Infrastructure and Development

Our major projects team draws on diverse legal specialisations to deliver successful major infrastructure for government. We operate across all sectors, including economic infrastructure (transport, communications power, water and other utilities), social infrastructure (health, education, housing and justice) and municipal facilities.

We understand the procurement and legislative framework, including applicable codes and policies, and challenges including resource constraints, bid cost issues and risk allocation. Our national team brings a wealth of public sector experience to help navigate complex issues, improve services outcomes, and address whole of life issues.

Public private partnerships (PPPs) continue to be a successful method of delivering major infrastructure projects for governments. We have an exceptionally strong track record of advising on high profile, commercially complex and strategically important Australian PPP and construction projects and are respected by and engaged on a recurring basis by government clients. We have extensive experience advising government and private sector parties in relation to full service and operator led PPPs procured in Australasia over the last 5 years, having advised governments, consortia and financiers on these PPPs. We understand and can quickly identify the key issues of concern for all parties, the drivers and influences at work within a full service operator led PPP transaction, and how they are different to standard PPP projects. Our industry understanding drives us to adopt a structure for transactions that minimise risk and maximise returns to government, with the confidence on how to facilitate transactions through legislative means.

Our property team has advised on several of the most significant and complex property projects undertaken by government in recent times including advising the Victorian Government on the Melbourne Docklands Redevelopment and partnering with Urban Growth NSW, Government Property NSW, RMS and Treasury NSW, along with other government agencies on significant urban renewal and property development matters. Our national team are dedicated to both government property transactions and understanding the property industry.

We have a comprehensive understanding of the complexities of large scale real estate acquisitions and disposals. In addition to acting for government clients, our real estate team brings leading industry expertise acting for consortia and financiers on their conveyancing of commercial and industrial sites, greenfield sites, development of land and government infrastructure.

Our real estate and property team is unique among major law firms in having proven dedicated resources for major leasing projects and commercial leasing, and we are recognised for having one of the most highly skilled and best coordinated leasing practices in Australia. Our team continues to provide leading edge commercial and practical assistance to government clients on their major property matters.

Recent Work
Publications
Awards & Recognition
$310 million Berth 8 and 10 upgrade at Port of Townsville

Port of Townsville Limited has commenced an expansion of the Port of Townsville to address current capacity constraints and accommodate forecast growth in trade over a planning horizon to 2040.  We are assisting the Port of Townsville Limited in all matters associated with the $310 million upgrade of two major berths at the Townsville port including the project delivery method which is now proposed to be a competitive ECI. This project involves reclamation, general construction and upgrading of facilities.

Sydney Ferries Franchising Project

Acted for Transport for NSW on the Franchising Sydney Ferries project. This follows on from acting for the NSW Department of Transport & Infrastructure in the Sydney Ferries Market Review project in 2010. This was a high profile and politically sensitive project to implement the recommendations of the Walker report to franchise the iconic operation of the ferries on Sydney harbour. It involved the drafting of service contracts and the conduct of a tender process, extensive due diligence, evaluation and negotiation with three private sector consortia and, ultimately, completion of the transaction with the preferred tenderer and transition from Sydney ferries to the new private sector operator.

Public Transport Victoria on the Bus refranchising projects

Advising on the Victorian Government's key bus refranchising projects including:
 • The Melbourne Bus Service Project – refranchising of 30% of Melbourne's metropolitan bus services. Project Value is approximately AUD$1.5 billion 
 • the $650m refranchising of Orbital SmartBus services throughout Metropolitan Melbourne 
 • The Melbourne Bus Contract Project – $5bn bus service procurement, the Victorian Government's largest ever bus services procurement.

These projects have involved: 
 • redesigning the metropolitan bus service contract 
 • renegotiating with existing operators to mitigate from the existing services agreement to new contracts 
 • developing required amendments to bus service legislation in Victoria 
 • implementing the contracts necessary to migrate including Invitation to Negotiate and Commitment Deeds 
 • ancillary documentation required to preserve the State's rights in the event of default by the operator.

Urban renewal of metropolitan precincts

Acted for Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority on the urban renewal of metropolitan precincts. Our role involved advising Western Australia's leading urban redevelopment authority on three key redevelopment projects in the Perth metropolitan area.

Sydney Ferries Market Review Project

Acted for the NSW Department of Transport & Infrastructure in the Sydney Ferries Market Review project. This was a high profile and politically sensitive project to implement the recommendations of the Walker report into the operation of Sydney Ferries.