Advocating for fair contract terms and conditions has been part of ACE New Zealand’s DNA since our organisation was founded in 1959. But what does that advocacy actually look like in practice?
ACE Chief Executive Helen Davidson shares how ACE is influencing procurement policy, engaging directly with major clients and government agencies, maintaining industry-standard contract templates, and equipping members with practical resources to navigate contractual risk. It’s a timely reminder that while much of this work happens behind the scenes, ACE continues to actively advocate for fairer and more sustainable contracting practices on behalf of members every day.
How ACE is advocating for better procurement, fairer contracts and stronger consulting businesses across New Zealand
If you’ve been around ACE for a while, you’ll know that advocating for fair contract terms and conditions isn’t new territory for us. In fact, it’s one of the reasons ACE exists.
Long before ACE became the broad industry leadership organisation it is today, we were established to represent consulting engineers and advocate for fair engagement practices. More than ever, that’s still work our members expect us to do. Member engagement consistently shows that advocacy on contract terms remains one of the highest priorities for ACE members.
Members want us at the table influencing procurement settings, challenging poor contracting behaviours, and helping create a market where risk is allocated fairly and consulting practices of all sizes can thrive. The good news is that this work remains front and centre for us.
Advocacy starts long before a contract is issued
When people think about contract advocacy, they often think about responding to problematic clauses in contracts. That certainly forms part of our work, but in reality our most important advocacy often happens much earlier.
ACE spends a significant amount of time influencing the organisations and decision-makers who shape procurement and contracting practices across New Zealand. We maintain ongoing relationships with agencies including NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA), Kāinga Ora, Ministry of Education, Health New Zealand, Auckland Transport, Auckland Council, Local Government New Zealand, Crown Infrastructure Delivery and New Zealand Government Procurement.
Those relationships matter.
When concerns arise, we are far more effective when we are seen as a trusted, constructive partner with practical solutions to offer. Our advocacy focuses on helping clients understand the connection between fair contracts, better consultant performance, stronger market participation, improved productivity and, ultimately, better outcomes for infrastructure projects and communities.
This approach has delivered real results. Last year, ACE worked closely with NZTA on concerns relating to special conditions attached to consultant contracts. Through that engagement, changes were made to special conditions that had created significant challenges for members. Importantly, those improvements were later adopted by KiwiRail, extending the benefits across the wider sector.
Working where the decisions are made
Advocating for fair contract terms also means showing up in the places where policy, procurement and regulatory settings are developed.
Over the past year, ACE has actively engaged on a number of significant issues affecting consulting firms, including proposed reforms to New Zealand’s proportionate liability regime, the review of the Government Procurement Rules, and the Infrastructure Commission’s proposed framework for Public Private Partnerships. These are all areas with the potential to influence risk allocation, commercial outcomes and the way consulting services are procured in New Zealand.
We have worked directly with officials, decision-makers and key stakeholders to ensure the consulting sector’s perspective is heard and understood.
A further example is ACE’s representation on the New Zealand Government Procurement Business Advisory Group. I was appointed to the group last year, providing ACE with a direct opportunity to contribute to discussions about procurement policy and practice across government. Having the consulting sector represented in these conversations is important, and it helps ensure our members’ experiences and perspectives are reflected in future procurement settings.
Leading through industry-standard agreements
Advocacy is also about providing practical leadership.
ACE co-owns and maintains many of the industry’s most widely used standard-form agreements, including the Conditions of Contract for Consultancy Services (CCCS), the Short Form Agreement (SFA), the Subconsultant Agreement and a range of related contract resources. These agreements continue to be widely used throughout the sector and also underpin several government contract templates.
ACE has also recently collaborated with NZTA to prepare a secondment agreement for graduate secondments, which is now being used in the New-Grad Project across ACE member firms, NZTA and KiwiRail. We are also working towards publishing an industry-standard agreement for general commercial secondments, with the intention of making that available to members later this year.
The level of engagement with these resources demonstrates just how relevant this work remains. In 2025 alone, members accessed the SFA more than 4,400 times and the CCCS more than 3,500 times through the ACE website. These aren’t just documents sitting on a shelf. They’re being used every day by firms across New Zealand to support fair, workable and commercially sustainable project arrangements.
Backed by strong legal and industry expertise
One of ACE’s strengths is that our advocacy is informed by both legal expertise and practical industry experience.
