Projects, Infrastructure & Construction: 2025 Year in Review

“2025 has been a year of recalibration and redirection. Some of the early excitement around green hydrogen and associated infrastructure met hard economics and a number of proposals have been deferred or reshaped. But project development and delivery has not stopped. We have seen sustained investment in transport, water and social infrastructure, and strong momentum in battery energy storage systems (BESS), wind and the transmission that connects renewables, alongside a pragmatic return to gas‑fired firming. Procurement settings are also shifting: some owners are stepping back from full alliances and trialling hybrid collaborative contracts which, if not carefully designed, can load contractors with the worst of both worlds. Across the front‑end and back‑end, we are helping clients structure, negotiate and deliver major road, rail, power, utilities and precinct projects, and resolve the disputes that inevitably arise, with a focus on clear risk allocation and commercial outcomes.”

Martin Lovell – Practice Team leader

Industry insights 

As 2025 comes to a close, our Projects, Infrastructure & Construction team reflects on a year that tested assumptions and rewarded delivery. Our focus remains the same: clear risk allocation, disciplined governance and pragmatic solutions that take projects from concept to delivery. Across Australia we have advised on transport, water, social infrastructure, airports and energy assets, spanning front‑end procurement and contracting, project advisory and claims management, and back‑end dispute resolution.

Transport remained a cornerstone of national development, with complex road and rail programmes enhancing urban and regional connectivity. Airports and water utilities invested in capacity and resilience, alongside targeted upgrades to electricity transmission that support grid stability through the transition.

Procurement thinking also evolved. After several years of momentum towards alliance models for complex brownfield works, some sponsors have stepped back in favour of incentivised D&C or hybrid collaborative forms. Where hybrids are not carefully designed, they risk importing governance and behavioural expectations from alliances without providing the reliefs and flexibility that make alliances work, leaving contractors exposed to the worst of both models.

The legal environment grew increasingly complex, with heightened scrutiny on contract terms and risk allocation. Subcontractors continued to push for collaborative risk-sharing models, leveraging expanded rights under the Unfair Contract Terms regime. Disputes over design, defects and payment claims remained prevalent. We supported clients through adjudication, expert determination, arbitration and Supreme Court litigation, while resolving a number of complex claims commercially to protect delivery timetables.

Investment in battery energy storage systems (BESS), wind and grid augmentation accelerated, supporting system reliability through the energy transition and underpinning longer-dated hydrogen and electrification initiatives.

Government spending on transport, water, defence, health and renewable energy continues to provide a resilient pipeline of opportunities.

Team growth

We strengthened our national team in 2025 with the addition of highly experienced practitioners who bring exceptional depth to our infrastructure and construction practice.

Cris Cureton joined as Partner in our Sydney office in February 2025. Cris was previously a Partner at Squire Patton Boggs and brings over three decades of experience advising governments, utilities, and major contractors on LNG, mining, power, rail, and hospital projects, as well as related disputes across Australia.

David Starkoff commenced as Partner in our Sydney office in March 2025. David also joins us from Squire Patton Boggs and has more than two decades of experience in the construction, infrastructure, and energy sectors. His expertise includes handling complex legal matters such as Supreme Court litigation and international commercial arbitration.

We also welcomed Vicky Kossaris as Special Counsel in our Melbourne office in February 2025. Vicky’s appointment further enhances our capability to deliver strategic advice on major projects across multiple jurisdictions.

Our mandates this year spanned the full lifecycle of nationally significant assets, from procurement strategy and contracting on the T2D motorway, through delivery support for advanced rail systems and airport fuel infrastructure, to utilities, recycled water and energy transition projects across the country.

Significant matters

Throughout the year, we continued to support our clients on major projects, across various industries and issues, including:

Department of Infrastructure and Transport | Torrens to Darlington (T2D)

Piper Alderman continues to advise the South Australian Government on significant procurement transactions for the AU$15.4 billion Torrens to Darlington (T2D) motorway project – the State’s largest road and tunnel infrastructure initiative. The project involves the construction of more than two kilometres of twin three-lane tunnels, complex connectivity upgrades, and intricate legal considerations. We continue to support procurement and delivery with clear risk allocation and disciplined governance.

Hitachi Rail

Continuing to advise Hitachi Rail on the delivery of advanced rail technologies, including the European Train Control System (ETCS) for Queensland’s Cross River Rail network. We also provide legal support for competitive tenders and negotiations for future high-speed rail projects in Australia and internationally.

