Podcast Transcript - EP#7 – How to Get Your Departure Schedule Approved Faster
Some of the resistance you get during contract negotiations isn’t always a nasty thing.
A lot of the time, the builder’s staff are overwhelmed. They’re overworked, they’ve got too much on their plate, and going through a long departure schedule just feels like too much. So they take the path of least resistance.
That’s human nature.
In this episode, I want to walk you through three simple tips I use all the time to grease the wheels and make your departure schedule shorter.
This is for subcontractors… but I also know there are probably some builders watching or listening as well. And to be honest, when I was working as a builder’s CA, I know how frustrating it was having to go through departure schedules.
It’s not something most CAs are trained to do well, and they don’t have time in their programme to be negotiating terms all day.
So when a departure schedule lands in their inbox and it’s huge… the first reaction is usually:
“I don’t want to deal with that.”
Meanwhile, the subcontractor has spent hours putting it together.
So you’ve got overwhelm on both sides before the conversation even starts.
1. Ask for a better starting point
The first way to shorten your departure schedule is to start with a better contract.
About 50% of the time, when we ask builders for a better starting point, they’ll give it to us.
That might be:
A simpler version of their contract
An Australian Standard version
A “fairer” version their lawyers already have
A lot of builders are issuing heavily amended contracts packed with extra clauses. You look at it and think, “This is going to be 100 departures.”
Instead of just accepting that… go back and ask:
“Have you got something shorter we can start from?”
I had a client do exactly this last week. He went back to the builder and said, “This is massive. Are you really going to make me read all this?”
The builder came back with a much simpler version.
Same job.
Half the work.
If you don’t ask, you won’t get it.
And if you don’t ask, you might spend hours reviewing a contract you never needed to look at in the first place.
2. Don’t throw everything in “just in case”
The second mistake I see all the time is subcontractors just copying and pasting everything into the departure schedule.
It becomes a “kitchen sink” approach.
The thinking is:
“I’ll throw everything in, and I can give some of it away later.”
But that just creates a long, messy document that’s hard to engage with.
What you actually need to do is properly triage the clauses.
Don’t nitpick.
If you’re adding a whole departure just to tweak one word… and you’re not even sure how that change will help you… leave it out.
Instead, treat it like a risk assessment.
Sit down with your team and ask:
What actually matters on this job?
What are we exposed to?
What do we need to protect?
Cull anything that isn’t genuinely important.
Because if you include irrelevant or poorly thought-through departures, it undermines your credibility.
The builder will look at it and think:
“They’re just crossing things out for the sake of it.”
3. Group your departures by issue
This is a more technical strategy, but it makes a big difference.
Instead of listing every single clause separately, group your departures by issue.
For example, if you’re dealing with time-related risks:
Extensions of time
Liquidated damages
Delay costs
Practical completion
There could be five or six different clauses across the contract that deal with those issues.
Instead of writing six separate departures…
Create one grouped item that covers:
Your position on time
Your policy
The outcomes you need
Then list all the relevant clause numbers against that one issue.
What this does is:
Reduces the length of your departure schedule
Makes it easier to read
Forces you to think clearly about what matters
It also aligns with proper negotiation strategy.
The goal isn’t to pick apart every clause.
The goal is to identify the real pressure points in the contract and deal with them properly before you sign.
Final thoughts
There are plenty more strategies like this, but these three alone will make a big difference:
Ask for a better starting point
Don’t throw everything in
Group your departures by issue
A lot of subcontractors take a very rough approach to contract markups.
They cross things out, but there’s no real strategy behind it.
And sometimes that can actually break the contract or give you a false sense of security.
What you really need is a structured approach to negotiation.
It’s not just about knowing what clauses to change.
It’s about:
Understanding the human you’re negotiating with
Making it easy for them to engage
Getting what you need without blowing up the deal
If you could benefit from a community of subcontractors working through this stuff together, head over to www.subbiestoolbox.com.au and check out The Subbies Toolbox Membership.
It’s not just templates and resources. The real value is in the community — sharing what’s actually working on real jobs.
Until next week…
Stay safe and get paid.
