Advancing support for all things Defence

AUSTRALIA, 5 SEPTEMBER 2024 – Airport upgrades in the Northern Territory and accommodation infrastructure in New South Wales.

Two entirely different projects. But in the hands of JLL’s Project and Development Services team, they contribute to infrastructure building with one key linking theme – the Australian Defence Force (ADF).

JLL has been supporting the federal Defence Estate Works Program across Australia since 2014.

Since then, it has helped to execute projects across every corner and climate of the country, from urban centres to isolated communities.

It’s a pipeline of work that has encompassed 73 major bases, ranging from new build to civil, infrastructure and building refurbishment. JLL has highlighted two high-profile projects that are from different geographies in Australia and focused on different outcomes – technology, and infrastructure and community life.

And it’s not just about the work that JLL has done – it is also about the impacts that have been made to base life for Defence personnel as they carry out an important role in Australia’s defence capabilities.

With facilities – and a runway - shared between a RAAF Base and commercial operations, Darwin International Airport is far from your average aviation thoroughfare. So when it came time for an upgrade to electrical infrastructure, it was never going to be a case of temporarily powering down while work was completed.

Deemed a necessity because of legacy infrastructure, the $50 million program of high-voltage (HV) upgrades was completed across a five-year timeframe.

Work included the replacement of all the airside HV cabling and substations, including those involved in the support of air navigation beacons, transmitters and runway lighting.

Dozens of stakeholders were involved in the project, including Darwin International Airport, RAAF Darwin Base management, No. 13 Squadron RAAF, air traffic control, the base’s electrical operating authority, the power and water corporation and Airservices Australia (for navigation aids and firefighting). There were also the hosts of other concurrent projects and customers of the electrical network.

Geoff Camp, JLL Defence Lead said all works were carried out in a staged approach to maintain consistent operations at the base and airport.

He said the complex project tapped into JLL’s project management expertise which, among other benefits, allowed other Defence divisions to trust in the team’s insights and capabilities.

“The value of this kind of partnership is that JLL has the wide view and knowledge to deliver a project of this scale while keeping the airport operational,” Mr Camp said.

“We intrinsically understand how electrical upgrades affect everything else on base, so we were able to oversee and execute the complex scheduling and coordination required to keep the lights on.

“This ensured impacts on other Defence capabilities and international military exercises were kept to a minimum,” said Mr Camp.

Head contractors delivering projects were Indigenous Business Enterprises (IBEs). Some of these IBEs were emerging companies who grew alongside as Defence investment in Northern Australia also grew.

This underscored JLL’s commitment to supplier diversity and to actively maximising Indigenous participation in the projects it drives, as reflected across the broad scope of its Australian work.

Mr Camp said, “The projects that have been delivered over the past 5 years have enabled JLL to assist IBEs to be in a position to continue to support Defence and its investment across the country.”

While many Australians would be hard pressed to name the location of even a few ADF bases, HMAS Creswell in New South Wales enjoys a higher profile than most.

Located along a picturesque coastline, it’s home to the Royal Australian Naval College, which puts it at the epicentre of developing the next generation of naval leaders.

This means it has a significant live-in population, with numbers that can fluctuate in response to an ever-changing global and geopolitical climate. 

That’s where JLL’s work comes in.

When the Navy found itself needing to rapidly scale up live-in base accommodations, the JLL team was able to meet the brief by drawing on both its people capability and its track record in providing agile and innovative Defence solutions.

This allowed for the delivery of additional bedding, spread across multiple modular buildings as sole-occupancy units.

JLL Account Director - Defence, Warwick Freeman said: “JLL has the critical expertise to swing into action when Defence needs to scale up in a tight timeframe to meet rapid deployment training requirements.”

“In this case the infrastructure needed to be delivered quickly to facilitate the training of more Naval officers.”

The work also spoke to JLL’s wider involvement in enhancing the wellbeing of Defence personnel and their families nationally, with previous projects covering everything from running tracks to mess facility refurbishments.

“Armed with years of knowledge and experience, we’re here to provide direct support across the Defence operational and real estate environment,” said Mr Freeman.

For more on JLL’s specialised Defence services, visit https://www.jll.com.au/en/industries/defence