Doric hit by Defence’s $285m contract deferral

The Department of Defence has confirmed a $285 million contract with Perth firm Doric Contractors for the delivery of local defence infrastructure will not extend past its current design phase.

As reported by Business News last week, planned work at Irwin Barracks in Karrakatta and Leeuwin Barracks in East Fremantle was included on a list of 51 defence infrastructure projects nationally which were cancelled, deferred or rescoped following a review into government defence spending.

In a major blow for the local firm's project pipeline, the Department of Defence has since confirmed to Business News that Doric’s contract for Irwin will not extend past the 50 per cent design stage milestone.

“As a result of the [Defence Strategic Review], the government has deferred the Irwin Barracks and Leeuwin Barracks projects,” a Defence spokesperson said.

“Doric Contractors are currently engaged by Defence to manage the design of the projects.

“Once 50 per cent design is completed Doric Contractors will have completed their contract deliverables and their contract will not be extended due to the deferral of the project.”

Government tender documents for the contract detailed staged milestones at five, 30, 50 and 90 per cent and the completion of the design process, along with the subsequent management of the project’s delivery. Business News understands news of national project deferrals was communicated to various stakeholders via a Department of Defence industry briefing in Canberra on June 5, which was a public holiday in Western Australia.

The Doric contract was part of a $360.5 million redevelopment at Irwin which incorporated elements of a consolidation of Leeuwin’s facilities into Irwin. The work was awarded to Doric in 2021, and included provisions for amenity refurbishment, base access, ceremonial spaces, training facilities and accommodation infrastructure to be delivered by the firm as the managing contractor.

Work was to begin mid-2023 for anticipated completion in 2026.

When awarded the contract, Doric told a WA trade publication that it would need to find up to 600 new staff to help deliver the work.

The firm is the ninth-largest construction company in the state by combined value of current WA projects, according to a Data & Insights update in May.

The company also has a background in defence projects, having previously delivered the $367 million HMAS Stirling redevelopment Stage 3A project for the department at Garden Island in 2020. 

Doric declined to comment and referred Business News to contract administrator JLL, which did not respond to a request for comment. The Perth-based offices of Wallbridge Gilbert Aztec, DesignInc Architects and KBR are also understood to have been impacted by the decision to defer the project. 

No timeline was provided by the department as to the length of the deferral.

A decision on the long-awaited divestment of the land on which Leeuwin sits was also being explored via a review of Defence’s long-term Perth accommodation needs.

The 14.3-hectare Leeuwin site would represent prime real estate within the Town of East Fremantle should it be divested, as was mooted by the Abbott government in 2015, and was referenced extensively in a local planning strategy released by the town in September last year.

A town representative told Business News this week that it was not aware of any update to the department’s plans for the Leeuwin site but would continue to communicate to stakeholders through its website.

The website’s most recent update was in January, when the town said Defence had delayed its expected completion date for its Perth accommodation review to the end of March.