Typically, the independent reviewer during the construction phase is jointly appointed by both the Government and the private party under an independent reviewer deed of appointment. The procurement process for the independent reviewer may differ between projects. If the independent reviewer has not been appointed prior to financial close, which only typically occurs on 'social infrastructure' projects, the project director and procurement team will be responsible for engaging the independent reviewer based on the process set out in the project deed.
The independent reviewer's role varies from project to project. On 'linear infrastructure' projects, typically the role of the independent reviewer includes a role for general overview and reasonable checking in relation to project activities, reviewing design documentation, reviewing certifications and reviewing claims (e.g. extensions of time). On 'social infrastructure' projects, typically the role is limited to reviewing the construction program progress, reviewing and determining claims for extensions of time and other 'time-related' issues and reviewing commissioning tests to certify completion.
Responsibility for payment of the independent reviewer is typically shared equally between the government party and the private party. Exceptions to this general rule are where a party requests the independent reviewer to prepare a report not otherwise required by the project deed or the independent reviewer deed of appointment, in which case the party requesting the report is responsible for the relevant costs.
The project director has an important part to play in ensuring that the government party's representatives (including the procurement team) respect the independent reviewer's role. In particular it is important to ensure that the project director does not attempt to step into the role of independent reviewer, which may cause the transfer of some level of performance risk to revert back to the government party.