A consulting firm working on a $260 million ACT road project says it has been a victim of a double standard because the ACT government will not pursue a settlement after an engineer's car was crushed in a dangerous front-end loader incident.
Black Mountain Construction Assurance said it was frustrated the government had not pursued Wodens for outstanding costs even though that firm was awarded its own fast and significant settlement to end a dispute over work on a different project.
But Wodens said the matter had been handled through normal claims processes and did not give rise to a double standard.
An engineer working for Black Mountain Construction Assurance had his car destroyed on the Monaro Highway upgrade site in June 2025, when one of the head contractor's staffers drove a front-end loader with its bucket raised into the back of the parked Skoda station wagon.
Woden Contractors Pty Ltd holds the now $85.6 million contract for the current stage of the Monaro Highway upgrade, which includes building an interchange at the road's intersection with Lanyon Drive.
Black Mountain Construction Assurance had been subcontracted to a head consultant on the project.
After spending the morning documenting safety hazards on the project site, an engineer working for Black Mountain parked his own car to inspect a backfill operation, documents provided to The Canberra Times show.
Between five and 10 minutes later, one of Wodens' workers drove a front-end loader with a full raised bucket of material into the back of the Black Mountain engineer's car, in what Black Mountain said was a clear breach of standard safety protocols for the loader.
The incident has led to a protracted dispute over insurance for the incident, with Black Mountain making a claim against the ACT government because, the firm said, Woden Contractors' insurer's proposed settlement would have left them and its engineer out of pocket for the damage.
Wodens managing director Ben Helmers said: "The incident was referred to and managed by the respective insurers on behalf of the parties. The insurance claims arising from the incident were assessed and resolved through that process."
Mr Helmers said Wodens did not consider the matter gave rise to a double standard.
"The Monaro Highway incident was handled through the normal insurance claims process and resolved accordingly," Mr Helmers said.
An ACT government spokeswoman said matters relating to property damage, liability and compensation were managed between the relevant parties and their insurers in accordance with contractual and insurance arrangements.
"[Infrastructure Canberra, known as iCBR,] is not involved in commercial discussions between contractors and their subcontractors or on their insurance matters," the spokeswoman said.
The spokeswoman said: "Generally, the principal contractor is responsible for insurance matters within the project footprint."
Black Mountain Construction Assurance made a claim to the ACT government for what it said was the outstanding costs arising from the front-loader collision, arguing it should be up to the government to claim the money back under a contract provision with Wodens.
"Despite having the primary duty of care on the site, 14 months after the incident, Infrastructure Canberra have failed to compensate BMCA," the firms' directors, David Stewart and David Parums, said.
"This is in stark contrast to the territory's resolution of a $3 million Wodens claim on Gundaroo Drive, paid promptly and in secret last year as reported by The Canberra Times. All BMCA seek is a level playing field."
Senior officials in the ACT government signed off on a $3 million settlement for Wodens on a separate road project despite an adjudicator rejecting a $7.5 million claim and finding the firm was due less than $830,000, The Canberra Times revealed in February.
Infrastructure Canberra officials signed a secret settlement deed in January 2025, setting out a $3 million payment over claims relating to a $22.8 million contract for work on the Gundaroo Drive duplication signed in 2022.
Documents seen by The Canberra Times show Infrastructure Canberra's workplace health and safety team launched an investigation on the Monaro Highway site after the agency became aware of the incident on June 13, 2025.
"Through these enquiries, iCBR confirmed that appropriate investigations were undertaken by the principal contractor for the site," an ACT government spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said Infrastructure Canberra required its contractors to demonstrate a strong performance record on safety and have robust safety management systems in place when they seek government work.
"Safety performance during contract delivery is actively monitored by iCBR and forms part of ongoing assessments of contractor performance," the spokeswoman said.
"Further, iCBR reviews and responds to any reported safety concerns on its construction sites. Where issues are identified, they are addressed through established contract management, site supervision and compliance processes."
