1 May 2026
North Sydney Council is heading to the NSW Supreme Court in legal proceedings against Brewster Hjorth Architects and builder Icon as tensions persist over the redevelopment of the North Sydney Olympic Pool, currently twice its original budget and four years late.
Both sets of proceedings are listed for directions on 22 May 2026.
Council’s latest update confirmed that all construction works at the facility are complete, with testing and commissioning finalised and an occupation certificate issued. The contractor is now focused on completing operations and maintenance manuals and rectifying defects ahead of contractual practical completion and formal handover. Icon has indicated that outstanding items required to achieve practical completion will be finalised by mid-May 2026.
The Council did not specify exactly why it is suing the architect and the builder but did emphasise that the existing contract, already revised, called for practical completion on 19 July 2024. It said liquidated damages have been certified through to the end of December 2025.
Project complexity remains evident in the number of outstanding defects and quality matters. A total of 917 items remain open, including 139 actively being addressed, 368 ready for inspection and 410 in dispute.
Despite construction being complete, a substantial volume of contractual matters remains unresolved. Council reported $11.37m in variation claims that are either under assessment, forecast to be submitted, or assessed but not agreed. Of these, 108 variations have been assessed but not agreed, with a submitted value of $6.14m and an assessed value of $1.88m. A further $4.8m in variations is under assessment and $431,000 is forecast to be submitted.
Council noted that the submitted value represents the amount claimed by the contractor and not the amount that will necessarily be agreed or paid.
The revised construction contract sum as at 31 March 2026 is $93.6m. Total project costs remain within the forecast $122m budget presented in February 2024, although council cautioned that the volume of unresolved variations will place pressure on that allocation.
Design and construction issues that had prevented commissioning of the seawater intake pumps have been resolved, with testing confirming the system operates within the facility’s acoustic limits. The principal certifying authority subsequently issued an occupation certificate.
The contractor, Icon, alongside the superintendent and council’s project team, is finalising outstanding documentation and coordinating defect rectification required ahead of the certificate of practical completion, which will mark formal contractual handover of the facility to council.
Council has commenced preliminary handover of selected areas, allowing installation of furniture and fittings, with fit-out works across the gym, program rooms and staff office spaces complete.
The pool’s grandstand was temporarily opened this week for an event hosted by Michael Klim’s foundation, providing a limited early use of the facility ahead of full reopening.
However, council has not yet advertised an official opening date and it is still unclear how the legal proceedings may affect the timeline.
North Sydney Council is also continuing to keep detailed financial and contractual information confidential, with a further report to be presented to councillors at a meeting later in May.