06/10/2025

October 06, 2025

THE MORNING PAPER FOR CONSTRUCTION PROFESSIONALS AND TRADIES

🚨 Safety Updates

Dukes Painting Services Pty Ltd has been convicted and fined $105,000 in the Industrial Court of NSW as a result of a prosecution by SafeWork NSW. The proceedings arose from an incident on 13 August 2022, when a worker was placed at risk of falling from height while working on a mobile  elevated working platform.

✒ Headlines & Industry

This partnership is a key enabler of Evoenergy’s 2024–29 electricity network plan, approved by the Australian Energy Regulator, which includes a 40% increase in capital expenditure. This investment will upgrade and expand the electricity network to support the ACT Government’s goal of net zero.

Victorians will soon have access to more accurate flood risk information, with the state government releasing a new Victoria flood mapping system designed to improve safety, planning and insurance outcomes. The updated approach introduces a risk-based flood hazard rating system, modelled on the successful bushfire danger ratings, to give clearer information to communities. Ratings will range from low to very high, directly linking to planning and building controls to inform development decisions.

The NSW 2025/26 Budget commits $118.3 billion over four years to transport, housing, and essential services. Key projects include Sydney Metro, the M12 Motorway, Western Sydney Aerotropolis, and regional economic precincts—driving growth, boosting jobs, and building resilient, connected communities across the state.

WA’s construction workforce has shrunk, fuelling fears that housing targets will not be met and sparking calls for more cash incentives for tradies.

🏗️ Projects

ACT

Capital Property Group is investing $500 million to develop London Central, a 65,000 sqm CBD office precinct in Canberra, without a major tenant secured. Construction starts soon, targeting late 2028 completion. Designed for sustainability and flexibility, it aims to attract Commonwealth tenants and create 1,500 jobs in the city’s evolving heart.

NSW

Residents in inner-city Sydney face 24-hour excavation and mechanical hammering from metro construction. John Finucane only just returned to his house after moving to a temporary home for two years to escape the noise. Sydney Metro says the 24-hour work will create less disruption for residents in the long run.

Northern Beaches Council has successfully secured a multimillion-dollar investment from the Federal and NSW Governments for the delivery of a series of wharf renewal projects at Mackerel Beach, Bayview, and Currawong Beach.

Construction has started on the $4.9 billion HumeLink project, despite some land access issues. Spanning 365 km, it will support Snowy 2.0 and boost renewable energy flow. Costs have surged, but Transgrid claims net benefits. The project involves 1,600 jobs and major regional economic investment.

The State Government is delivering on its commitment to build a better NSW, with a game-changing $37.5 million investment to transform more than 470 kilometres of state-managed roads across the regions.

Akaysha Energy is developing the 500 MW/2,000 MWh Murray Terminal Battery near Khancoban, NSW. Connected to Transgrid’s 330kV station, it aims to support grid stability. Construction is set to begin in 2027 and finish by 2029, with environmental assessment requirements issued in September 2025.

ACCIONA Energía plans a 450 MW/1,800 MWh battery near Wallabadah, NSW, connecting to the 330 kV Tamworth–Muswellbrook line. Estimated at $450 million, construction is set for 2028–2029. Environmental assessment requirements were issued in September 2025, following submission of the project’s scoping report in August.

WaterNSW, the state-owned water supplier to New South Wales (NSW), Australia, has selected three dams as suitable sites for pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) developments. The company said yesterday that its Blowering, Burrendong and Hume dams have been shortlisted as sites where potential new long-duration energy storage (LDES) PHES plants could be built.

NT

The Mike Cannon-Brookes-backed renewable energy project, SunCable, says it is in talks with some of the biggest technology giants in the world about building a data centre precinct in the Northern Territory.

QLD

A development application proposing a residential precinct on a former 168-hectare industrial site in Brisbane’s West End has been lodged.

SA

Tilt Renewables’ 288 MW Palmer Wind Farm near Palmer, SA—50 km east of Adelaide—will feature up to 40 turbines, substations, and transmission infrastructure. Backed by AGL with a 15-year offtake deal, the project has planning approvals and Capacity Investment Scheme support, aiming to boost clean energy supply.

VIC

Town Hall Station, Melbourne’s first new CBD station in 40 years, is complete—one year early. Featuring massive underground platforms, heritage links, and new pedestrian connections, it’s a key part of the Metro Tunnel. Labor built it, transforming Melbourne’s transport network and easing congestion across the city.

South East Water is upgrading the Port Melbourne sewer network with a $40 million project led by the BFHI Joint Venture (Beca, Fulton Hogan, Interflow). It includes relocating a century-old pump station underground to support Fishermans Bend’s growth, improving safety and sewer capacity for up to 80,000 future residents.

 

WA

Saunas, sound healing and a steam room are among the features of a $900 million Gold Coast development that has an entire floor devoted to wellness activities and about a third of the apartments that were initially approved. Construction is due to begin next month on the two 37-storey towers.

The Big Australian is certain that extracting an additional 29 Optus Stadiums worth of groundwater from the Pilbara each year will have ‘no impact’ on water supply for WA residents.

Cimic subsidiary CPB Contractors has won a US$109m (A$165m) contract from the West Australian state government for the early contractor involvement phase on a new primary school in East Perth.CPB Contractor’s scope of work includes building a four-storey school for 600 pupils from nursery to year six, with an administration building, multipurpose hall, playing fields, community areas and learning spaces.

EnerMech won a contract to provide subsea pre-commissioning and specialist services for a major offshore gas project in Australia’s East Browse basin. The work, supporting an FLNG facility, will take place offshore and at sites in Australia and Malaysia from October 2025 to April 2026.

🧰 Construction Au Other

Cement Australia (CA), a joint venture between Holcim Australia and Heidelberg Materials Australia, has completed its acquisition of the cementitious division of the Buckeridge Group of Companies (BGC) effective 1 October 2025.

🚀 Innovation, Digital & Futuristic Technology

Kazakh startup Tapqan, based in Kazakhstan, offers an AI-driven digital platform to simplify construction equipment rental. It automates searches, ensures secure transactions, and combats the $3.5 billion local “shadow” market. With plans for eco-friendly electric machinery and expanded services, Tapqan aims to transform and modernize the regional rental industry.

RICS finds that while 56 percent of investors plan to step up AI funding, 45 percent of construction firms currently have no AI adoption at all.

🌱 Sustainability ​& Environment

Researchers reveal CCRE, a low-carbon alternative to concrete, achieving 75% less emissions and comparable strength, crucial for sustainable building practices. Researchers have developed a new low-carbon building material by the name of cardboard-confined rammed earth (CCRE) that cuts the carbon footprint of concrete by 75 % while offering comparable structural performance.

NSW has awarded Solidcast $2 million to boost production of low-carbon precast concrete panels in Wauchope. Cutting emissions by up to 60%, the panels suit civil, commercial, and modular housing projects. The grant supports job creation and sustainable construction under the Net Zero Manufacturing Initiative.

The strategic investment, made through the company’s $1bn Climate Innovation Fund, will support the construction of Fortera’s first full-scale commercial plant and secure Microsoft procurement rights for its low-carbon cement.

📖 Miscellaneous

The offshore wind industry must continue to evolve to meet the challenges of tighter economic margins, rapidly advancing technology and new emerging markets. Rising costs, supply chain constraints and shifting market conditions have already led to delays and cancellations, but at the same time, offshore wind remains one of the lowest-cost ways to build electricity generation capacity at the scale necessary to meet energy transition goals and power demand.

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