Defence defers $360m Irwin revamp, Leeuwin relocation

The $360 million redevelopment of Irwin Barracks in Karrakatta and the relocation of Leeuwin Barracks in East Fremantle have been deferred, casting doubt over key WA contracts and council development plans.

The projects are two of seven deferred nationally by the Federal Government in response to April’s Defence Strategic Review, which recommended reallocation of defence infrastructure spend to higher priority initiatives.

The deferral of Irwin’s $360.5 million redevelopment could have implications for local contractor Doric Contracting.

Doric was awarded a $285 million Department of Defence contract for the development phase of upgrades at Irwin in July 2021. That contract followed its successful delivery of the HMAS Stirling redevelopment Stage 3A project for the department at Garden Island in 2020.

When the contract was awarded work at Irwin was scheduled to begin in mid-2023 for completion in 2026. The scope of work included refurbished cadet, recreation, headquarters and training facilities, live-in and office accommodation and workshops.

Doric is the ninth largest construction company in WA by combined value of its current projects, according to Data & Insights. The database lists Irwin and a consolidation project at Leeuwin among the company’s major projects.  

Doric did not respond to a request for comment on how the deferral would impact its operations. The Department of Defence had not provided comment on the Irwin contract at time of publication.

The deferral of work into the long-mooted Leeuwin Barracks relocation could impact the plans of the 3.2 square kilometre Town of East Fremantle, which referenced the site 99 times in a Local Planning Strategy released in September 2022.

The document said the Leeuwin site, if vacated by Defence, could support around 1,440 new dwellings within its town borders. Leeuwin sits on 14.3 hectares of prime coastal real estate and was put up for sale by the Abbott Government in 2015. The sale was suspended pending a Defence study into its long-term real estate requirements in WA.

Divestment would have a significant impact for one of the state’s smallest local government areas. There were 3,321 private dwellings in East Fremantle in 2021, according to census data. The addition of 1,440 dwellings would represent an increase of more than 40 per cent.

The town’s strategy said in the event Defence decided to keep the site it would support the decision and remove reference to Leeuwin as a potential development area.

Demolition work was carried out at Leeuwin over December and January, but the department issued a clarifying statement to say it was not related to any divestment plans.

Irwin and Leeuwin are just two among a list of 51 projects affected nationally by the government's defence spending review. Most of those projects were revealed in Hansard transcripts of a meeting of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee on May 30.

In all, seven projects were deferred, seven cancelled entirely and a further 37 rescoped.

The latter group included the Royal Australian Air Force’s Pearce base in Bullsbrook, where plans for a project described as a “mid-term refresh” will be rescoped.

The base has a history going back to the 1930s, but has been a point of contention for neighbouring residents in recent years. 

Defence supplies bottled water to some community members in Bullsbrook over concerns around water contamination from per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) detected in soil and groundwater in the area. Last year, the department committed to connecting Bullsbrook residents to a fresh water system via a pipeline which it hopes to complete by the end of 2025.

Dust clouds from earthworks on a runway extension at Pearce caused community concern in March over airborne particles, according to a Department of Defence release. The department said no source areas as part of its PFAS management area plan were disturbed by the work.

It is not clear if the rescoped work plan is related to the runway extension, contamination concerns or pipeline plans.

PFAS management at Bullsbrook is overseen by engineering firm GHD. Enquiries by Business News to GHD were referred to the department, which had not provided comment at time of publication.

A timeline has not been provided for the deferral of the Irwin and Leeuwin projects. An investment program rebalance is expected to take place over the coming year.