NEC to present at Sydney Water’s Supply Chain and Recruitment Expo during trade visit

NEC to present at Sydney Water’s Supply Chain and Recruitment Expo during trade visit

With the increasing interest in collaborative contracting in Australia, we are delighted to announce that NEC will support Sydney Water’s inaugural Supply Chain and Recruitment Expo which will take place in Sydney on 15 November 2022.  

The event brings together representatives from across the sector to share best practice and build relationships between industry leaders. With a morning conference, including presentations and a panel discussion, and breakout sessions on infrastructure delivery the event promises to be a great occasion to meet fellow professionals and hear about opportunities and challenges within the industry.

NEC will be hosting a breakout session on collaborative contracting frameworks, which will be delivered by Robert Gerrard, Senior NEC Consultant & Secretary of the NEC Users’ Group and Karl Phillips, Senior Procurement & Control Manager, Sydney Water. This is a fantastic opportunity to hear more about the contract suite and how the use of NEC can enhance project outcomes.  

NEC’s trade visit team will consist of Rekha Thawrani, OBE, Global Head of NEC, Robert Gerrard, Senior NEC Consultant and Dr David Hancock, Director of Construction at the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA), UK Cabinet Office. The visit also provides an opportunity for the team to conduct strategic meetings with infrastructure leaders.  

NEC and Sydney Water  

In 2019, Sydney Water’s decided to adopt NEC for its procurement program, ‘Partnering for Success’, to deliver up to AU$ 4 billion (£2.2 billion) of construction works and services between 2020 and 2030. They selected NEC4 contracts because of its collaborative approach.  

In a recent podcast delivered for NEC, Mark Simister, Head of Program Delivery at Sydney Water saidsaid, “There is a demand on the current infrastructure… and these have got to grow to cope with the growing population… we need to find different ways of operating and working and that’s why we moved to a new approach to collaborative contracting.” All the podcast episodes are available for listening on our desktop community platform: https://community.neccontract.com/signup, or through our NEC Community App which is free to download onto mobile devices at the Apple and Google stores.   

Supporting adoption of NEC 

To support companies and organisations understand how NEC can support projects and deliver better outcomes, we have created the NEC Toolkit. Download the NEC Toolkit here. 

Individuals, corporate, and affiliate organisations in Australia are encouraged to join the NEC Users’ Group designed to support NEC users worldwide. By becoming a member, you can access a host of benefits, including exclusive technical support. Additionally, the NEC Community App provides an online space which brings NEC users, communities and content together in a private interactive platform 

For those in Australia who want to find out more about the benefits of collaborative contracting, understand how the NEC contract works and the support that is available to start your NEC journey, please email your enquiries to Jacki Heppard, Client Development (Australia): Jacki.Heppard@neccontract.com.

Recent Projects

Recent news

NEC programmes: a practical guide for project managers

NEC programmes: a practical guide for project managers

What sets the NEC apart from other contract forms is its unique approach to programming: the programme is a formal contractual document – often regarded as the most important in the contract.

Read more
Upcoming NEC UK Training 2026

Upcoming NEC UK Training 2026

From new starters to experienced professionals, our 2026 training equips you to navigate NEC contracts with clarity, manage risks effectively, and deliver projects collaboratively.

Read more
NEC Asia Pacific Conference: Strengthening Collaboration Across Borders

NEC Asia Pacific Conference: Strengthening Collaboration Across Borders

Over 250 delegates attended the NEC APAC Conference in Hong Kong, driving collaboration, innovation and resilience in infrastructure.

Read more
View all news