218.781 Construction Financial Administration Assessment 1 Brief 2026 | Massey University

218.781 Assessment 1 Brief

Question One: 40 Marks (Group)

For this question, you are required to critically compare and analyse procurement methods, tendering methods, and contractual arrangements of two actual projects.

• The above two projects are from two different locations in New Zealand. Both projects are infrastructure projects, while one is a rail project and the other is a road project.

What to do

• The detailed project reports of these two projects are attached under annexures. Use the information given projects and critically analyse the project details against the selected procurement, tendering and contractual methods.
• If no information is available on the used procurement, tendering or contractual methods, you may evaluate the project information and propose a suitable method.
• Both of these projects are public projects. Therefore, you are free to research more on these projects in the public domain and find more details. (make sure to provide references to your information sources.)
• Provide a professional report to present your findings.

Report Structure

1. Introduction to the selected cases.

2. Procurement methods

a. Critical analysis of the procurement method comparing the two projects against the theory.

b. Suitability, benefits and drawbacks of the procurement method for the projects.

(If you think any other method is suitable, propose the method with justification.)

3. Tendering methods

a. Critical analysis of the tendering methods, comparing the two projects against the theory.

b. Suitability, benefits, and drawbacks of the tendering methods for the selected cases. (If you think any other method is suitable, propose the method with justification.)

4. Contractual arrangements

a. Critical analysis of the contractual arrangements comparing the two projects against the theory.

b. Suitability, benefits and drawbacks of the procurement method for the selected cases. (If you think any other method is suitable, propose the method with justification.)

5. Conclusions and recommendations – comparing the two cases, what are your overall findings and recommendations?

6. References – APA style, American Psychological Association referencing style – Massey University

7. Appendices – sources of information used other than the provided project reports

Submission: Word File (one submission from each group) Word count: 2500 – 3000

Marking Guide for Question One

Question Two: 25 Marks (Group)

Assume you are a quantity surveyor arrived in New Zealand recently. You are employed as a consultant quantity surveyor for a proposed multi-storey commercial tower project in the Auckland CBD. The client and the consultancy team are currently working on the early design stages, and they want you to select a suitable standard document for the conditions of contract for the project. The project involves both local and international professionals in the project team. The client is in favour of NZS 3910: 2023. Since you have several years of experience overseas, you have strong experience in FIDIC 2017 conditions of contracts. But you have no experience and knowledge of NZS 3910: 2023. Therefore, prepare a report comparing NZS 3910: 2023 and FIDIC 2017 and propose the most suitable document for this project.

Your report must include the following:

1. Introduction to the project and standard conditions of Contract (NZS 3910: 2023 and FIDIC 2017)
2. Critical analysis of the contractual provisions for variations in both documents.
3. Critical analysis of the contractual provisions for progress payments in both documents.
4. Critical analysis of the contractual provisions for final payments and final accounts in both documents.
5. Critical analysis of the contractual provisions for extension of time in both documents.
6. Conclusions and recommendations – overall discussion of the findings based on the analysis above, and propose the most suitable document with justification.
7. References – APA style, American Psychological Association referencing style – Massey University
8. Appendices – If you need to make any assumptions for the proposed project for your report, you may do so and list them all as assumptions under the appendices.

Submission: Word File (one submission from each group) Word count: 2500 – 3000

Question Three: 20 Marks (Group)

Refer to the attached case law, SRG Global Remediation Services (NZ) Limited v Body

Corporate 197281 [2022] NZCA 518. The dispute was primarily due to payment-related issues.

When this dispute happened, the standard document for the conditions of contract in New Zealand was NZS 3910: 2013. Therefore, review the payment-related matters of the case against NZS 3910: 2013 and the Construction Contracts Act. Provide your conclusions and recommendations on the case, supporting or contrasting the court judgment.

You may only compare the payments and variations related matters using clauses 6, 9 and

12 Clause 13 is not part of this assessment.

Your answer should include the following.

1. Introduction and background of the case.
2. Details of the dispute, including the timeline of all the incidents.
3. Review of the case against NZS 3910: 2013 and CCA 2002.
4. Conclusions and recommendations either supporting or contrasting the court judgement.
5. References – APA style, American Psychological Association referencing style – Massey University

You can make necessary assumptions if required and list them clearly in the report.

Submission: Word File (one submission from each group) Word count: 2000 – 2500 (excluding references)

Marking Guide for Question Two & Question three

Question Four: 10 Marks (Individual)

• This is an individual submission.
• Each group member should create a video to critically reflect on their learnings from the assignment tasks.
• You are NOT required to make any PowerPoint presentations.
• ONLY a video in MP4 format is to be submitted.
• You will get marks based on how you demonstrate your understanding of the work you did for the assignment. If you read a script through the video, you may get less marks as it does not clearly demonstrate your understanding or reflection.
• The video length can be 5 – 10 minutes. If you exceed the 10 minutes, there will be a penalty.
• You MUST NOT use AI to create the video or voice recording. Your face and voice must be clear throughout the presentation.

Your presentation should include the following:

1. Your contribution to the group assignment – What tasks were done by you, how the tasks were distributed among the members, and how you communicated with others.
2. Your reflection – Demonstrate your understanding and reflection of the assignment tasks, what did you learn from this assignment?
3. Challenges – Did you and your group face any challenges during the assignment?
   How did you overcome those challenges?
4. Final remarks, if any.

Submission: MP4 file (length 5 minutes – 10 minutes)                                                   

Marking Guide for Question Three