Compliance as a competitive advantage

By

Adrian Brown

and Shauna Hurley

Last Updated May 21, 2026

By

Adrian Brown

and Shauna Hurley

Adrian Brown moved from the corporate world into boots-on-the-ground construction 15 years ago, and hasn’t looked back since.

"I started out with a degree in structural engineering and a project management job in a global engineering firm," Adrian says. "But building was always in my blood."

"Turns out it took me about 15 years to realise I could turn that passion for building construction into my day job. I had one of those aha moments at 35, when a mate said, 'I've got a project. You want to build it?' I went, 'sure, yeah'. And that literally was the start of Jointly."

"Of the three now owners of the business, one started off as a young carpenter who worked his way up off the tools. The other two of us probably wished we'd done that, but we went down an engineering path early. We've come back at it and swung around, becoming the builders we'd wanted to be all along."

That mix shaped how Jointly was set up from the start, combining hands-on building experience with a project management mindset, and a focus on systems, data and tools that could support both.

"Since 2018, we've gone as wide as we are high with our work," Adrian says, "and that's been possible thanks to our people, processes, platforms and honestly, a bit of good luck in the mix as well."

Today, Jointly has a team of over 100 across their Melbourne, Mildura and Shepparton offices,  delivering complex projects for public and private sector clients.

Along the way, compliance hasn’t been just another administrative burden to manage. It unexpectedly became a point of difference — a way to demonstrate capability, win work and operate with confidence as conditions shifted.

The Jointly team grew quickly from three mates to 100 builders across three offices.

The refurbishment of the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership is one of many government projects Jointly delivers around regional Australia. See behind the scenes on Instagram.

When private work disappeared, teams and systems held

Jointly entered 2020 with a strong pipeline of private sector work. That changed almost overnight.

Obviously, no one knew COVID was coming so it was really a fluke that we'd begun to do a few government projects at the right time. We weren't geared up for major government work back then, but we did have a small portfolio of government office fitouts.

Little did we know that was going to be our saviour, because like most commercial builders our private work completely dried up.

Our main clients were in hospitality, medical and physio practices — a lot of private entrepreneurs having a crack. It went from 'we're good' one day to 'it’s all dead and gone' the next.

We had to really pivot to turn ourselves into a real government contractor, and that's a totally different look and feel, it's a different bureaucracy work-wise. Compliance is front and centre.

Adrian Brown

Founding Director

Jointly

The shift brought stricter requirements around compliance, documentation and reporting.

“Jointly went from probably being 90% private and 10% government work, to 100% government and no private," Adrian says. "We were able to turn it on very quickly, and were almost surprised at how straightforward it ended up being to meet all these compliance requirements.”

“We were able to use the sophistication of Procore and other safety platforms that we had embedded in the business since day one. Literally, we'd been using them forever. We didn’t have to suddenly say, 'Quick, we need a system what’ll we use -- and where do all our drawings and data live?’” 

“Our systems were already in place and we could demonstrate compliance across all of these areas. We locked in and grew from there, with visibility across projects, control over documentation and a clear view of compliance and risk. That continues to prove invaluable.”

Jointly’s government work includes offices, childcare centres, law courts and educational facilities like the Watsonia Primary School in Melbourne. See inside the project on Instagram.

The Jointly team completed extension and refurbishment works on this government project at the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court. See more of the project on Instagram.

Visibility across projects, risk and financials when it mattered most

Staying compliant was one thing. Staying solvent was another.

One of the many challenges for builders during that time was making sure that you never got caught holding a price for a product. Bid on it today, wait for the client to get back to you for a few months. Make a start. Find out that your materials had gone up by 40% and then go backwards.

Around 1,500 businesses ended up going to the wall post-pandemic, and that wasn’t because they were bad builders.

They were good people who just got caught by that change in the tide. Some were bigger players and managing the moving parts was harder for them.

We were fortunate in that at our size and with our systems, we could keep a finger on every one of our projects, know exactly where each one was at, and where the financials were tricky every week.

Adrian Brown

Founding Director

Jointly

“Pre-COVID, we’d also invested in Matterport 3D site scanning as a QA tool, capturing a complete record of each job. We’d originally bought it as a QA tool, but during COVID it became something more. Clients just loved it, because with lockdowns they couldn’t get to site.” 

“We did a project in Mildura and the client was Melbourne-based. They could just log in and do a site walk-through. It was this real point of difference we offered, and still is.”

Because it sat alongside drawings and project data, it wasn’t just captured, it was usable and shareable. What started as QA became a way to keep clients connected and maintain visibility when access wasn’t possible. Post-COVID, it’s remained a standard part of how the team works, and an offering clients continue to value.

Next, we look at the infrastructure that sits behind Jointly's success — how systems are embedded early, and how the whole team works from the same platform, with the same information, on every project.

Written by

Adrian Brown

Founding Director | Jointly

Adrian Brown is a founding director of Jointly, a leading commercial builder based in Melbourne. A degree qualified Civil Engineer, Adrian has delivered projects in all corners of Australia and the UK. He combines a passion for building with an interest in the way evolving tech tools can support his team and growing business.

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Shauna Hurley

13 articles

Shauna is never short of questions when it comes to construction, tech and science. A professional writer, researcher and podcast producer, she loves sitting down with industry insiders for in-depth interviews that uncover the latest developments, debates and emerging trends. Having worked with organisations like Microsoft and the European Bank of Reconstruction, Shauna joined Procore to explore the complex issues facing construction and share fresh, research-rich insights that help professionals navigate a rapidly evolving industry.

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