We are fortunate to have strong legal capability within the ACE team, supported by our Legal Roundtable – a group of in-house legal professionals from member firms who help identify emerging issues, share sector insights and keep us connected to what’s happening across the market. This means we’re often aware of emerging trends and challenges before they become widespread problems, allowing us to respond quickly and credibly when issues arise. It’s a model that helps ensure our advocacy is grounded in the realities that members are facing every day.
This work is also grounded in our broader thought leadership around better client-consultant engagement. Our Engagement principles for consultants and clients, alongside our work on Unlocking the value of consulting, demonstrate ACE’s evidence-based approach to improving behaviours, procurement settings, risk allocation, governance, communication and decision-making across the project lifecycle. They help ensure our contract advocacy is not just reactive, but connected to a wider programme of work focused on improving how consultants and clients work together to deliver better outcomes.
Supporting members to advocate for themselves
Not every advocacy win happens in Wellington or through conversations with major client organisations. Part of our role is ensuring members have practical tools, resources and guidance to support them in their own negotiations and commercial discussions.
Our Contract Checklist is a good example. Released in 2024, it helps members identify common areas of contractual risk and has quickly become one of our most valued practical resources. The checklist was viewed almost 700 times in its first year and a further 250 times in 2025. We have complemented this with webinars, guidance notes, contract resources and member presentations that help firms understand and respond to contractual risk with confidence.
Practice alerts are another important way we provide timely, practical guidance to members. Over the last three years, ACE has issued 13 practice alerts to keep members up to date on current sector issues and to highlight emerging trends or behaviours that raise concerns. These alerts allow us to respond quickly when we see patterns developing in the market, helping members understand the issue, consider the potential implications for their businesses, and take informed steps in response.
This empowerment work is an important complement to our advocacy efforts. While ACE works to influence the system, we also want members to have the tools they need to be their own advocates, and to make informed decisions in their day-to-day business.
Make use of the resources available to you
One of the most effective ways to strengthen our collective voice is to make use of the resources ACE has developed on behalf of members.
Whether you’re reviewing a consultancy agreement, negotiating special conditions, assessing risk allocation, considering insurance implications, or looking for practical guidance on emerging issues, I encourage you and your teams to explore ACE’s contract resources. The high level of engagement with these resources demonstrates their ongoing value. They are developed by the profession, for the profession, and are designed to support better contracting outcomes across the sector.
You can access ACE’s contract resources, templates, webinars and guidance notes through the Contract Resources and Knowledge Hub sections of the ACE website.
Let us know what’s happening in the market
Some of our most effective advocacy starts with a conversation from a member. If you encounter contract terms that concern you, see emerging patterns in procurement or contracting behaviour, or have questions about whether a particular approach represents good industry practice, I encourage you to get in touch with us.
We may not be able to provide legal advice, but we can help identify whether an issue is isolated or more widespread, connect it with broader themes we’re seeing across the sector, and consider whether there is an advocacy opportunity for ACE. In many cases, concerns raised by members help inform our discussions with clients, government agencies, policymakers and industry stakeholders.
Our contract portal, Legal Roundtable, advocacy programme and industry relationships all rely on insights from members who take the time to share what they’re seeing in the market. The stronger that feedback loop is, the more effective we can be on your behalf.
So, if something doesn’t look right, or if you’re seeing behaviours that are making it harder to deliver good outcomes for clients and communities, please let us know. We’re here to help and we’re always interested in understanding where we can have the greatest impact for members.
The work continues
Contract advocacy remains what I often describe as ACE’s “bread and butter” work. While some of our successes happen quietly behind the scenes, this is an area where we remain highly active. Whether we’re influencing procurement settings, contributing to government policy reviews, maintaining industry-standard agreements, responding to emerging contract issues or equipping members with practical resources, our goal is always the same: to create a healthier, more sustainable environment for consulting firms to operate in.
Fair contract terms don’t happen by accident. They require trusted relationships, practical leadership, evidence-based advocacy and persistence. ACE is committed to continuing that work every day on behalf of our members – advocating where it matters, influencing the conversations that shape our market, and providing the tools and resources members need to negotiate with confidence.
The strength of our profession depends on it, and so does the quality of the advice and services we collectively deliver to New Zealand.