While good communication should avoid excessive formality, it may be necessary to document an agreed record of what was said. For example, if it is verbally agreed that each party will consider a proposed variation to a service delivery KPI, a written record of the discussion is critically important to clarify that no party has yet committed to the variation.
Appropriate practices for documenting verbal communications include the following:
• For informal discussions, record the key outcomes and action points, and provide this to the other party as confirmation of the discussion.
• For formal meetings, prepare minutes of the meeting, circulate these to all attendees, and obtain confirmation that the minutes are accurate.
• Add agreed decisions to the electronic copy of contract documentation, where this is used by the parties, as notes.
• Add pending matters to the parties' joint issues log where appropriate.
The written record or minutes should be prepared or reviewed by a person with a strong understanding of the context of the discussions before being circulated to the other party. This is important to avoid a record that is incomplete or inaccurate. The record of verbal discussions, or email correspondence, contribute to the information underlying the broader contract management strategy for the project.
It is important to note that informal communication has the potential to change the contractual agreement, where the government party makes a representation or behaves in a way that is inconsistent with the contractual agreement and the private party relies on that representation or behaviour, for example regular waiver of abatements. As such, all communication, including verbal or other informal communication, should be recorded. In addition, the contract director and contract management team should perform all contract management activities with this in mind.
See also Chapter 3 in relation to governance and compliance requirements for project records.