Verbal Variations on Site: How to Confirm Them in Writing So You Get Paid (NZ)

sp8002
May 31
4 min read

The single best protection against an unpaid variation is to confirm every verbal instruction in writing, at the time, before you start the work. The cost of doing it is one message. The cost of not doing it is the whole claim.

By Steve Parker · Trueworks · NZ construction contract review · 5 min

What you'll learn

Why verbal variations sink otherwise-good claims
A confirmation message you can send in thirty seconds
What to do when a variation is already verbal-only

Quick answer: The single best protection against an unpaid variation is to confirm every verbal instruction in writing, at the time, before you start the work. A short message — "confirming you have asked us to do [scope]; we treat this as a variation and will price and claim it" — turns a "he said, she said" into a contemporaneous record an adjudicator can rely on. Verbal variations are not unenforceable, but they are far harder to prove, and the cost of confirming one is a single text.

The most common reason a subcontractor loses a variation is not that the work was not done, or even that it was not requested. It is that there is no written record the request ever happened. On site, variations are handed out verbally, mid-task, between other things — and that is exactly where claims are lost months later.

Why verbal variations sink claims

When a variation is disputed, the question is never "did the work happen" — it is "was it authorised, and as a variation." A verbal instruction leaves you arguing memory against memory. Adjudicators and courts decide on evidence, and a contemporaneous written record beats a recollection every time. The head contractor knows this, which is why the pressure to "just get on with it, we'll sort it later" is so common.

The confirmation habit

The fix is a habit, not a form: the moment you are asked to do something outside your subcontract, confirm it in writing before you start. At the time — not at the end of the week, and not when you claim. The confirmation does three things: it records the instruction, it flags that you are treating it as a variation, and it puts the head contractor on notice that it will be charged.

A template you can send in thirty seconds

Hi [name], confirming you have asked us to [describe the extra work] on [job / area]. This is outside our subcontract scope, so we are treating it as a variation and will price and claim it. We will proceed on that basis unless you tell us otherwise. — [name], [date]

Send it by text or email. Keep the reply. That single message is often the difference between a paid variation and a lost one.

What to keep alongside it

A site diary entry with the date, who asked, and what was done.
Dated photos of the extra work in progress.
Your scope comparison — the subcontract scope versus what you were asked to do.

Send Trueworks your subcontract and the disputed item. You receive a written, code-cited assessment of your entitlement under the Construction Contracts Act — the clean paperwork an adjudicator rewards. NDA available; files NZ-hosted. → Email steve@trueworks.co.nz
or start at trueworks.co.nz

Variation gone unpaid, or a back-charge you dispute?

If the variation is already verbal-only

A variation you have already done on a verbal instruction is not automatically lost — it is harder. Assemble whatever contemporaneous record exists: texts, emails, diary entries, photos, other people who were present, and the scope comparison that shows the work was extra. Then put it in a compliant payment claim. Our guides to writing a compliant payment claim and unpaid variations

take it from there.

FAQ — Verbal variations for NZ subcontractors

Is a verbal variation enforceable in NZ? It can be, but it is far harder to prove. Work genuinely requested usually has to be paid for, but without a written record you are arguing memory against memory.

What should my confirmation message say? That the head contractor asked you to do specific extra work, that it is outside your subcontract scope, and that you are treating it as a variation you will price and claim.

When should I send it? At the time the instruction is given, before you start the work — not at the end of the job.

What if I have already done verbal-only variations? Assemble every contemporaneous record — texts, diary, photos, witnesses, scope comparison — and include the variation in a compliant payment claim.

Does a site-diary entry count as evidence? Yes. A dated, contemporaneous diary entry is useful evidence, especially alongside texts, emails, and photos.

How Trueworks helps

Trueworks helps you turn a verbal instruction into a defensible claim — confirming the scope comparison that shows the work was extra, and checking that your record and your payment claim will stand up if the variation is disputed. You get it in writing, with the references.

About Trueworks

Trueworks is built by Steve Parker — 20 years on the analytical side of NZ construction: variation reviews, contract advisory, and AI-augmented document analysis. It is the same defensible, code-cited read a quantity surveyor would give a variation, made available to the homeowners and trades on the receiving end of one. I answer every email personally during pilot phase.

steve@trueworks.co.nz · trueworks.co.nz