indicators? Your project requires immediate assessment. Contact us for confidential consultation.

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An Industry-Wide Crisis

Australia's construction industry is experiencing an unprecedented crisis. Between April 2024 and March 2025, over 2,636 construction companies became insolvent - a 23% year-on-year increase representing the highest concentration ever recorded. Thousands of projects have been left distressed, delayed, or abandoned.

The Hidden Scale

Insolvencies are only the visible failures. For every company that fails, 3-5 additional projects experience critical distress through severe schedule delays, cost overruns, contractor disputes, cash flow crises, and technical failures—long before insolvency occurs.

This creates an estimated 8,000-12,000 distressed projects annually across Australia, with 3,000-5,000 in Sydney and NSW alone including projects across all scales: from commercial and infrastructure developments to medium-density apartments, townhouses, and residential subdivisions.

Key Contributing Factors

💰

Cost Escalation

Fixed-price contracts meeting material cost increases of 31-40%

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Skills Gap

Inexperienced teams managing complex projects

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Labor Shortages

Critical labor shortages across all trades

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Cash Flow Crisis

Cash flow constraints cascading through supply chains

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Supply Chain

Subcontractor instability creating domino effects

Our Proven Recovery Methodology

Drawing on 40+ years of project management, expert witness, and engineering experience, we employ a structured approach that addresses root causes, stabilizes operations, and delivers project completion.

1

Rapid Assessment

5-10 Days

Objective: Establish accurate current status and identify root causes
We Evaluate:
  • Technical: Engineering review, building services assessment, compliance analysis
  • Schedule: Critical path analysis, delay cause identification, realistic completion forecasting
  • Commercial: Contract analysis, cost-to-complete evaluation, cash flow projections, review of all insurances in place
  • Organizational: Team capability assessment, stakeholder relationship analysis
  • Risk: Comprehensive risk identification and contractual liability assessment
Deliverable: Detailed diagnostic report with root cause identification and recovery feasibility assessment.
2

Stabilization & Recovery Planning

10-15 Days

Objective: Implement immediate interventions and develop comprehensive recovery strategy
Immediate Actions:
  • Enhanced project controls and reporting
  • Cash flow stabilization measures
  • Critical relationship management
  • Risk mitigation for immediate threats
Recovery Plan Includes:
  • Revised scope, schedule, and budget-to-complete
  • Resource allocation and acceleration strategies
  • Enhanced quality control measures
  • Team structure assessment and recommendations
  • Dispute resolution strategy
  • Stakeholder alignment and commercial negotiation
Deliverable: Comprehensive recovery plan with clear milestones, realistic timelines, and agreed commercial framework.
3

Execution & Completion

Variable Duration

Objective: Execute recovery plan and deliver successful completion
Our Management:
  • Weekly progress monitoring against recovery milestones
  • Rigorous cost tracking and contractor oversight
  • Technical problem-solving and design coordination
  • Quality assurance and defect management
  • Commercial administration and variation management
  • Stakeholder reporting and communication
Deliverable: Successful project completion with handover documentation and final account settlement support.

Specialized Expertise for Complex Recovery

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Engineering Foundation

Unlike project managers without technical backgrounds, our 40+ years of engineering expertise enables us to diagnose root causes of technical failures, assess building services integration issues, and provide authoritative technical direction when standard solutions prove inadequate.

⚖️

Expert Witness Experience

Over 15 years providing expert witness services to legal firms and insurance companies provides forensic analytical skills, evidence-based methodology, and dispute management perspective invaluable in distressed projects where disputes often contribute to project dysfunction.

✅

Proven Project Delivery

Successfully delivered multi-stage industrial expansions, multi-campus educational facilities, comprehensive maintenance programs, and medium-density developments—demonstrating capability to manage complex projects and coordinate multidisciplinary teams under challenging conditions.

📍

Local Expertise

Established Sydney and NSW presence provides deep understanding of local planning and building regulatory frameworks, relationships with certifiers and councils, and knowledge of local contractor capabilities and market conditions.

