Handshake deals cost tradies more than any bad customer.
A written contract is the single biggest lever between getting paid and chasing invoices. Here's what yours needs to cover — and how we get it drafted without slowing down the job.
Fixed fee. Senior lawyer.
Every engagement is quoted upfront and led by a senior lawyer — never a paralegal-first pipeline.
- hello@envisionlegal.com.au
- Sydney · Melbourne · National
How we help
What we handle for you.
Concrete deliverables — not a general "advice" retainer. Each item can be scoped as a one-off fixed-fee package or bundled into a monthly counsel arrangement.
01
Short-form trade contract
A 2–4 page written agreement calibrated to your trade — covers scope, price, variations, progress payments, retentions and termination without scaring off the client.
02
Quote-to-contract terms
Terms and conditions attached to your quote so acceptance of the quote = acceptance of your paperwork. No separate signing required.
03
Variation & change-order forms
One-page templates you can text or email on-site — creates the written trail SOP adjudicators and courts expect.
04
Deposit & progress payment clauses
Enforceable payment schedules aligned to Security of Payment Acts so you're not funding the job out of your own working capital.
05
Home Building Act compliance
For NSW residential work over $5,000 (or $20,000 with more onerous requirements), we make your contract meet the mandatory HBA form so you can actually enforce it.
06
Debt recovery when it goes wrong
Where a handshake job has already turned bad, we run reconstruction of the terms, letter of demand and SOP claim — and refer to recovery partners for enforcement.
Who this is for
Clients we work best with.
- Trades doing $50k+ jobs on quotes and text messages
- Builders wanting a short, sign-on-site trade contract
- Subcontractors tired of verbal variations that don't get paid
- Tradies already in dispute over an unwritten job
How we work
No surprises. Ever.
Fixed fees quoted upfront. Senior lawyer on every file. Clear next steps at every stage.
01 — Brief
Send a short brief or book a 15-minute call. We'll confirm scope and what you actually need — often that's less than you think.
02 — Fixed-fee quote
You get a written scope and a fixed fee before we start. No hourly billing, no scope-creep invoices.
03 — Senior lawyer, on the tools
The lawyer you scoped with is the lawyer doing the work. We turn drafts around fast and stay reachable throughout.
FAQs
Common questions.
- Is a verbal contract legally binding in Australia?
- Usually yes — but binding and enforceable are different things. Without a written record of scope, price, variations and payment terms, you're relying on the client's memory and goodwill in court. The evidentiary cost of proving an oral contract almost always exceeds the fee for having a written one drafted.
- Won't asking for a signed contract lose me the job?
- The opposite, in our experience. Serious clients expect paperwork; the ones who push back on a two-page contract are exactly the ones who dispute the invoice later. We draft trade contracts short enough to sign on the tools, not shelf-length legal documents.
- What's the minimum a trade contract has to cover?
- Parties, scope of work, price and payment schedule, variation process, defects liability period, termination rights, and insurance / licence details. In NSW residential work, the Home Building Act adds mandatory checklist items — miss those and you can't recover under the contract at all.
- Can I just use a template off the internet?
- For a one-off, low-risk fence job — maybe. For anything with progress payments, retentions, or subcontractors below you, generic templates almost always miss the SOP Act triggers, variation notice requirements and Home Building Act warranties. That's what turns a $40k dispute into a $4k fix versus a $40k write-off.
- I've already done the work on a handshake. Am I stuffed?
- Not necessarily. Text messages, emails, quotes, invoices, site diaries and even bank transfers can reconstruct the contract terms. We work backwards from that evidence to run a Security of Payment claim or letter of demand — but it's significantly harder than if you'd had it in writing.
Talk to us
Legal built for handshake deals cost tradies more than any bad customer..
Send us a note about what you're working on. We'll respond within one business day and, if we're a fit, book a free 15-minute consultation with a senior lawyer.