The $43 billion pipeline of defence facilities and infrastructure is a huge opportunity for Consult Australia members, but navigating the procurement process is not always straightforward. We checked in with two Collab X speakers – Jacobs’ Hailey Franks and ADCO’s Matt Galton – to unpack their insights.  

Defence is Australia’s largest procuring agency and is responsible for some of the nation’s most complex projects. Defence expenditure for this financial year is expected to hit $48.6 billion, around 2.11% of the country’s gross domestic product. 

In addition to its defence duties, the Department of Defence operates significant industrial bases and research facilities, and has substantial contracts and partnerships that support the work of businesses of all sizes. The Department’s property portfolio, for instance, is valued at $64 billion, with 394 assets across 72 key bases, and three million hectares of land.

Then there’s the broader defence industry. Contracts are awarded for eyewatering sums – and delivering these contracts is underpinned by infrastructure. Take Australia’s largest-ever defence space contract, which was awarded to Lockheed Martin in early April. The $4 billion project will see the delivery of satellites alongside “multiple” ground stations across Australia. 

But seizing these supersized opportunities is not simple – which is why Consult Australia and the Department of Defence’s Infrastructure Division recently came together to host Collab X. This collaborative forum brought the ecosystem together to discuss the opportunities and obstacles as defence investment accelerates.

Two panellists, Jacobs’ Hailey Franks and ADCO’s Matt Galton, shed light on their experiences working on Defence projects.

Hailey Franks from Jacobs speaking at Collab X

Hailey, Strategic Advisory Discipline Lead at Jacobs, is responsible for “forming and fleshing out” plans at the front end of projects. She works on projects that may take a decade to materialise, and draws on the expertise of a multi-disciplinary team of architects, engineers, cost planners and environmental scientists.

“In the defence context, waiting for complete knowledge of infrastructure requirements is often challenging given the dynamic nature of the capabilities and strategies being developed. So, we work with our clients to make educated assumptions about the future state” whether that’s in relation to climate, demographic shifts or geopolitics. 

“We design projects with adaptability in mind, because defence undergoes strategic shifts all the time. This means collaborating closely with our clients at the early stages of planning to build a picture of the future that can adapt and flex.”

Matt Galton can see the obstacles and opportunities from both sides of the fence. After 33 years of service in the Australian Army – the last four leading defence capital facilities and infrastructure projects – Matt is now General Manager for Defence and Special Projects at ADCO.

Matt Galton from ADCO speaking at Collab X

His “eyes were opened” to the commercial pressures on companies after joining ADCO, especially when grappling with protracted tendering processes. “Defence understandably wants to undertake a thorough process to determine the preferred tenderer. But from the industry perspective, it can be very hard to hold prices over an extended period, and you can’t have a team warming the benches for months on end waiting for the outcome,” he says.

Matt suggests that Defence could be more creative in its approach to tenders by issuing select tenders specifically to “new market players” which would “help to level the playing field and give companies relatively new to the sector a better chance to compete”.

With the findings of the Defence Strategic Review expected to be released in April, we will soon learn how Australia’s defence capability and structure will shift, and what that means for infrastructure development. The changes are likely to accelerate infrastructure investment – and none of this can be delivered without Consult Australia members. 

So how can Consult Australia members prepare themselves for the defence opportunity?

Hailey suggests even small companies can subcontract their specific skill sets to support Defence projects. 

“Many large projects run industry participation and open days that offer an opportunity for interested parties to make connections. A bridge is a bridge – we are still building the same infrastructure. The key difference is that companies must also look through a defence capability lens – because that’s what drives Defence contracts.”

If you work on defence projects and are interested in being part of collaborative conversations with the Department of Defence and industry, get in touch with us and keep an eye out for next year’s Collab X.