Sydney Airport | Fuel Facility Project

Acting for Sydney Airport on the expansion of its aviation fuel infrastructure, including drafting facility construction contracts and tender documentation. Our role involved advising on technical requirements and ensuring continuity of airport operations during project delivery – a critical challenge managed through strategic contract structuring.

coNEXA Infrastructure Partners

Advised coNEXA on the financing, structuring and development of recycled water infrastructure and water utility projects nationwide, including long-term supply arrangements with major utilities and commercial customers as well as investment in new infrastructure to support major development and data centre projects. This includes long-term supply arrangements for growth areas and data centre demand.

Bis Industries

Continuing to assist Bis Industries with operational and contractual matters relating to bulk commodity handling and transport solutions, our advice focused on managing environmental and safety risks, optimising contractual frameworks, and ensuring compliance with regulatory obligations for high-volume logistics operations.

Lighthouse Industries and Symphony Infrastructure Partners

Piper Alderman worked closely with the Symphony Infrastructure Partners team and their businesses around Australia on a range of new battery energy storage systems (BESS) and wind farm projects providing infrastructure to support the energy transition. Our work emphasises bankable risk allocation and interface management to support timely delivery.

Department of Energy & Mining

Piper Alderman has been lead advisor on the South Australian Government’s innovative investments in large-scale hydrogen and related utility infrastructure and upgrades to the transmission network. This includes acting on the proposed AU$13 billion Port Bonython Hydrogen Hub as well as the proposed Hydrogen Jobs Plan. We are also advising on upgrades to the transmission network that enable renewable integration.

Recognition

The Best Lawyers in Australia

In the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in Australia, the firm has been recognised 91 times, across 45 legal areas, including the following in our national Projects, Infrastructure & Construction team:

• Cris Cureton – Construction / Infrastructure Law, Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Geoff Emmett – Construction / Infrastructure Law
• Brent Henderson – Construction / Infrastructure Law
• Martin Lovell– Construction / Infrastructure Law, Project Finance and Development Practice, Commercial Law, Structured Finance Law, Asset Finance Law, Corporate Law, Debt Capital Markets Law, Energy Law, Natural Resources Law, Equipment Finance Law
• Karyn Reardon– Construction / Infrastructure Law
• Juniper Watson– Construction / Infrastructure Law
• Katie Winterbourne – Mining Law, Natural Resources Law, Planning and Environmental Law, Water Law

Doyle’s Guide

In the 2025 rankings for Doyle’s Guide, the firm and members of our Projects, Infrastructure & Construction team have been recognised as follows:

• Teodor Lomaca – Construction Law Rising Star
• Martin Lovell– Leading Energy & Resources Lawyer & Recommended Banking & Finance Lawyer, South Australia
• Andrew Robertson – Leading Construction & Infrastructure Litigation Lawyer, South Australia
• Juniper Watson – Leading Front-End Construction & Infrastructure Lawyer
• Katie Winterbourne – Recommended Planning and Environmental Lawyer, Western Australia

Chambers and Partners, Asia-Pacific

In the 2026 Asia-Pacific and Global rankings for Chambers and Partners, Martin Lovell has once again been recognised as a leading individual in Energy & Natural Resources: Utilities. Martin is well regarded for his advisory work on major infrastructure projects and is noted for handling acquisitions and joint ventures in the utilities sector, with a particular emphasis on renewables, with clients describing him as:

“Martin Lovell seeks to support us in a responsive and thoughtful manner. He always provides practical advice for complex situations.”

“Martin’s level of service is second to none. When he gives you a timeline, he hits it every time.”

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific

In the 2025 edition of The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, Piper Alderman was recognised across 15 areas of law, including Infrastructure, Projects and Construction. A number of our team members were highlighted as recommended or key lawyers for this category, including Cris Cureton, Geoff Emmett, Martin Lovell, Juniper Watson, and Katie Winterbourne.

We were also delighted to receive feedback from clients and contacts during the research process for the legal directories, including the following testimonials from The Legal 500 Asia Pacific: Australia, 2025 edition:

“Piper Alderman consistently provides accurate and timely legal support. We initially engaged Piper Alderman to assist us to prepare a range of contract templates for us. More recently, they assisted us to prepare complex contractual documents for one of our largest projects. We required a very quick turnaround on this document and Piper Alderman ensured we had the document as soon as possible. If it wasn’t for their intimate knowledge of our business and projects, the document would have taken at least double the time to prepare.”

‘Piper Alderman contains a wealth of knowledge amongst their broader team that are always willing to assist based on their expertise.”

‘Piper Alderman has an experienced team which has exceptional industry knowledge. They have a client centric approach to their advice which focuses the advice to the issue at hand. A efficient manner equating to fast closure of matters.”