What Does P&G Mean in Construction?
Preliminaries & General — almost always abbreviated to P&G — is the combined heading many Australian tenders, schedules of rates and Bills of Quantities use for the project-wide costs of running a site: supervision, site establishment, temporary services, insurances and the like. It describes the same underlying costs usually called “preliminaries,” but the P&G heading is especially common on civil, infrastructure and government contracts, where these site overhead costs are often priced as a single percentage or lump sum against the contract value rather than itemised line by line.
Key takeaways
- P&G stands for Preliminaries & General — the project-wide costs of running a site, priced separately from the measured trade work.
- P&G covers the same ground as “preliminaries”: supervision, site establishment, temporary services, insurances and demobilisation; the combined heading is simply more common on civil, infrastructure and government tenders.
- P&G is often priced as a single percentage of contract value or a lump sum, especially on schedule-of-rates and civil works contracts, rather than fully itemised.
- Because most P&G costs are time-related, an accurate construction program is essential to pricing the percentage or lump sum correctly.
- Underpricing P&G is a common and costly mistake, since it is easy to default to a rough percentage without checking it against the actual program and site conditions.
What is Preliminaries & General (P&G)?
Preliminaries & General is the combined heading used for the costs of running and managing a construction site that cannot be attributed to any single trade — the same costs the shorter term “preliminaries” describes, gathered under one label.
The paired heading is a convention rather than a different technical concept: certain standard methods of measurement and contract templates, particularly on civil and infrastructure work, group site-wide overhead under “general items” alongside preliminaries, and the combined “P&G” label has stuck as the everyday shorthand for the whole section.
P&G turns up constantly on Australian and New Zealand government, civil and infrastructure tenders, and on managing contractor and schedule-of-rates arrangements, where a single P&G percentage or lump sum is often the expected way to price site overhead rather than a long itemised list.
In plain terms
P&G is just the price of running the site itself — supervision, the shed, the fence, the insurance — bundled under one heading and often expressed as a single percentage rather than a long itemised list.
What is included in P&G
A P&G allowance typically covers the same broad categories as a preliminaries section, with civil and infrastructure work adding a few items of its own.
- Site establishment and facilities — sheds, amenities, fencing, signage and temporary power and water connections.
- Supervision and site management staff for the duration of the works.
- Temporary services and progressive site clean-up during construction.
- Insurances, permits and statutory fees.
- Traffic management, environmental controls and community or stakeholder consultation — common “general” items on civil and public infrastructure jobs.
- Demobilisation and final site clean-up at completion.
How P&G is priced: percentage, lump sum or itemised
P&G is priced one of three ways, and larger civil and government tenders often accept — or expect — the first two rather than a full itemised build-up.
| Method | Basis | P&G amount |
|---|---|---|
| Percentage of contract value | 10% of $2.4m contract sum | $240,000 |
| Lump sum | Fixed allowance stated in the tender | $225,000 |
| Itemised build-up | Supervision, sheds, services etc. priced individually | $236,500 |
P&G in schedule of rates and civil contracts
On civil, infrastructure and government tenders, work is often let on a schedule of rates or lump sum with a single P&G percentage line, rather than a fully itemised bill, because so much site-wide cost is common across contract types and clients want one simple, comparable figure to assess.
That simplicity is convenient, but it doesn’t remove the need for rigour underneath it: a sound P&G percentage should still be checked against a first-principles build-up for this specific job, rather than carried straight over from the last contract of similar size.
Who prices and manages P&G
An estimator or quantity surveyor prices the P&G allowance at tender stage, whether that ends up expressed as a percentage, a lump sum or an itemised schedule.
The site or project manager who will actually run the job is best placed to confirm the staffing levels and site logistics assumptions behind that number, and on larger government and civil contracts, the client’s superintendent or principal’s representative typically reviews and certifies P&G claims as the works proceed.
On a managing contractor or construction management arrangement, P&G is sometimes negotiated directly with the client as a standalone fee rather than buried inside a single lump-sum contract price, which makes it even more important that the number is properly built up and can be explained line by line if it is ever queried.
P&G vs preliminaries vs overheads vs margin
These terms describe related but distinct parts of a construction price:
- P&G vs preliminaries — the same underlying site-wide costs; “P&G” is simply the combined heading more common on civil, infrastructure and government tenders, while “preliminaries” is the term more commonly used on building work.
- P&G vs overheads — P&G is specific to running this one site; overheads are the builder’s general business costs (office, admin, company-level insurances) spread across every job, usually recovered through margin.
- P&G vs margin — margin is the builder’s profit and risk allowance added on top of cost; P&G is an actual cost of running the job, not a markup.
Common mistakes with P&G
Most P&G disputes and blowouts trace back to a small set of recurring errors.
- Carrying over the same P&G percentage from a previous job without checking it against this job’s actual program and site conditions.
- Treating a percentage-based P&G allowance as fixed once submitted, instead of updating it when the program changes during tendering.
- Confusing P&G with contingency or margin, and under-pricing genuine site running costs as a result.
- Failing to itemise P&G clearly enough for a client or assessor to see what the percentage is actually meant to cover.
How My Trade Hub helps with your P&G
My Trade Hub lets you build your P&G allowance either as a structured, itemised schedule linked to your project program, or as a quick percentage sense-check against the measured Bill of Quantities the estimation engine generates from your plans.
Whichever method a tender calls for, the number is backed by a real build-up rather than a rough carry-over from the last job, and every line stays editable as the program firms up — all part of an estimation workflow built to run 60-75% faster than manual estimation.
Frequently asked questions
What does P&G mean in construction?
P&G stands for Preliminaries & General — the combined heading used for a project’s site-wide running costs, such as supervision, site establishment, temporary services and insurances, priced separately from the measured trade work.
What is included in Preliminaries & General?
P&G typically includes site establishment and facilities, supervision and management staff, temporary services, insurances and permits, traffic and environmental controls on civil work, and demobilisation and final clean-up.
Is P&G the same as preliminaries?
Yes, in substance. Both terms describe the same site-wide running costs. “P&G” is simply the more common combined heading on civil, infrastructure and government tenders, while “preliminaries” is more common on building work.
What percentage should P&G be in a tender?
There is no fixed figure — it depends on project size, duration, site conditions and complexity. A P&G percentage should always be checked against an itemised, program-based build-up for the specific job, rather than assumed from a previous contract.
Who prices P&G in a construction contract?
An estimator or quantity surveyor prices the P&G allowance at tender stage, typically in consultation with the project manager who will run the job, and on larger civil or government contracts, it is reviewed and certified by the client’s superintendent as the works proceed.
Is P&G paid as a lump sum or itemised?
It depends on the contract. Civil, infrastructure and government tenders commonly price P&G as a single percentage of contract value or a lump sum, while more detailed Bills of Quantities sometimes itemise every P&G component individually.
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