Independent client-side project management for club refurbishments, extensions and redevelopments in New South Wales and Queensland. We work for the board and the operator, never for the builder, and the venue keeps trading while the works go on.
Your interests. Our discipline. Every stage.
A major capital project is the largest financial decision most club boards make. The architect wants the design built, the builder wants the contract let, the consultants want the fees. None of them is wrong, and none of them works for the club. Directors are expected to approve and monitor major capital expenditure, and industry best practice guidance for major capital works points the same way: independent, documented oversight that the board can rely on.
That is the role. Hunter FPM is engaged by the club, sets the brief and the budget with the board, runs the procurement from the club's side, administers the building contract as superintendent, and reports to the board every month in language directors can act on. The construction programme is set against the trading calendar before the contract is signed, so gaming yield, functions and members' amenity are protected by contract, not by goodwill.
Robert Hunter has delivered club and hospitality capital works for two decades, including the $100M Sydney Coliseum Theatre inside a trading entertainment precinct. He leads every engagement personally.
Each stage is scoped and priced on its own. Most clubs start at stage one; some come to us with a contract already let and start at stage three.
The cheapest time to fix a project is before anyone is appointed. We test the concept against what it will really cost, how long it will really take, and what it will do to trading.
Concept review, scope definition, order-of-cost budget with contingency, risk register, staging options.
The calendar the club cannot lose (Anzac Day, Christmas, major functions, gaming peaks) built into the programme from day one.
Architect and consultant briefs, selection and fee negotiation, authority approvals pathway, governance for the board.
Tender documents that say what the club means, an evaluation the board can defend, and a contract whose mechanics protect the owner before a single claim arrives.
Tender package, contractor shortlisting, tender evaluation and recommendation report to the board.
Contract form and special conditions reviewed for the club: variations, extensions of time, liquidated damages, security, practical completion and defects definitions.
Pre-award negotiation, insurances checked, the executed contract read and diarised before work starts.
Independent contract administration through construction: every claim assessed, every variation directed before it is built, every delay measured. How we administer the contract.
Progress claims assessed and payment schedules issued inside the Security of Payment clocks; cost report updated every cycle.
Site attendance, project control group chaired, staging and shutdowns policed against the contract, members and staff kept informed.
Monthly superintendent's report: programme, cost, claims, variations, extensions of time, risks and decisions required.
The builder leaves; the club runs the building for thirty years. Handover is where most projects quietly lose their value, so it is where we are most particular.
Inspection, defects schedule, certification, operation and maintenance documentation received before the final payment, not after.
Defects directed and closed, warranties and commissioning records captured, final certificate issued on evidence.
New works commissioned straight into a register the club owns, built on Standara. Optional asset baseline before demolition.
Values are project values. Each was delivered while the venue continued to trade. Photographs and detail on the projects section of the home page; named references on request.
Their ability to guide a complex vision through design, approvals and delivery was exceptional. They acted as a trusted partner throughout, protecting our interests while elevating the outcome.
We have worked with Robert Hunter and Hunter FPM since 2018 and have found them to be knowledgeable, professional and to work collaboratively with all stakeholders to ensure our projects have been delivered in accordance with the budget, programme and quality expectations.
Before the brief is fixed and before consultants are appointed. The decisions that set the budget, the programme and the trading impact are made in the first weeks, usually before a builder is anywhere near the project. Independent oversight is cheapest and most useful at that point. It still adds value later, but the earlier the better.
No. The architect designs, the builder builds and manages their own works. The client-side project manager works for the club: sets the brief and budget, runs the procurement, administers the contract as superintendent, and reports to the board. Nobody else on the project has that job.
The construction programme is set against the trading calendar before the contract is signed, not negotiated afterwards. Staging, noisy works windows, hoarding, services shutdowns and gaming floor access are written into the contract and policed on site. Our delivered projects include a 2,000-seat theatre built inside an entertainment precinct that kept trading, and new amenities built beside an active gaming floor.
A superintendent's report written for directors: progress against programme, cost against budget with variations approved, pending and anticipated, claims certified, extensions of time, risks, and the decisions the board needs to make. Plus the project control group minutes and the live registers behind them.
Quoted on enquiry after a scoping call. Pre-contract advisory is a fixed fee by stage. Construction-phase oversight is a fixed monthly retainer for the contracted construction period, so the club knows the cost before it commits. Handover and the defects liability period are priced separately.
Yes. An asset baseline before works captures the condition, remaining life and compliance status of what exists, into a register the club keeps. It is the club's evidence at every handover argument, and it becomes the maintenance register for the finished venue. Built on Standara.
A 30-minute call with Robert Hunter. We tell you whether the project warrants independent representation, what it would involve, and which stages fit. No obligation. Robert replies within one business day.