Home Property Australia Defence to review its $30 billion-plus property portfolio

Defence to review its $30 billion-plus property portfolio

  • October 18, 2023
  • by Property Australia
Victoria Barracks in Melbourne

The Defence Department has initiated a review of its estate and infrastructure, covering an extensive area of 2.8 million hectares, to evaluate whether the properties align with Australia’s defence requirements.

Jan Mason, the ex-managing director of Defence Housing Australia, and Jim Miller, Chair of the Infrastructure Victoria Board, have been designated as independent leads responsible for conducting the Defence Estate Audit.

The comprehensive audit of Defence’s estate and infrastructure, which holds significant importance for capabilities, is a key aspect of the government’s response to the Defence Strategic Review.

A primary focus of the audit will be to determine if the estate aligns with current requirements, particularly in light of the decision to prioritise investments in Australia’s northern network of bases, ports and barracks.

The findings and recommendations from this audit will be presented by the leads by the conclusion of 2023.

It comes as last month, a significant Army restructuring was announced, involving the relocation of approximately 850 soldiers from Adelaide. Among them, 500 will be moving to Townsville, while the rest will be distributed between Brisbane and Darwin.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said the task and timelines were ambitious, but he was confident the leads could deliver.

“Now is the time to ensure the Defence estate meets Australia’s future security needs and allows effective, long-term management and sustainment, in line with the recommendations of the Defence Strategic Review,” Minister Marles said.

“The most important platform we have in order to protect, is our northern bases … we need to be thinking about the future and the kind of (Defence property) estate which can be operating in the most active way for that future,” he said.

Assistant Minister for Defence Matt Thistlethwaite said the Defence estate was the Commonwealth’s largest land holding, and “maintaining such a large and diverse estate requires investment decisions based on where they will make the greatest contribution to Defence capabilities”.

“The audit will assist in accelerating the planning and delivery of infrastructure, including greater use of innovative methods for investment,” Mr Thistlethwaite said.

The Defence Department owns real estate in some of the most desirable areas in the country. This includes Campbell Barracks in Western Australia, situated just above Cottesloe Beach, which houses the SAS and is located in a sought-after suburb, HMAS Penguin, situated in Balmoral on Middle Head within Sydney Harbour and the Victoria Barracks in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.