GHD leads the latest contract awards

By Darian Macey, September 16 2026

The biggest contract in this month’s contracts review went to GHD: $29.76 million for project-support services. That one appointment makes up roughly two-thirds of the $44.66 million across the ten contracts we tracked from 16 August to 15 September.

The remaining $14.90 million includes electrical upgrades at Palmer Barracks and building works in Darwin, East Sale, Canberra, Amberley and Townsville. Half of the ten contracts are worth less than $1 million. The median is $1.19 million, which gives a better sense of the size of most awards than the $4.47 million average.

GHD’s appointment sits with Defence’s Infrastructure Division and runs from 25 August 2026 to 1 September 2027. We don’t yet know which project or sites it supports. The public listing doesn’t say, so it’s too early to attach that value to a particular base or program.

Turner & Townsend also picked up a $150,000 Program Quantity Surveyor contract, starting on 1 September. It sits with SP&I – International Policy and appears to support Defence’s international infrastructure work, although the individual projects haven’t been identified.

Both firms were appointed through the DFAT Construction, Planning and Delivery Panel, SON4198228. Defence is the buyer, using a panel managed by another department. Those two appointments total $29.91 million. If your business focuses mainly on Defence’s own panels, this is a reason to look more broadly at how it buys professional services.

Among the awards with a known location, Western Australia has the largest value, followed by the Northern Territory and Victoria. The locations of four contracts worth $30.11 million haven’t been disclosed, so the regional figures only tell part of the story.

Regions refer to where the work takes place. Contracts without a disclosed location are grouped separately.

PCB Contractors has the largest works package, at $6.05 million for Palmer Barracks. It covers high-voltage infrastructure, temporary generation and the civil and structural work needed to install the new assets. Demolition, pavement reinstatement and new infrastructure buildings are also included. There’s a broad spread of trades behind that one award.

Wurrba has secured $3.21 million for building refurbishments at RAAF Base Darwin. The contract runs from 1 September 2026 to 16 December 2027, with Aurecon providing Project Delivery Services. It adds another substantial refurbishment package to the Northern Territory workload, although the individual buildings and trade packages aren’t detailed in the public notice.

Eastern Property Services’ $2.53 million RAAF East Sale contract covers design and construction of kitchenette and bathroom refurbishments, pathways, line marking and structural repairs. In Canberra, Serendia’s $1.41 million Russell Precinct award brings together refurbishment and compliance upgrades, including building-services work.

Queensland has two smaller awards. V2R Projects’ $977,569 RAAF Amberley package combines building refurbishment with air-conditioning, emergency lighting, pipework and fire protection. Apollo Property Group’s $378,378 RAAF Townsville contract covers roof repairs, carpet replacement and high-pressure cleaning. Together they’re worth $1.36 million.

Seven of the ten awards are recorded in Helyx as Medium Works Contracts, worth a combined $14.59 million. The two professional-services appointments account for most of the value.

These are Helyx’s contract categories. Design Services includes project support and quantity surveying; the bunding award is recorded as Medium Works. East Sale is expressly described as design and construction, but that level of detail isn’t available for every award.

By scope, refurbishment and maintenance account for five awards worth $8.50 million. The mix will be familiar to anyone working in the Estate Works Program: existing buildings, ageing services and the practical work needed to keep bases operating.

Each contract is counted once under its main scope, even where it includes several trades.

At the smaller end, Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation received $165,000 for a Traditional Owner survey, while Spill Station Australia secured $32,985 for custom bunding. These are worth following if you work in heritage, engagement or environmental compliance. Neither notice identifies the site.

Infrastructure Division accounts for $29.96 million, mostly through GHD. Service Delivery Division is named on six awards totalling $14.45 million.

For subcontractors and suppliers, the six named base and precinct packages give you somewhere specific to start. Check the scope, find out who is managing delivery and ask what work is still to be placed. A head-contract award won’t tell you how much of the supply chain is already committed.

For consultants, the GHD and Turner & Townsend appointments are worth a closer look, particularly the use of the DFAT panel. GHD’s scope remains the big unanswered question in this month’s list.

You can find the contracts and their source notices in Helyx, along with the businesses involved.

About the figures. Based on published Helyx listings as at 16 September 2026, using contract commencement dates from 16 August to 15 September. Values are the full contract amounts in Australian dollars as recorded, with GST treatment unchanged. Undated awards and variations to older contracts are excluded. The tables are rounded to the nearest $1,000 and may not add exactly. This covers the contracts tracked in Helyx, rather than every Defence award.

Author: Darian Macey

Darian is a former Engineering Officer with the RAE with tertiary qualifications in Engineering and Project Management. He is a leading practitioner within Australia's NSI sector with previous employment in Government, project management and building contractor organisations.