Investors and financiers to Australian PPPs are becoming increasingly concerned about inadequacies in traditional dispute resolution mechanisms within the key PPP contracts, and their potential to expose the SPV to unfunded gap risk arising from the determination of linked claims.

Agenda:

– Consider the weaknesses in the linked-claim and dispute resolution processes currently used on Australian PPPs;
– Discuss how these weaknesses expose equity investors and debt financiers to the risk of unfunded liabilities;
– Discuss how PPP dispute resolution processes can be improved, including through: the use of appropriately structured dispute avoidance boards and
the consolidation of parallel arbitrations; adopting litigation, rather than arbitration, as the final dispute resolution process
– Consider the role that government and others can play to close the gap.

Speakers:

– Tania White, Principal Lawyer, Cross The T Legal (Moderator)
– Ron Finlay AM, Founding Principal, Finlay Consulting
– Owen Hayford, Founding Principal, Infralegal
– Dominic Mueller, Senior Legal Counsel, John Holland Pty Ltd / West Gate Tunnel Project
– An Nguyen, Head of Partnerships Victoria, Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance
– Diana Shmulburd, Freelance infrastructure consultant