🎯

Independent & Objective

As an independent firm with no contractor relationships or commercial conflicts, we provide unbiased analysis and recommendations focused on best outcomes for our clients.

⚡

Rapid Response

All initial consultations within 24 hours, ensuring assessments commence straight away, with principal-level attention on all engagements.

Client Types & Applications

1. Project Owners & Developers

Facing severe delays, cost overruns, or contractor performance issues requiring independent assessment, commercial negotiation support, and enhanced oversight to completion.

2. Legal Firms & Insurers

Requiring technically credible, forensically rigorous analysis for dispute proceedings, expert witness services, and strategic advice on technical aspects of commercial positions.

3. Lenders & Financiers

Needing independent project viability assessment, cost-to-complete analysis, and ongoing monitoring to protect financial interests.

4. Contractors

Recognizing need for external expertise to develop recovery strategies, manage stakeholder relationships, and navigate towards successful completion.

Confidential Professional Intervention

All consultations and engagements conducted under strict confidentiality. We understand the commercial and legal sensitivities inherent in distressed project situations and maintain appropriate discretion and professional judgment throughout.

Recovery Results

Anonymized Examples

Large Industrial Redevelopment | Southern Sydney

Project Type: Multi-stage industrial expansion
Status: 24 months behind in approval processes, significantly over budget, design/approval team unable to effectively coordinate complex legislative requirements and produce deliverables
Outcome: Took over coordination of design/construction team inserting industry leaders where required, enhanced design control and quality, all approvals received 6 months later and construction tender awarded at 83% of forecasted amount.

Residential Development - Prominent Builder 1

Project: D&C Tender Risk Assessment | 250 Apartments
Status: High-risk tender due to inadequate concept designs
Outcome: Detailed risk assessment report enabling the builder to submit an informed and strategically positioned tender bid

Residential Development - Prominent Builder 2

Project: D&C Tender Risk Assessment | 122 Apartments
Status: High-risk tender due to inadequate concept designs
Outcome: Detailed risk assessment report enabling the builder to submit an informed and strategically positioned tender bid

Academic Facility Development 1 | Northern NSW

Project: Strategic Advisor to Client Project Verifier during construction | Multiple Buildings
Status: Complex project with significant upfront design risks and potential future operational issues
Outcome: Successful and cooperative process with all stakeholders leading to successful project completion

Academic Facility Development 2 | Western NSW

Project: Strategic Advisor to Client Project Verifier during construction | Multiple Buildings
Status: Complex project with significant upfront design risks and potential future operational issues
Outcome: Successful and cooperative process with all stakeholders leading to successful project completion

Residential Developments - Prominent Sydney Builders

Project: Review builder's contractual and technical project position | Multiple Legal/Insurance Cases
Status: In or approaching litigation
Outcome: We have never "lost" or delivered an unsatisfactory outcome for our client on these types of projects

Commercial Project - Building Owner Occupier | Sydney

Project: Review inadequately performing HVAC & BMS
Status: Produced detailed technical report, identified chain of liabilities, defined required technical alterations, and provided project budgets
Outcome: Negotiated system repairs with responsible parties. Achieved satisfactory HVAC & BMS performance for the client

Large Hospital - Prominent Equipment Supplier

Project: Review allegations against our client. Prepare technical response and case strategy advice | Legal/Insurance Case
Status: In litigation
Outcome: We produced a technical report which exonerated our client. The case was amicably settled

Early Intervention Improves Outcomes

The earlier distressed projects receive professional intervention, the more options exist for effective recovery and the greater the potential to limit financial exposure.

Initial Consultation Process

1
Confidential Discussion

30-60 min: Understand your situation. No charge.

2
Engagement Proposal

Detailed scope, timeline, and fees if we can add value.

3
Rapid Mobilization

Work commences within 2-3 business days.

Luke Adamus, Managing Director

Mobile: 0415 820 702

Email: luke@adamus.com.au

Adamus Associates Pty Ltd
PO Box 270, Cremorne NSW 2090
ABN: 70 081 613 612

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