Engineering Businesses for sale in Australia

List every discipline, service and jurisdiction in which the firm operates. Check required state or territory registrations for civil, structural, electrical, fire-safety and mechanical work, and confirm enough registered professionals will remain after the seller departs.

Review scope, standard of care, fitness-for-purpose obligations, liability caps, indemnities, warranties, intellectual property, variations and assignment. Identify uncapped or uninsured exposures and projects where responsibility extends well beyond delivery or final payment.

Check policy limits, deductibles, exclusions, retroactive dates, territorial cover, notifications and claims history. Because professional-indemnity cover is commonly claims-made, confirm continuous cover and any run-off arrangement for designs completed before the acquisition.

Inventory calculations, drawings, models, specifications, reports, design software, templates and project correspondence. Confirm ownership, client licences, employee and contractor assignments, software transfer rights, document retention and access to files needed for future claims or modifications.

Review certifications, external audits, non-conformances, corrective actions, design reviews, calibration, complaints and safety-in-design records. Test recent projects from proposal to approval, because certificates alone do not prove that staff consistently follow the documented controls.

Analyse utilisation, charge-out rates, backlog, project margins, unbilled work, write-offs and receivable collection. Adjust for seller-delivered projects, unpaid overtime, under-scoped fixed fees and key clients or technical approvals dependent on departing principals.