It is important the contract director understand both the contract and the environment in which the contract needs to be managed (refer Chapter 1 of the Partnerships Victoria Contract management guide). To develop this understanding, the contract director should document a concise summary of:
• the parties to the contract;
• the financial, legal, commercial and organisational structure of the project;
• the roles of each project party and their interfaces with the government party;
• the service delivery requirements to meet the project output specifications;
• any related commercial developments;
• the key rights and obligations of the government party or other government party agencies;
• the key rights and obligations of the private party;
• the broad contractual allocation of project risk and mechanisms by which the private party may transfer risk to third parties (including contractual indemnities, insurance, financial guarantees);
• mechanisms, procedures and remedies for poor or non-performance and default under the contract; and
• critical actions/events under the contract or that may impact on project delivery.